Press release 03/11/2014 GDC consultation on proposed amendments to Fitness to Practise proced... Preview Article GDC consultation on proposed amendments to Fitness to Practise procedures Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview Dental Protection broadly welcomes the proposals made in this consultation because we feel that a radical change of approach, and culture change, is needed within GDC fitness to practise (FtP) procedures. If in order to make the necessary culture changes, the proposed Section 60 Order is required, then we will support them. However, in order to ensure that these proposals have the intended impact the GDC must be committed to taking full advantage of these new powers. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry Managing Clinical Risk Compliance
07/09/2014 My first day in dental practice Preview Article My first day in dental practice Time to read article: 2 mins () ★ Close Preview Finbar O'Mahony, a graduate from Cork dental school reflects on his very first day. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry
07/09/2014 The work/life balance Preview Article The work/life balance Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview Hussein Hassanali shares his thoughts about the private and working life of a dentist, having recently completed his first year of dental practice. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry
Press release 05/09/2014 GDC consultation on proposals to increase the annual retention fee Preview Article GDC consultation on proposals to increase the annual retention fee () ★ Close Preview On this occasion the GDC has justified the unprecedented scale of the increase in the ARF primarily on the basis of the increase in the number of complaints that it has to deal with. In calculating its likely operating costs, the GDC has also predicted that this volume of incoming ‘complaints’ will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, and appears to have assumed that the number of Fitness to Practise (FtP) investigations will need to rise at least in proportion to this. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry Managing Clinical Risk Compliance
31/08/2014 Brief encounters in dentistry Preview Article Brief encounters in dentistry Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview The Dental Council's guidance 'Professional Behaviour and Dental Ethics' states that a dentist has a duty to provide emergency treatment for their patients outside normal surgery hours and patients must be advised on how to contact the dentist should an emergency arise. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry
Case study 29/08/2014 Counter-claim wins due to lack of consent Preview Article Counter-claim wins due to lack of consent Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview A patient cannot consent to treatment when sedated, so the simple answer is not to do anything the patient has not agreed to, as this case demonstrates... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry Managing Clinical Risk Consent Ethics
Case study 29/08/2014 Following the reasonable body of opinion Preview Article Following the reasonable body of opinion Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview Making clinical judgements that go against the grain is never a good idea. If in doubt, Dental Protection is only ever a phone call away... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry Treatment Planning Prescribing Managing Clinical Risk Competence
Articles and features 27/08/2014 Tooth surface loss Preview Article Tooth surface loss Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview Not only is the prevalence of tooth surface loss (TSL) increasing, but clinicians increasingly find themselves facing criticism and challenges regarding its diagnosis and management. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... ENT Generic Dentistry Managing Clinical Risk
Articles and features 27/08/2014 Post-operative instructions Preview Article Post-operative instructions Time to read article: 3 mins () ★ Close Preview Sadly the dental surgery environment is not always conducive to effective communication. Often the dentist and other members of the dental team are dealing with a variety of patients, all with different needs, and they may be subject to severe time pressures. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk ENT Generic Dentistry
Articles and features 27/08/2014 Co-operation & compliance Preview Article Co-operation & compliance Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview There are many examples in clinical dentistry of treatment which is largely dependent upon the level of co-operation from the patient, and/or the degree to which the patient follows the advice and recommendations of the clinical team. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... ENT Generic Dentistry Managing Clinical Risk
27/08/2014 Recording pain Preview Article Recording pain Time to read article: 3 mins () ★ Close Preview One of the advantages of keeping careful and detailed records of a patient’s pain history is that it highlights significant changes and developments in the features of the patient’s symptoms which can, in turn, lead the clinician to the correct diagnosis. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Record Keeping Generic Dentistry Managing Clinical Risk ENT
Articles and features 27/08/2014 Monitoring early caries Preview Article Monitoring early caries Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview New techniques, new materials and perhaps more importantly, a shift in treatment philosophies in recent years has led to a greater emphasis upon minimally interventive, preventive approaches to the management of the early carious lesion. In some key respects new technology has helped, and in other respects it has hindered, this process. In a dentolegal sense, the most likely allegation would be that the clinician failed to recognise, act upon and appropriately manage the small or early carious lesion and as a result it was allowed to develop, causing pain and suffering together with the cost and inconvenience of more extensive (and more expensive) treatment. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk Professionalism Generic Dentistry ENT
