News

A note from Honorary Secretary, Professor Nicola West... I would like to keep you appraised of developments regarding the UK implementation of the new classification of Periodontal Diseases. The new classification was agreed at the joint meeting of the American Association of Periodontology and European Federation of Periodontology at the World Workshop in Periodontology, held in Chicago during November 2017. The proceedings were published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology in early 2018. On your behalf, the BSP has tirelessly looked at the process of implementation of the new classification for the UK. The first stage of this process is a paper to be published in the British Dental Journal that describes the salient points of the new classification, rationalises the differences between the 2017 and 1999 versions and provides BSP management guidelines. This will be published on the 11th January 2019 and it will be available online from December 2018, although the exact date for this release has not been finalised yet. The January issue of the BDJ will carry the implementation guidelines of the classification paper itself together with an illustrative case study. A further five case studies will feature in the subsequent series. There are also plans to release a decision-making flowchart (algorithm) that will be widely circulated to the membership to help practitioners to adapt to the new classification. This is currently being finalised but promises to guide practitioners and Periodontists through the decision-making process to arrive at the correct diagnosis for their patients.

Dr Mike Milward represented the BSP at the CDO Societies and Associations briefing session on the 4th October at the BDIA show at the Excel in London. The sessions had presentations from Sara Hurley (CDO), Janet Clark (deputy CDO), Eric Rooney (deputy CDO) and Andrew Taylor (head of programme Office of the Chief Dental officer).

You may recall that we recently shared with our membership a survey from NHS England requesting feedback on their document, "Developing the long-term plan for the NHS". We were extremely disappointed to note that Dentistry did not feature in the NHS plan despite oral conditions having a systemic impact on other areas of health.

Please read the important letter from Chief Dental Officer, Sara Hurley, which contains the latest advice for EpiPens in Dental Practice. This is in response to a DHSC Supply Disruption Alert of Epipens in England.

Today (Friday, October 5) is World Smile Day, an annual event devoted to smiles and acts of kindness that provides an opportunity to focus on the importance of gum health to people’s smiles.

The Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP(UK)) has published the second edition of Standards in Dentistry, its flagship publication for general dental practitioners and their teams which acts as a guide to personal or practice-based quality assessment.

The BSP will be attending the BDIA Dental Showcase taking place at ExCel London from the 4th-6th October. We will be on Main Stand C30 promoting all things perio!

The Frank Ashley Undergraduate Prize is awarded to encourage dental undergraduates at UK dental schools to undertake a project with a clear periodontal educational benefit. This year we are delighted to award the prize to Emily Davison, from the University of Glasgow Dental School.

Congratulations to former BSP President, Professor Iain Chapple, who has been awarded the 2018 Distinguished Scientist Award for Research in Periodontal Disease by the International Association for Dental Research. The prestigious award was presented at the IADR conference in London on 25th July, in recognition of Professor Chapple’s significant contribution to the field of oral health research.