News

It looks like summer may have finally arrived (at least in the South East of England) and so there is a tendency for people to take their foot off the pedal and (justifiably) enjoy the sunshine. This should also make you feel better generally (evidence based) and increase your vitamin D levels (which may also be good for all sorts of reasons - evidence based), although of course one should be careful about UV exposure (more evidence based!).

Did you know... to reflect our commitment to progression and innovation, the BSP awards annual prizes for research and periodontology, both for undergraduate, postgraduate and qualified dentists, hygienists and therapists?

The EFP have launched a toolkit on their website relating to the 2017 Classification. The toolkit – available at perioclassification.efp.org – comprises five guidance notes and four expert presentations, with infographics and videos to be added later. Also available are the introduction and consensus reports of the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-implant Diseases and Conditions, which form the basis of the material in the toolkit.

We have received two communications from The Office of the Chief Dental Officer which we would like to share with our membership:

In November 2017, the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) launched The Oral Health & Pregnancy project. The aim of the Oral Health and Pregnancy project, a collaboration between the EFP and Oral-B, was to promote women’s oral health during pregnancy through guidelines for patients and for healthcare professionals.

The GDC have recently released some interesting analysis and positive helpful guidelines on the volume and nature of cases that they have had to deal with, and what can determine how things either go forwards or are dismissed at an early stage. Although of course we know that we will all strive to offer the best care that we can, you may find it informative and useful to look at these documents (which are very readable) and perhaps share with colleagues in your teams.

The first BSP undergraduate meeting took place at King's College, London on Friday 14th June 2109. It was a great opportunity for the newly appointed individuals to meet each other, meet members of BSP and talk about periodontology. The meeting was a huge success and BSP Undergraduate Representatives Hiraa Jamil and Gamze Eroglu have kindly written a detailed review of their meeting.

This month was marked by a number of events at the Palace of Westminster, and the Society’s 70th Anniversary Dinner was probably the most friendly of them all! After an afternoon of CPD on a range of diverse topics, from three excellent international speakers, there was just time to board the Jubilee Line to Westminster. We then, after traversing Security, experienced an in-depth and educational tour of the Palace, including both Chambers, Division lobbies, Westminster Hall, St Stephens Hall and various other areas. Sir Paul Beresford kindly hosted us for a sold-out Dinner, which also included an insightful update on the current political situation from Isabel Oakeshott. I wish to thank Tamsin and Paula for their hard work and support in organising the evening, in conjunction with Sir Paul and his team. Please don’t forget to complete your evaluations and feedback from this or any other preceding meetings and webinars. As we finally may just be edging towards summer, we have two upcoming webinars in quick succession, so use your wifi (or even 5G?) to watch these in the sunshine (hopefully)!

1. What is your position in the BSP and what does this role involve? I am the Chair of the Practitioners Section. This is a position of great privilege as I represent the interests of the largest group that makes up the membership of the BSP.