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The purpose of this paper is to explore selective leadership approaches in the context of dentistry in the UK.

This is a conceptual paper utilising published sources from relevant literature about leadership theory and practice and the policy background to dentistry in the UK.

This paper suggests that there is merit in identifying and applying an eclectic mix of leadership theory to the case of dentistry. It offers insight into individual aspects of the leadership role for dentists and applies this to the dental context. It also contrasts these individual approaches with shared leadership and suggests this may also be relevant to dentistry. It highlights the fact that leadership will be of growing concern for dentistry in the light of recent policy changes.

This paper points out that there are developmental implications depending on the particular approach taken. It argues that leadership development will become increasingly important in dentistry in the UK.

This paper addresses a topic that has so far received limited attention in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to bring together the history of war, the universities and the professions. It examines the case of dentistry in New South Wales, detailing its divided pre-war politics, the role of the university, the formation and work of the Dental Corps during the First World War, and the process of professionalization in the 1920s.

The paper draws on documentary and archival sources including those of the University of Sydney, contemporary newspapers, annual reports and publication of various dental associations, and on secondary sources.

The paper argues that both the war and the university were central to the professionalization of dentistry in New South Wales. The war transformed the expertise of dentists, shifted their social status and cemented their relationship with the university.

This study is the first to examine dentistry in the context of the histories of war, universities and professionalization. It highlights the need to re-evaluate the changing place of the professions in interwar Australia in the light both of the First World War and of the university’s involvement in it.

The goal of rapid mechanical prototyping is to be able to quickly fabricate complex‐shaped, 3D parts directly from computer‐aided design models. The key idea of this novel technology is based upon decomposition of 3D computer models data into thin cross‐sectional layers, followed by physically forming the layers and stacking them up; “layer by layer technique.” This new method of modeling has raised many attentions in dentistry especially in the field of surgery and implantology. The purpose of this review study is to represent the historical development and various methods currently used for building dental appliances. It is also aimed to show the many benefits which can be achieved by using this new technology in various branches of dentistry.

The major existing resources, including unpublished data on the internet, were considered.

Although, creating 3D objects in a layered fashion is an idea almost as old as human civilization but, this technology has only recently been employed to build 3D complex models in dentistry. It seems that in near future many other methods will develop which could change traditional dental practices. It is advisable to include more unit hours in dental curriculums to acquaint dental students with the many benefits of this novel technology.

It is hard to believe that the routine dental techniques were affected by revolutionary concepts originally theorized by engineering methods. It is a reality that in future, most of the restorative disciplines will be fully revised and the computer methods be evolved to an extent where dentistry can be performed by computer‐assisted methods with optimum safety, simplicity, and reliability.

Dentistry like medicine is beginning to come to terms with the pressures and challenges of providing health care now and in the future. The need for more effective interventions in Dentistry are being increasingly appreciated. The aims and role of the Oxford based Centre for Evidence‐Based Dentistry in helping to achieve this are outlined.

The purpose of this paper is to: determine the prevalence and distribution of patient/family-generated, dentistry-related complaints to Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVIs) and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) in Finland from 2000 to 2011, study patient/family safety incident experiences and other reasons for complaints, assess complaint validity and evaluate factors associated with disciplinary processes against dentists.

Data included closed cases handled by AVIs and Valvira (2000-2011) against dental practitioners or dental practice units (n=782). The authors analysed the complaints distribution and examined the antecedent factors and circumstances.

This study demonstrated that patients/families can detect many dental treatment hazards, substandard processes and even serious safety risks rather well. The investigation processes revealed some physical harm or potential patient safety (PS) risks in more than half the alleged cases. Many complaints accumulated against certain individuals and statistically significant positive correlations were found between some patient/family complaints, dentist-specific variables and disciplinary actions.

Patient/family-generated complaints must be taken seriously and seen as relatively good safety risk indicators. However, more knowledge on how patients might cooperate with dental care providers to prevent errors is needed.

This work provides a unique opportunity to learn from several dentistry-related patient complaints. Despite some limitations, patient complaints appear to be useful as a complementary source together with other PS study methods.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the most relevant quality factors and communication activities that are suitable as competitive levers in dentistry.

The research is based on a model that highlights the reciprocal influence between patient satisfaction and dentist reputation. The model points out that experience/behaviours, explicit communication and word‐of‐mouth are antecedents of both patient satisfaction and dentist reputation. This research is based on interviews with senior dentists, focus groups with patients and a survey of dentistry patients.

The most important quality factors for patient satisfaction are the doctor‐patient relationship and the clarity of information about treatment and cost. Key communication levers are first, the implicit communication that arises from successful treatment and overall service quality; second, the explicit communication that arises from interpersonal relations with the dentist and the staff, and the referrals of previous patients.

In order to gain competitive advantages, dentists should achieve an average level of patient satisfaction for “given” and “secondary” factors; to pay careful attention to “strategic factors”; and to explicitly communicate “opportunity factors” since patients are usually unaware of their value. Furthermore, dentists should emphasize interpersonal, experiential and third‐party communication with patients.

