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Clinical Meetings

Friday 20th June 2008
'Beauties and the Beasts: The Greatest Hits and Misses of Cosmetic Dentistry'

Dr Mark Hyman
Friday 14th and Saturday 15th November 2008
'Composite Resin Artistry: Creating Anterior Masterpieces'

Dr Newton Fahl

Details of these meetings are posted on our Postgraduate Courses page.



Membership

Membership now stands at 91.

The latest new member is Nick Miller who is working in Hayle and Threemilestone.

Brian Galbraith has retired from his practice in Wadebridge.

We are pleased to welcome Nick Wenger, the newly appointed consultant at the Orthodontic Department at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske.

Christopher McConnell has taken over the St. Piran Dental Practice at Perranporth from Stuart Wiseman, who has retired.

Other new members are Andrew Stallard, who has joined Ross MacRae in Padstow, and Catherine McAvoy, who has joined the St. Agnes Practice.



Dr Irfan Ahmad - Mastering Dental Photgraphy

Clinical Photography is becoming an ever more important part of clinical dentistry and, on Friday 11th April 2008, Cornwall IDP organised a whole day course on the subject at the Bedruthan Steps Hotel, Mawgan Porth.

Dr Irfan Ahmad is an authority on Dental Photography with an international reputation and following his presentation his audience could appreciate why.

He began with a discussion of the advantages of digital photography and the technical issues involved in image capture, processing and display.

He then described all aspects of the equipment and settings required to achieve the necessary excellence and went on to show how he achieves such perfect and artistic pictures.

Finally he used an interesting case presentation to demonstrate the value of quality photography.

Delegates enjoyed an exceptional day; the wind blew, the sun shone, the food was excellent and the speaker world-class.

Our thanks to Irfan for bringing his art and expertise to Cornwall.

 

Dr Irfan Ahmad

" ...... and the telephoto lens was this long"



Two IDP Members to Work in Nepal - but Trip is Delayed

Cornwall IDP's founder chairman, Martin Wills, and former IDP secretary, Mark Pimble, were going to work in a dental camp in Nepal for 10 days in April 2008.

However, because of security problems during the Nepalese elections, the trip will now take place in October.

Travelling in the team are dentists, Jenny Scott-Smith from Yorkshire and Simon Dumper from Kent, and Martin's wife, Sally.


 

They plan to set up a dental camp in the Dhading district, a remote area about 60 miles NW of Kathmandu.

If you want to see how remote that is, try typing 'Dhading' into Google Maps or Google Earth.

This picture was taken at a similar camp which was set up in the Himalayas in 2007.

 

Dental camp 2007

They will provide free dental treatment for the local population and hope to treat around 1,000 patients during their visit.

Many of these people have had almost no previous access to medical or dental care because there are very few dentists in Nepal, and most work in the cities.

Much of the population suffers from constant pain and infection.

 
Patients waiting
There are no roads in these rural areas so one of the biggest problems to overcome is the transportation of all the instruments, equipment, materials and drugs from here.

All this has to be paid for by the team as there is no health service assistance available, and they have been busy raising money.

The group have received valuable logistical help from the Lions Club of Helston and District.

 
View from camp

As well as providing basic dental care, they hope to be the first team ever to screen for early signs of oral cancer in the area using "state of the art" technology.

Steve Walkden of Opident is supplying the team with a VELscope oral mucosal screening light to take on the trip.

For more information about VELscope click here.



AGM 2007

The AGM took place at The Baba Indian Restaurant, Lemon Street, Truro, on Thursday 25th November.

A review of the past year took place and the programme for the next year was approved.

We will again be donating £2,000 to The Dentists' Health Support Trust and will also be supporting Dentaid.

Sean O'Conaill was elected to the IDP committee , and Hayley Marsh was appointed to the committee as a VT representative.



Dr Scott Perkins - The 15 Minute Crown Procedure


Scott Perkins

Scott Perkins

 

Scott Perkins, the world renowned expert on efficiency and ergonomics in the dental practice, lectured at St. Mellion on Friday 16th November 2007.

Scott has been practising dentistry in Houston, Texas, for eighteen years. Due to the nature of his patients, largely professional, he found that the time factor was extremely important.

He did not want to compromise his heartfelt belief in quality to accommodate the patient. He wanted to be able to deliver both quality and efficiency.

With this in mind, he decided to analyse dental procedures. The first - the crown procedure - was chosen because it is one of the procedures carried out most frequently in a dental practice. He divided the procedure into modules. He then analysed each section and looked at the inefficiencies, and started to streamline wherever possible. This was the beginning of “The 15 Minute Crown Procedure”.



Secretariat

Trish Hodgkinson has taken over the secretariat from Kate Smithson.

You can e-mail Trish by clicking here.



Dental Balls - 2008 and 2009

Casino Royale

  The 2008 Cornwall Dental Ball was held at Bedruthan Steps Hotel on Saturday 2nd February.

The event was fully subscribed and was so successful that we have booked the same venue for next year's Ball.

It will take place on Saturday 7th February 2009.



Ashley Latter - The Selling Coach

Cornwall IDP were fortunate to secure Ashley Latter for a full-day presentation at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth on Friday 1st June 2007.

Ashley comes from a background in sales. Having left school with very few qualifications and beginning as a market trader in Liverpool he rose to become a trainer with the internationally respected Dale Carnegie Institute.

