Advice centre

Over 250 dental professionals attended the joint Dental Protection and schülke conference – Premier Symposium – for an insight into the challenges of complex clinical, ethical and dento-legal issues.

The role of the clinician continues to evolve in the provision of appliances either for the treatment of snoring or to assist in the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSA). The most recent development is the inclusion of the role of the clinical dental technician (CDT) in the General Dental Council’s Scope of Practice document.

The law relating to tooth whitening changed on 31 October 2012, effectively increasing the percentage of hydrogen peroxide contained or released in tooth whitening or bleaching products to 6%, subject to conditions which include first use by a dental practitioner or under their direct supervision and that the patient is 18 years of age or over.

Dental Protection is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor John Gibson from Glasgow, as the new Chairman of the Board of Dental Protection Ltd. Professor Gibson is qualified in both dentistry and medicine and is Professor of Medicine in Relation to Dentistry and Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine in Glasgow. He succeeds Professor Trevor Burke who retired from the Board in October having completed his term of office on the Board. He is joined on the Board by Professor Callum Youngson who is Professor and Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Liverpool, and Dean of Liverpool Dental School.

Hiten Halai graduated in 2012 from Barts and The London. After foundation training he completed a Restorative and General Duties DF2 post at The Royal London Dental Hospital. He is currently working as a private associate in Singapore.

On 11 May 2013, the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) "Regulations" 2013 took effect. The Regulations were made under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and they implement (in part) EC Directive 2010/32/EU as required under European law.

The Resuscitation Council (UK) published a statement in July 2006 concerning the standards expected of dental practitioners and dental care professionals (DCPs) in general practice within the UK for the management of medical emergencies and resuscitation techniques.

Standards for the Dental Team is published by the General Dental Council (GDC) and came into effect 30 September 2013. The document sets out the standards of conduct, performance and ethics that govern dental professionals in the United Kingdom. It specifies the principles, standards and guidance which apply to all members of the dental team, and also sets out what patients can expect from a dental professional.

In 2008, the General Dental Council issued a press release in the wake of its Scope of Practice consultation which took place earlier that year. The GDC states: ‘Dental hygienists and dental therapists can carry out tooth whitening on the prescription of a dentist, if they have the necessary additional skills. Taking impressions to a dentist’s prescription, and making bleaching trays to a dentist’s prescription, are within the scope of additional skills for dental nurses.’