After some number crunching over the holiday period we were proud to discover that in 2013, the GDPUK forum had 958 different contributors. The fact that just under a thousand different members of the dental community have “put their head above the parapet“ during the year on the forum pages is a fantastic sign of the growth of the forum and the number of subjects that provide discussion in UK Dentistry.

Moving into 2014, we now have thousands of members who are part of the community. With just under a thousand people posting last year, there were thousands on the sidelines who quietly read the posts. They represent the silent majority who we can see in every community, they are part of it, they enjoy it, but they don’t get involved. If you would like to join the GDPUK community, please follow this link. The forum is free to join for all members of the dental profession. You will find the forum is a fantastic resource for advice, opinion and information on UK Dentistry.

Overall in 2013, we averaged 3300 visits a day to the site, the equivalent of the number of people who visit a UK Dental Exhibition in a day. The difference is that we are getting those numbers every day of the year! The site continues to publish exclusive news and shape the agenda of UK Dentistry. For example, GDPUK was used as a sounding board to compose the letter that was recently published in the Daily Telegraph - http://bit.ly/JKkA3J

GDPUK is free for dentists or dental professionals to join. The site earns revenue from dental focused organisations advertising on the forum, news, blogs or daily digest emails. If you would like to find out more about the advertising opportunities, please get in This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Thanks for everyone’s support and help in 2013, please continue to contribute, share and discuss all things dental. We look forward to an excellent 2014 for all and well over a thousand contributors to the GDPUK Forum!

If you would like to register for the site please follow this link - https://www.gdpuk.com/forum/user/register

To refer a colleague or friend to the site - https://www.gdpuk.com/more/refer-a-colleague-to-gdpuk

For information on how to advertise on GDPUK or to download a media pack - https://www.gdpuk.com/overview or alternatively please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who will be happy to help. We will also be visiting the Dentistry Show on Friday 28th February, please get in touch if you would like to meet up and have a coffee. 

We thought we would reminisce over the popular dental news stories published by GDPUK in 2013. Overall in 2013, we have published 286 different news stories.

We have focused on the articles which as well as having a large number of hits, they also make our top ten because they caught the imagination of the forum and the wider dental community. It is unsurprising that the majority of the articles chosen for the top ten, are an indication of ongoing issues, politics and controversies in UK dentistry that are likely to rumble on till 2014 and beyond....

1.       Olympic Health Survey – news story published on the surprisingly poor oral health of Olympic Athletes - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1430-olympic-dental-problems-revealed

2.       Problems at the BDA – An example of a story that caused pages of debate on the forum pages and will there be more to come?  - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1388-bda-to-make-staff-redundant

3.       NHS / Private Gaming – Another extremely popular / contentious issue on the GDPUK forum – This news item was about a dentist who got struck off for “gaming” https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1335-dentist-struck-off-for-gaming

4.       Teeth Whitening - A number of articles published on the issue, something that is still happening illegally, will we see this subject reappear in 2014? https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1303-gdc-stance-on-whitening-upheld & https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1292-more-moves-to-eradicate-illegal-tooth-whitening & https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1230-stop-illegal-whitening-debates-at-the-dentistry-show

5.       NHS Pilot Scheme – This is an area we will all be watching in 2014, the direction of NHS Dentistry is still unclear and will lead to continued debate next year - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1210-shortlist-for-new-dental-pilot-practices-announced

6.       Corporate Dentistry – Corporate Dentistry continues to dominate the landscape in UK Dentistry, next year it is expected that supermarkets will look to expand their dental coverage. Oasis Dental Care sold for £185m - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1256-oasis-dental-care-sold-for-185m

7.       Direct Access – An area of dentistry that is still being understood and digested but the BDA’s response was strong - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1254-direct-access-decision-misguided-says-bda

8.       HTM01-05 amended – https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1259-2013-version-of-htm01-05-published

9.       Dentist Commit Suicide – A topic that unfortunately does not go away, with a number of recent cases being in the news - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1299-bda-calls-for-inquiry-into-dentist-s-suicide

10.   Dental Graduates – It was confirmed that UK Graduates would be given preference for Foundation Training – Common Sense Prevailed - https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/1381-uk-graduates-to-be-given-preference-for-foundation-training

Thanks for having a look at our top ten news stories published by GDPUK in 2013. Next year we would expect to see similar topics reappear with many issues in UK Dentistry still to be resolved. Watch this space for further GDPUK Exclusives!