Articles and features 27/08/2014 Periodontal monitoring Preview Article Periodontal monitoring Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview People are living longer, and more people are retaining their teeth into later life. Consequently, the overall potential periodontal risk is rapidly increasing. Most allegations of undiagnosed, untreated and under-treated periodontal disease arise when a patient sees a new dentist for the first time. This may result from the retirement of the patient’s previous dentist, or simply because the dentist has left the practice. Sometimes the patient attends a different dentist in an emergency situation, or following the sale of the practice where they have been treated over many years. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk ENT Generic Dentistry Periodontics
26/08/2014 Patient information Preview Article Patient information Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview In case after case, the question arises of what information a patient was given in advance of their treatment. Obviously, this is material to the quality of the consent obtained from the patient, and yet dentists, hygienists and therapists often find themselves unable to demonstrate with any certainty, exactly what the patient was told, when, and in what terms. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk Record Keeping Generic Dentistry ENT
Articles and features 26/08/2014 Communications between dentists and technicians Preview Article Communications between dentists and technicians Time to read article: 4 mins () ★ Close Preview Dentists communicate with their technicians (and vice versa) in a variety of ways, and on a variety of subjects. Yet in the experience of Dental Protection, many valuable opportunities to improve the quality of these communications seem to be missed. Although there has to have been some dialogue, there is often little or no tangible evidence that this was so. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk ENT Generic Dentistry
Press release 04/08/2014 GDC consultation on ethical advertising Preview Article GDC consultation on ethical advertising Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview When placing advertisements for services you provide as a registrant you must ensure that you adhere to the Councils ethical guidance Standards for Dental Professionals. Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry Compliance
Case study 15/07/2014 Avoiding issues of vicarious liability Preview Article Avoiding issues of vicarious liability Time to read article: 2 mins () ★ Close Preview Clear lines of communication between everyone in the practice are essential to minimise the chances of something like this happening... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk Generic Dentistry Practice management Communicate Prescribing
Case study 15/07/2014 Two wrongs don’t make a right Preview Article Two wrongs don’t make a right Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview Failing to make the correct diagnosis inevitably means the treatment will fail too. As this case illustrates, seeing the bigger picture should always be the aim... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Negligence Complaints Generic Dentistry Diagnosis Treatment Planning Periodontics
Case study 15/07/2014 Communication is the key Preview Article Communication is the key Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview While clinical judgement rests in the dentist’s hands, not telling the patient what you’re doing or have done can bear consequences down the line... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Complaints Communicate Generic Dentistry Professionalism Managing Clinical Risk
Case study 15/07/2014 Effective emergency arrangements can keep complaints at bay Preview Article Effective emergency arrangements can keep complaints at bay Time to read article: 2 mins () ★ Close Preview A patient in pain can create headaches for the practice too. Making sure you attend to a patient's needs, and can prove you did so, are paramount... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Dental Records Managing Clinical Risk Issues & Conflict Management Claims Complaints Generic Dentistry
Case study 15/07/2014 Emergencies – no cover means no defence Preview Article Emergencies – no cover means no defence Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview If you haven’t got a system in place for adequately dealing with patients when the practice is closed, you’ll have much more to deal with than disgruntled patients... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk Generic Dentistry Negligence Practice management
Case study 15/07/2014 Cover yourself with contemporaneous records Preview Article Cover yourself with contemporaneous records Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview When a patient makes a complaint, the one thing you’ll be able to rely on is your records. If they are not detailed enough, you could find yourself in real trouble... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Managing Clinical Risk Patients Issues & Conflict Management Practice management Generic Dentistry Record Keeping
Case study 15/07/2014 The writing (should be) on the wall Preview Article The writing (should be) on the wall Time to read article: 2 mins () ★ Close Preview Patients cannot be relied upon to second-guess your treatment plans. Making sure they understand what is reasonably expected of them along with any consequences of non-compliance is essential... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Orthodontics Consent Communicate Generic Dentistry Dental Records Record Keeping
Case study 15/07/2014 The perils of taking bad advice Preview Article The perils of taking bad advice Time to read article: 1 mins () ★ Close Preview You should never hesitate to call us at Dental Protection if you’re unsure about something. It’s what we’re here for... Read more Article contains Text Tagged in... Generic Dentistry Probity Compliance