The paper puts forward a model that integrates previous service quality and reputation management models, and makes suggestions for the improvement of service quality management and communication in dentistry.

The purpose of this paper is to inform education of non-mental health professionals who provide care to people with severe mental illness; to describe dentistry students’ knowledge and views about mental illness, including willingness to engage in various social situations with a person hospitalised for mental illness; and to assess and understand the impact of a targeted lecture on views and attitudes.

The paper employed mixed methods to examine dental students’ knowledge and views about mental disorder before and after a seminar covering mental disorder, disadvantage and oral health. Findings from a bespoke questionnaire administered to third-year dental students were triangulated with qualitative data gathered in interviews with a subsample.

Students understood mental disorder broadly, employing diverse causal models. Although knowledge was typically grounded in media stereotypes, attitudes were benevolent and most students reported willingness to provide dental care to affected individuals. The seminar, especially the consumer delivered section, was valued and associated with increased appreciation of the impact of mental disorder on oral health and need for assertive action to promote access to care. However, students reported being reluctant to disclose their own mental health problems for fear of being considered a professional or personal failure. A minority knew how to seek support if a friend talked of suicide.

This study highlights the need for further investigation of the knowledge and attitudes of dentistry students pertinent to provision of care to people with mental illness and to examine the links between attitudes and practice. The paper also provides a useful foundation for development of brief educational interventions, particularly the value in integrating the service user perspective, and their evaluation. Research should also examine the impact of mental health education on practice.

A single inexpensive educational session, such as the one the paper developed may support reconsideration of often unconscious views of mental illness which might affect practice.

If people with mental illness are to receive equitable access to health care, non-mental health professionals should be supported to develop knowledge and attitudes which are conducive to inclusive treatment. An education session such as this could be helpful.

There is scant literature examining attitudes of dentistry students and no reports of mental health-specific education with this population.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a method for comparing the scanning and reproducing accuracy of highly shaped objects like plaster casts used in dentistry.

Theoretical considerations on errors introduced by the scanning systems and subsequent point clouds data elaboration have led to a method to estimate the accuracy of the whole process. Suitable indices have been chosen and computed at each stage. As a final result, the overall chain, scanning and reproducing systems can be assessed. In order to validate the proposed method casts have been scanned by means of commercial systems and then reproduced by using different rapid prototyping technologies, materials and parameters. Error indices have been computed and reported.

Since it is not possible to define reliable and meaningful reference models for non‐standard shapes, an absolute accuracy value for the scanning process cannot be stated. Anyway the proposed method, thanks to relative performance indices, allows the comparison of different acquisition systems and the evaluation of the most performing manufacturing chain.

The study provides a method to assess the relative performance between commercial systems both in scanning and reproducing stage.

In literature, some studies on the accuracy of scanning devices have been found but they are based on standard geometrical features. In this paper, the problem of complex shapes in absence of reference model is addressed instead.

There is more to primary care than solely medical and nursing services. Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA) explored the role of the professions of pharmacy, dental health and social care as examples of affiliate contributors to primary care in providing health advice and treatment to children and young people. Pharmacies are much used, but their value as a resource for children seems to be insufficiently recognised in most European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Advice from a pharmacist is invaluable, particularly because many medicines for children are only available off-label, or not available in the correct dose, access to a pharmacist for simple queries around certain health issues is often easier and quicker than access to a primary care physician or nursing service. Preventive dentistry is available throughout the EU and EEA, but there are few targeted incentives to ensure all children receive the service, and accessibility to dental treatment is variable, particularly for disabled children or those with specific health needs. Social care services are an essential part of health care for many extremely vulnerable children, for example those with complex care needs. Mapping social care services and the interaction with health services is challenging due to their fragmented provision and the variability of access across the EU and EEA. A lack of coherent structure of the health and social care interface requires parents or other family members to navigate complex systems with little assistance. The needs of pharmacy, dentistry and social care are varied and interwoven with needs from each other and from the healthcare system. Yet, because this inter-connectivity is not sufficiently recognised in the EU and EEA countries, there is a need for improvement of coordination and with the need for these services to focus more fully on children and young people.

To construct a risk score using both clinical and intra-oral variables and to determine a risk score to screen individuals according to their risk of hyperglycemia.

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 690 Thai dental patients who visited the Special Clinic, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University and a mobile dental unit of His Majesty the King of Thailandss Dental Service Unit. Participants aged ≥25 years without a previous history of type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the study. Participants diagnosed with severe anemia and polycythemia were excluded. Questionnaires were used to collect demographic data. Point-of-care HbA1c, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and periodontal status were analyzed.

A total of 690 participants were included in the study. A risk scoring system including five variables was developed. It exhibited fair discrimination (area under the curve = 0.72, 95%CI 0.68–0.71). The risk score value of 9 was used as the cut-off point for increased risk of abnormal HbA1c. Subjects that had a total risk score of 9 or more had a high probability of having abnormal HbA1c and were identified for referral to physicians for further investigation and diagnosis.

A risk score to predict hyperglycemia using a dental parameter was developed for convenient evaluation in dental clinics.