Please let us know if you think we have missed important dental news from 2013?

What do you expect to see in the dental news in 2014? Predictions welcome...

On a lighter note, dentist Abi Sampa who was one of the stars of The Voice is still pursuing her singing career. Story can be found here and on twitter @Abi_Sampa

Those of you who read and digest the news and views of dentistry at large will perhaps have noticed the recent Private Dentistry Awards¹.  A rip roaring time in London for all who attended.  A sore head or two the next day I’ll bet.

The recent announcement of the winners serves to highlight the lengths that many colleagues will go to strive for excellence. They are also extraordinary in that they can find the time to document their activities and seek to obtain external recognition. To all who entered and indeed were in the awards, heartfelt congratulations.

To all of you who did not enter, I am sure I am not alone in noticing that the effect rubs off.

You read about how others do things.  You read about ideas and marketing. You introduce these things in your own way into your own practice.  Just because you do not enter does not mean you are not a winner.

Of course, the clue is in the name – none of these particular practices lay claim to  providing dental care under the NHS, although how many of them employ NHS associates remains to be detailed.

But as we witness NHS England purging their Performers List with suspect letters of a dodgy tone threatening removal arbitrarily simply because it suits someone in London’s database management skills, it seems to me that there is no doubt about this: Beware the false security that the Government offers.

Left to its own devices, Dentistry as a business and a profession would make a far better job of marketing its services at the right price, in the right place, to best suit a particular patient base than any mish-mash of Reds, Ambers and Greens that the Government’s Department of Health lackeys can come up with. Why it is that our academic colleagues often fail to see or understand this paradigm remains a mystery.  Are we all really that imbued with social guilt so that any talk to do with the NHS simply proves it is culturally embedded?

That must be the counterpart message of the BDA as it emerges leaner, poorer, but fitter and raring to “engage”.

By all means engage with the DH, but the BDA must lay out the subtle threat that we do have to courage to do it ourselves, and will do it better.

Now that is a profession in a win-win position. The winners of such a brave approach would be everyone, patients included.

1        http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/smiles-and-success-uk%E2%80%99s-private-practices

2        http://www.privatedentistry.co.uk/awards/

Helen Wigglesworth is Co-Owner and Group Financial Director of Quadralene, the parent company of Dentisan, leading UK manufacturer of infection control products and the company is delighted to announce that Helen was recently shortlisted for the Vitalise ‘Business Woman of the Year 2013 Award’.

The Vitalise Awards are sponsored by a number of large businesses including Lloyds Bank, British Airways and the Hilton group and celebrate women’s achievement within industry. Helen made the final shortlist of seven candidates, who were then subject to a rigorous interview by a panel of six judges, chaired by Lord Digby Jones, former Director General of the CBI. The winner was announced at an awards luncheon, held in Birmingham in October and hosted by the inspirational Dame Kelly Holmes.

Helen’s nomination for the Vitalise Awards was made by a Regional Director of the CBI, and came as a complete surprise to her: “I am very proud to have been in the company of some outstanding candidates, during what has been a very interesting and worthwhile journey. As a business we have come a long way since we expanded into the healthcare market six years ago and thanks to our ability to intelligently work our way through a number of challenges our team has achieved a great deal.”

Helen is a great exponent of the company ethos of ‘business for the common good’ and is heavily involved with a number of charitable causes, including helping education in Pakistan; micro-finance in Sierra Leone; a community bus project and community transformation in Romania.

Toothpick.com has recently been announced as one of this year’s entries in the Smarta Top 100 Business Awards. Launched in November 2012, the company has been acknowledged within the Top 10 ‘Most Innovative Businesses’ category.

In partnership with O2, The Smarta 100 Awards (http://www.smarta.com) aims to celebrate innovation and finds the best 100 businesses in the UK. This year’s entrepreneur judges of the Top 100 include Ben Dowd (Business Director, O2), Holly Tucket MBE (Co-Founder and CEO, Notonthehighstreet.com) and Piers Linney (Dragons’ Den and CEO, Outsourcery).

As the only dental-focused business to be included within this category, Toothpick.com has been recognised for strongly supporting the growth of dental practices within the UK with an aim to provide transparent access to patients with a live online booking system.

