Robert Caplin, senior teaching fellow, King’s College London, looks at how properly weighing up the various factors in a decision can benefit both practitioner and patient.

A dentist received a letter of complaint from an elderly patient who had sustained a soft tissue injury to the lining of the left cheek during the restoration of a lower left third molar three months earlier.

Dental Protection advises two members from a practice following a patient complaint after a replacement filling was required.

Dr F, a first year foundation dentist, contacted Dental Protection for assistance as he had been suspended from his foundation dental training.

When the wrong tooth is removed, Dental Protection assisted a dentist in quickly contacting the patient over the error. Find out how this proactive approach helped avoid further action being taken.

This case study looks at how Dental Protection advised a member who had been investigated following the incorrect administration of a sedative.

A retained root causes a patient complaint against a dentist. While Dental Protection supported him in rectifying the matter, issues were raised with his record-keeping – find out what learning points came out of this case.

Stephen Henderson describes a campaign that has fundamentally changed the way in which the GDC’s Investigating Committee operates

An examination of the trend in large claims that members are currently experiencing with dental implants and periodontal disease.

The law on “informed” consent has changed following a recent Supreme Court judgment

The report of the Intercollegiate Advisory Committee for Sedation (IACS) in Dentistry was published in April 2015 and replaces the previous document, Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care (Department of Health 2003)

Resistance to shared decision making often revolves around a perception that dentists have many patients who wish the dentist to make the decision for them. Whatever you think best. The difficulty is that just as Dentists have preferences for their style of decision making, patients also have preferences as to their desired level of involvement.

Some important facts that we think you will find surprising

In general, there are three approaches to achieve a safe passage through any minefield. The first is to find out exactly where all the mines are located before you start, and then to carefully plan a safe route – and stick to it.

What may seem a run-of-the-mill appointment for the dentist can often be a major event for the patient. Keeping detailed records of discussions and warnings is essential...

What happens when experts disagree? Clinical opinion can and will differ from dentist to dentist, and as this case shows, sometimes the best option is to bring the experts together...

Allocate sufficient time to form a diagnosis & record both the diagnosis and the treatment indicated in the patient’s record.

I’m the sort of person that cares too much and becomes emotionally committed to my patients. While kind and caring patients appreciate this, when a patient sets out to destroy you it takes over your own life instead...

When I started out, beginning from scratch was almost always better. There was a shortage of dentists in many rural areas, and you could open and be instantly busy. Those days are gone.

I didn’t really want to work for anyone else when I graduated, I just liked the idea of being my own boss and so I found my own premises to set up in. I’m happy still with the decisions and choices I made, although it came with challenges...

A guide to help prevent extraction of the wrong tooth on referral from an orthodontist by Dr Steven Burlinson

I was working as a young graduate dentist some years ago. I had three years of experience since graduating, and like many dentists starting their careers I worked at two different practices. I had recently started doing three days per week at a practice unsupervised and I felt confident in my clinical experience to do this, comforted by the knowledge that I could refer if required...