DENTAL
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WEST COUNTRY
NEW DENTAL EDUCATION FACILITY IN EXETER On 25th November 2016 , Dr Sara Hurley , Chief Dental Officer ( England ), formally opened the new Exeter Dental Education Facility . The new facility replaces one that has operated within Heavitree Hospital since 2008 . That facility , which was opened by Ben Bradshaw MP , had 16 dental chairs and provided early hands-on training for first year dental students , and dental hygiene and simple dental procedures for local NHS patients . The new facility is used to train dental health profession students from Plymouth University and is run and managed by the Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise . It also provides a suite of postgraduate programmes , allowing local dentists and other dental health professionals to further their careers through education .
There are four Dental Education Facilities in the South West , two in Plymouth and one each in Exeter and Truro . In an innovation in dentistry education , students treat NHS patients under the supervision of qualified dental professionals . As well as dental students , there are also dental nurses and dental therapy and hygiene students . Since the first Dental Education Facility opened in Exeter in 2008 , more than 18,000 people across Devon and Cornwall have received NHS dental care at the facilities , where they may not have had access to it before .
An increase in capacity means that the new Exeter Dental Education Facility has 42 dental chairs and will provide a training environment for students from other years in the five-year dental and three-year dental therapy and hygiene undergraduate programmes . The new facility also has a 16-chair Simulated Dental Learning Environment , where students can hone their clinical skills on ‘ smart ’ dummies .
Opening the new Dental Education Facility , Dr Hurley said “ I applaud and admire the tenacity and vision that has brought this incredible dental care centre to fruition . What we have here is so much more than bricks and mortar , it is the spirit of best practice in care , in learning and in social enterprise . Recognising a need to improve access , the Exeter Dental Education Facility offers not only a place for excellent patient care but an outstanding environment for the high quality of training of the next generation of dental professionals . A true exemplar of enterprise and collaboration that will deliver quality time and time again .”
EXPANSION AT PLYMOUTH Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry has boosted its provision for postgraduate training with significant additions to the existing team .
Eithne Fyfe has been appointed to the role of Consultant in Oral Surgery and Tim O ’ Brien to the role of Associate Professor / Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry .
Eithne qualified at Guys Hospital and went on to undertake her junior training posts in oral and maxillo-facial surgery at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital . She works part-time at Bristol Dental School where she is Clinical Governance Lead for Oral Surgery and teaches both undergraduates and postgraduates in oral surgery . She has recently returned to Exeter to lead the new postgraduate programme of PgCert , PgDip and MSc in Minor Oral Surgery , designed to enable working dental practitioners to develop both competence and confidence in minor oral surgery while also enhancing skills in critical effectiveness and reflective practice .
Tim qualified at Guy ’ s Hospital in London and has worked in a range of practices , including one in Australia . He undertook specialist training at the Eastman Hospital in 1997 , remaining there to teach dentists training to be specialists . He joined
Peninsula in 2012 and was initially funded by the National Institute for Health Research to undertake training in additional specialties and to participate in research – focusing on how to make dental care safer for patients . He completed a second course of specialist training , in restorative dentistry , in 2015 and has stayed at Peninsula , developing the suite of postgraduate programmes on offer . He is an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh and London and acts as an expert witness in legal cases and other matters under consideration by the General Dental Council .
Dr Kamran Ali ( who recently achieved his PhD ) has been appointed to Consultant status and is now an Associate Professor ( Senior Lecturer ) and Consultant in Oral Surgery . Kamran joined Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry in 2009 . In 2012 Dr Ali received the “ Excellence in Dental Education Award ” given by the Association of Dental Education in Europe ( ADEE ). He is a member of the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons where he sits on the Dental Education Committee ; the Dental Sedation Teachers ’ Group , where he is School representative ; the Higher Education Academy ; and the Association for Dental Education in Europe .
Eithne and Kamran are working together to develop a new Certificate , Diploma and Masters in Oral Surgery .
DRAFT QUALITY STANDARD ON ORAL HEALTH IN CARE HOMES A leading dental academic and clinician from Plymouth University , Professor Elizabeth Kay MBE , has played a key role in a draft quality standard to improve oral health in care homes and hospitals published on 6 January 2017 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ( NICE ). The draft standard calls on care homes to assess the oral health needs of their residents and record these in personal care plans . Residents should then be supported to clean their teeth twice a day or their dentures daily .
A report from Public Health England
52 Dental Practice Magazine