All the winners of Smarta 100 have been invited to the awards ceremony, taking place in central London mid-November. The overall Business of the Year and winner of the £10,000 grand prize will be announced on the night alongside the winners of each category.

To put online dental appointment booking on the map place your vote here http://www.smarta.com/smarta100/2013/toothpick/

For more information about Toothpick visit www.toothpick.com/get-listed, call 020 77681851 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Facebook: /ToothpickDental

Twitter: @toothpick

On the 12th October, guests gathered at the exclusive “Eight” private members club in the City for the inaugural Burmaball. The ball, which organisers hope will become an annual fundraising event, was organised in aid of Burmadent, the dental charity set up to help dental volunteers provide care to the people of Burma.

The ‘Burmaball’ has been 10 months in the planning, ever since dentist Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen and his wife Sharon Bierer returned from their first trip, during which they provided dental care to 1200 orphans and local people in the area of Lake Inle.

During this trip, Henrik and Sharon, who were accompanied by Lesley Naismith, support manager at Software of Excellence, had the idea for the Burmaball and on their return they enlisted the help of fellow Charity trustee Brian Weatherly (President, Software of Excellence).

10 months later, with 140 guests and a long waiting list for tickets, Sharon feels the effort has all been worthwhile. “Our aim was to raise awareness of the charity and its aims. We were also keen to raise enough money to cover the cost of a mobile unit, which will enable volunteers to bring desperately needed dentistry to the more remote tribal peoples.”

The black tie event was an eclectic mix of glamour and tradition, with Burmese dancers providing a traditional welcome for guest of honour Burmese Deputy Ambassador, Daw Ei Ei Tin and Syed Kamall, the MEP for London and Master of Ceremonies. Games, an auction and a raffle, featuring some amazing prizes such as holidays in Portugal and Italy, helped to keep the donations flowing and following a sumptuous south east Asian dinner, the evening concluded with dancing until the small hours, to music provided by Brian Weatherly’s band ‘The Viceroys’ and a professional DJ.

There are three separate trips already booked up until December, Burmadent is growing into a successful and influential dental charity. The Burmaball will only help in disseminating this message throughout the profession.

Anyone interested in becoming involved with Burmadent or wishing to donate to the Charity, please visit www.burmadent.com

A third of cosmetic treatments booked online!

Recent booking data analysis by Toothpick (toothpick.com) has identified that online appointment booking is fast-becoming a must-have service within the dental practice, revealing that half of all live bookings (50%) [i] made are done so outside of surgery hours (Mon-Fri, 9am – 5pm).

This ever-increasing statistic represents a dramatic shift in the way patients perceive dentistry and the options available to them, as their personal time is being spent researching cosmetic treatment and trawling practices for last-minute appointments whilst sitting in the comfort of their own home.

The analysis also uncovered that over a third of these bookings (37%) were made for cosmetic consultations. With around one in ten general dental practitioners now signed up with toothpick.com and the average practice offering cosmetic treatments, online appointment booking is proving to be an ideal platform to promote these services.

Mintel’s ‘Dentistry MBD 2013’[ii] recent report also supports these statistics, reporting significant growth in cosmetic dentistry over the last five years, increasing to £1.3 billion in 2013, and highlighting that there is likely to be as much as 21% growth in the next five years.  Such findings are further evidence that by opening your doors 24/7 with an online appointment booking system, your practice can generate additional revenue and become more profitable whilst working the same surgery hours.

Additionally, this electronic revolution offers an obvious solution to prevent last minute ‘white space’ in the appointment diary, as Toothpick’s analysis confirmed that over 1 in 5 (21%) bookings are made within 24 hours of the practice putting them online, successfully making unfilled gaps in the diary visible to potential patients and ensuring they’re quickly occupied.

See the results for yourself and try online appointment booking for FREE* today, with a no-obligation, no-risk trial. If it’s not for you, don’t worry – you can choose to cancel for free! For more detailed information visit www.toothpick.com/get-listed, call 020 77681851 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Facebook: /ToothpickDental

Twitter: @toothpick

[1] Toothpick booking data analysis, online bookings, Jul-Aug 2013

[1] MINTEL, 2013. Dentistry MBD August 2013. London.