Dentists Call For Reform To Allow More Prevention-Based Approach, UK

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Preventive Medicine
Article Date: 22 Mar 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Dentists in Northern Ireland want more time to help their patients have healthier teeth and avoid dental disease. That's according to the British Dental Association's submission to the Primary Dental Care Strategy Consultation. More than two-thirds of high street dentists in Northern Ireland believe that they need more time with individual patients so that they can take a more preventative approach to care.

A survey of dentists in Northern Ireland informed the BDA's response to the consultation and found overwhelming support for the reform of dentistry. Almost 90 per cent of practitioners agreed that dental care provided by the NHS in Northern Ireland needed to be modernised to improve patient care.

Claudette Christie, the BDA's Director for Northern Ireland, said:

"This is a time of opportunity for dentistry in Northern Ireland but it's crucial that any reforms are properly funded and meet the needs of both patients and dentists. Dentists need to be able to take a more preventative approach to care and this would be a real step forward in addressing Northern Ireland's disappointing oral health record."

The BDA's response stresses that the reform must be properly managed and that the Health Service must use the considerable skills of dentists and their staff if the dental health of the people of Northern Ireland is to be improved.

-- The British Dental Association response to the Primary Dental Care Strategy Consultation can be accessed at: http://www.bda.org.

-- The BDA represents over 20,000 dentists working in general practice, salaried services, the armed forces, hospitals academia and research.

BRITISH DENTAL ASSOCIATION

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