'Prevention first' Blog Posts

• Scotland: Prevention is key to the future of dentistry

  Kirsty Dickson, Dental Vocational Trainee, on the policy changes needed to reshape the future of dentistry.

  Blog Date 8 June, 2022

• Why we need strong dental public health messages

  Outgoing BDA Scientific Advisor, Professor Damien Walmsley reflects on the vital role of dental public health messaging.

  Blog Date 12 November, 2020

• Periodontal disease management - advice on the risks associated

  50% of the world's population suffers from periodontitis so it is vital that we continue to study the disease and promote awareness.

  Blog Date 14 October, 2019

• Passionate about prevention for children's teeth

  The Junction Dental Practice in Yorkshire tell us why they are passionate about prevention for children's teeth and the oral health promotion work they do in their local community.

  Blog Date 1 August, 2019

• Portsmouth: The city without NHS Dentistry

  Eddie Crouch, Vice-Chair of the BDA's Principal Executive Committee, tells ITV Meridian why we need solutions from the NHS and Department of Health on the NHS dental contract, following the news that three NHS practices in Portsmouth are to close.

  Blog Date 18 June, 2019

• Oral cancer: why early detection is key

  A personal testimony from MSP Mark McDonald on why he supports BDA Scotland's position on annual dental check-ups.

  Blog Date 30 April, 2019

• Highlighting the state of children's teeth in London: 1 million are missing out on free NHS dental check-ups

  Len D'Cruz recently gave oral evidence to the London Assembly Health Committee's investigation into child dental health. Your responses to our survey helped to show the challenges being faced by dentists on the ground and to make the case for what we need to improve oral health inequalities.

  Blog Date 11 April, 2019

• How much sugar is in your Easter egg? The impact on children's teeth

  In our practice, we believe in focusing on prevention for oral health, and in the run up to Easter, we decided to highlight the shocking facts about the amount of sugar in the chocolate products, particularly to those marketed to children.

  Blog Date 8 April, 2019

• Supervised brushing – a key tool in decay prevention

  What action can we take on child tooth decay, asks Sandra White, PHE's National lead for Dental Public Health in a guest blog to mark World Oral Health Day.

  Blog Date 20 March, 2019

• Why a new oral health strategy in Northern Ireland is needed

  ​We've been campaigning for a new oral health strategy for many years. That's why BDA Northern Ireland Director Tristen Kelso and I were delighted to highlight the need for it, and to point out some of the shocking stats on the state of our children's teeth on Northern Visions TV recently.

  Blog Date 19 March, 2019

• The crisis in oral health care for older people in Northern Ireland must be tackled now

  Ageing population issues are just one visible demonstration of why we need a new oral health strategy now – one that we can put into action to benefit our full range of patients, says Caroline Lappin.

  Blog Date 15 March, 2019

• BDA Northern Ireland 2018: speaking up for dentistry

  Catch up on the work of the BDA Northern Ireland office and its representatives during 2018 - here's what we've been doing to make dentistry better.

  Blog Date 19 December, 2018

• Counting the cost of tooth extractions

  Shocking figures showing the number of full mouth clearances of children under 10, have hit the headlines again. BDA Board Chair, Mick Armstrong, says it time for more than just words from Government, and demands more investment in NHS dentistry to help save young patients' teeth.

  Blog Date 4 December, 2018

• Improving NHS dentistry: giving dental patients better access and outcomes

  We feel that dentistry is often forgotten when it comes to getting a share of NHS funding, but we've set out to Government why we feel committing more resources to NHS dentistry can massively improve oral (and general) health outcomes for patients.

  Blog Date 5 November, 2018

• Speaking up for dentists at party conferences

  We travelled to Liverpool and Birmingham to make the case for dentistry at the Labour and Conservative party conferences

  Blog Date 17 October, 2018

• Speaking out for dentistry in Wales

  Tom Bysouth explains why the future of NHS dentistry in Wales can no longer be taken for granted.

  Blog Date 3 October, 2018

• New powers must begin to address dental policy logjam

  We have written to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, calling for urgent sign-off on key decisions relating to dentistry.

  Blog Date 3 October, 2018

• Investment needed not austerity: the viability of dentistry in Northern Ireland being put at risk

  While Stormont continues to be ‘on hold’, the range of issues that need to be addressed within dentistry continue to stack up. We've submitted written evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee Inquiry - Funding priorities for the 2018-19 Budget: Health, to make the case for investment, and an end to austerity, for dentistry in Northern Ireland.

  Blog Date 5 September, 2018

• The state of oral health in Wales: what dentists' think

  Following the announcement that the Welsh Government’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee would be undertaking an inquiry on dentistry in Wales, we asked for you views on the state of people’s oral health, what your experiences are of practicing dentistry in Wales and what needs to be done to help improve things.

  Blog Date 5 September, 2018

• Myth-busting about natal teeth: dental anxiety and good oral health

  Charlotte Waite explains why and how babies born with natal teeth can be treated and seeks to reassure parents and carers that their baby will feel no pain if the tooth needs to be removed.

  Blog Date 9 August, 2018

• Boys in Scotland to get protection from oral cancer-causing HPV

  The HPV vaccine has been recommended to be extended to boys in England and dentists are pleased that Scottish Government has now committed to funding this programme - find out why.

  Blog Date 19 July, 2018

• Boys in Northern Ireland must be included in vaccines for oral cancer-causing HPV

  We’re pleased to hear the news that the HPV vaccine has been recommended to be extended to boys in England, and we will now work to insist that Northern Ireland follows suit, writes Northern Ireland Council Chair Roz McMullan.

  Blog Date 18 July, 2018

• Putting prevention to work: Boys in Wales to get protection from oral cancer-causing HPV

  The HPV vaccine has been recommended to be extended to boys in England and dentists are pleased that the Welsh Assembly has now committed to funding this programme - find out why.

  Blog Date 18 July, 2018

• Filling in the gaps on OHIP

  Scottish Council Chair Robert Donald explains why we have reached out to new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman for clarity on resourcing the Oral Health Improvement Plan.

  Blog Date 17 July, 2018

• Dentistry at the start of the NHS: a patient's experience

  In 1957, a 15-year-old apprentice engineer went to get his teeth sorted - just as NHS dentistry was coming into being. Read his experience.

  Blog Date 10 July, 2018

• Better oral health in sport: it's time to bang the drum

  With the World Cup in full flow, we take a look at some shocking facts about the state of sports peoples' teeth.

  Blog Date 27 June, 2018

• Scotland's Oral Health Improvement Plan: dentists' views

  Phil Grigor takes a look at the results of our survey asking what dentists think about the Scottish Government's proposals in the Oral Health Improvement Plan.

  Blog Date 19 June, 2018

• Dental contract reform: Can we ditch the UDA system for good?

  Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen outlines some of the key points from the Government's report on the progress of the dental prototype practices in their first year, and what this might mean for the future of NHS dentistry.

  Blog Date 5 June, 2018