Dental Board of Australia membership announced

The Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council has announced the membership and Chair of the new national Dental Board of Australia (DBA).

Dr John Lockwood a dentist from NSW (previously President of the NSW Dental Board), will chair the 12 member body.

The Ministers decided that the practitioner members of the DBA would comprise five dentists, one dental therapist, one dental hygienist and one dental prosthetist. This is an improvement over an earlier proposal that would have only seen three dentist members.

The DBA members are as follows:
Ms Susan Aldenhoven - appointed as a practitioner member (dental hygienist) from South Australia
Mrs Jennifer Bishop - appointed as a practitioner member (dental therapist) from Queensland
Dr Carmelo Bonnano - appointed as a practitioner member (dentist) from the ACT
Dr Gerard Condon - appointed as a practitioner member (dentist) from Victoria
Mr Stephen Herrick - appointed as a community member
Mr Paul House - appointed as a practitioner member (dental prosthetist) from Tasmania
Dr Mark Leedham - appointed as a practitioner member (dentist) from the Northern Territory
Dr John Lockwood - appointed as Chair and a practitioner member (dentist) from New South Wales
Mr Peter Martin - appointed as a community member
Mr Michael Miceli -appointed as a community member
Dr John Owen - appointed as a practitioner member (dentist) from Western Australia
Mrs Myra Pincott - appointed as a community member

Induction programs and arrangements for the first meetings of the new national boards are now being finalised so that they can commence in September, and start preparing for the new national registration and accreditation scheme to be operative from 1 July 2010.

Minister Roxon's Speech re e-Health

Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon delivered the opening speech at the Health-e-Nation Conference yesterday, and in that presentation she gave some clues to the linking of Government funding of certain services with the adoption of e-Health systems.

Dental practices will not be immune from these developments, so members interested in understanding the Government's policy directions may wish to read the transcript of the Minister's address.

Training resources for nursing home oral health plan

One of the first steps to improving the oral care of people in aged care facilities has been taken with the release of a number of training aids for nursing home staff.

These resources are part of the implementation of the Nursing Home Oral and Dental Health Plan announced by the Federal Government last May.

The documents include a facilitator portfolio, staff and professional portfolios, and several posters.

Most children visit dentists regularly - report

A new dental report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

shows that most children had visited a dentist during the previous 12 months.

The report, Trends in access to dental care among Australian children, covered the period from 1994 to 2005, and showed that at least 4 in 5 children had visited a dentist in the last 12 months with children aged 5–11 years slightly more likely to visit than those aged 12–17.

Between 1996 and 2005, visiting for a check-up, rather than a problem, increased across both age groups, peaking in 2005 at 78% for 5–11 year- olds and 81% for 12–17 year-olds.

A higher percentage of children in families with a health care card and without private dental insurance visited for a problem.

When visiting a dentist, about 8% of 5–11 year-olds had a tooth extracted. Among 12-17 year-olds, prevalence fluctuated between a high of 15% in 1994 to a low of 9% in 2005.

Children who visited for a problem were more than twice as likely to have an extraction as those who usually visited for a check-up.

About 30% of children aged 5-11 years and 25% of children aged 12–17 years had a filling.

Cost was reported by a low percentage of families as a barrier in accessing dental care for children, with the percentage falling over the 1994–2005 period. The report, released today, costs $24.

CRC for Oral Health Science funding renewed

The ADAVB is delighted to congratulate the Cooperative Research Centre for Oral Health Science on today's announcement that a new round of funding has been provided to permit the centre to continue its world class research.

The announcement of the $31.6M funding was made by Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, The Hon Kim Carr.

The new CRC, again based at the University of Melbourne, will further the work of the existing CRC for Oral Health Science on the discovery and development of new preventive products and treatments for oral diseases such as caries (dental decay) and periodontitis (gum disease) which currently cost Australians some $6 billion a year. Anti-decay technology developed within the current CRC is already being used in food and drink and oral care products around the world.

Senate Committee reports on national registration Bill

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee report on the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) was tabled in Parliament today.

The ADA Inc., ADAVB and various other ADA Branches made submissions to this Inquiry, and the federal President and CEO appeared before the committee to present evidence on the proposed legislation.

The 77 page report highlights a range of continuing concerns held by health professions about the legislation, and these are summarised for the benefit of the Parliament. In addition, the committee has made the following recommendations:

1. that the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council fully consider and evaluate the potential usefulness and feasibility of the proposed amendments to clauses 10(3) and 10(4)* of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Bill B), especially those proposed by the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
2. that the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council introduce a requirement into the proposed national registration and accreditation scheme (NRAS) that the reasons for issuing a direction in relation to an accreditation standard be made public.
3. that the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council ensure that the national registration and accreditation scheme (NRAS) contains sufficient flexibility for the composition of National Boards to properly reflect the characteristics and needs of the individual professions.

* These clauses relate to the power of the Ministerial Council to issue a policy direction to a Board in respect of an accreditation standard. Numerous submissions raised concern that this power could change standards in ways that are incompatible with protecting and improving public health and safety. The ADA recommended that clause 10(4) be deleted so as to remove entirely the power of the Ministerial Council to give a direction in relation to an accreditation standard.

The Bill is subject to further amendment as a result of consultative processes administered by the National Registration and Accreditation Implementation Project, and the revised version is due to be presented, initially to the Queensland Parliament, before the end of 2009.

ADAVB submissions regarding the NRAS proposals can be found here.

Dental Health Week's online health check

Dental Health Week, now underway, is focusing on the general health of people aged over 55.

As part of this oral health campaign, the public are being advised that dentists - by looking inside mouths - can provide a snapshot of their overall health.

To further help people, the ADA has developed an easy self-check test which can assist in the detection of conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, oral cancers and even Alzheimer’s and Hodgkin’s disease.

For more information on oral health management for those 55 plus, and to take the ADA’s online self-check test go to http://www.dentalhealthweek.com.au/