Ashley Latter

 

Ashley turned his attentions to Dentistry in 1999 when he began his Ethical Sales and Communication Programme.

Dentists, hygienists, PCDs, receptionists and practice managers from all over the South West discovered some of the reasons for his success when they were treated to a dynamic and inter-active programme.

Ashley focussed on the skills which team members need to develop to establish trust and rapport with patients.

Delegates undertook a number of exercises which were coached by Ashley with energy and enthusiasm and completed the day feeling very confident about putting their new skills into operation in the week ahead.



Martin Wills at BDA Conference

BDA Conference

Cornwall IDP's founder chairman, Martin Wills, gave a presentation at the BDA Conference in Harrogate on 26th May 2007, entitled Creating a Healing Environment for Successful Dental Care.

The presentation was an overview of some of the systems he uses at Waterside Dentalcare in terms of integrated modular design for enhancing cross infection control, more economical dental infrastructure, time management and stress control for the team.

He is also running a series of seminars at Waterside. So far, over 100 dentists have participated during the past 3-4 years. The next seminar is on on 8th June 2007.

Waterside Dentalcare recently won the award for Preventive Practice of the Year, organised by the publishers of Private Dentistry magazine.

 
Seminar Flyer


Bleaching Symposium with Dr Martin Kelleher -

a special day for Cornwall IDP members

Martin Kelleher

Martin Kelleher

 

Martin Kelleher, who has a private practice in Bromley, Kent, and is Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at Guys, Kings and St. Thomas Dental Institute, presented an excellent symposium on 'The Art and Science of Tooth Whitening' at the Tresanton Hotel, St. Mawes, on Saturday 19th May 2007.

The day consisted of an overview of all aspects of internal and external tooth whitening, delivered at a fast pace, with contrasting humorous and forceful presentation. Chairside and home tray systems were compared and evaluated, with numerous references to recent research.

The controversy surrounding the legal issues associated with bleaching was explained with much clarity.

An enthusiastic, full house audience gave Martin an excellent welcome to Cornwall, and numerous questions were asked throughout the day. The venue was first-class, with an alfresco lunch taken overlooking Falmouth Bay.

We are grateful to 3M Espe for their generous sponsorship of the day.



Cornwall IDP Member is "leading female entrpreneur"

 

In recent years the membership of Cornwall IDP has expanded into neighbouring counties. We have several members in Devon and Somerset, and one member in Dorset - Wendy Sandeman.

Wendy has recently won the Everywoman Hera Award for outstanding entrepreneurial success. Everywoman is a leading organisation for women in business and the awards are sponsored by NatWest bank.

She was presented with her prize by BBC newsreader, Fiona Bruce, at a ceremony in London, which was followed by a reception at the House of Commons.


In April 2006 Wendy won the 'Best Practice Environment' award at the Probe Dental Awards.

You can check out Wendy's practice by clicking here.



Bridging the Gap - Nutritional Support for Optimum Health

Dr. Mark Draper and Dr. Alan Holland

Mark Draper

Mark Draper

 

This well-attended meeting, for the whole dental team, was presented by Cornwall IDP in association with Waterside Dentalcare.

It took place at the excellent venue at St. Michael's Hotel, Falmouth, on Friday 9th February 2007.

In the morning session Mark Draper, a specialist in nutritional medicine, explained the reasons that surveys show that the vast majority of people are deficient in many micronutrients. This is because of depletion of minerals in the soil, due to intensive farming methods, and further delpetion in the factory processing of food.

This means that, even people on healthy balanced diets, need to be taking supplemental micronutrients.

Alan Holland

Alan Holland

 

In the afternoon, well-known Bristol endodontist, Alan Holland, talked about the integration of nutritional therapy into his practice.

When dealing with patients who have longstanding areas of chronic infection, he has greatly reduced his prescription of antbiotics by addressing patients' nutritional deficiencies. The rationale for this is the recognition that, if nutrition is improved, the body is better able to fight infection.

The meeting was sponsored by Cytoplan who are marketing a new range of supplements for use by dentists, under the name Dentavital.

 



Queen Square have moved

Oasis Dental Care Ltd. have opened a new NHS practice in Penzance. They have fitted out a large building at Penwith House, High Street, Penzance, where the NHS practice will be on the ground floor.

However, the first floor is dedicated to private dentistry and houses Queen Square Dental Practice. Cornwall IDP members, Perran Ziar, Steve Hamilton and Sean O'Conaill, have moved to the new premises, together with their staff and hygienists.

Penzance Map

Oasis have extensively re-equipped with respect to major equipment. Perran therefore has a good deal of high quality second hand equipment to sell. Adec chairs, lights and units, various x-ray machines, including an OPG machine, compressor, central suction, intra-oral cameras and ultrasonics will be available. Anyone thinking of equipping a spare surgery might want to take a look. You can e-mail Perran by clicking here.



IDP Annual Dinner 2007

 

Following the successes of our two previous dinners at The Royal Duchy Hotel, Peter Hodgkinson arranged the 2007 event.

It took place on for Friday 19th January 2007, and comedian Stan Boardman provided the cabaret.

Another very enjoyable night.

 



Dr Nasser Barghi visits Cornwall IDP

Professor Nasser Barghi, who is Head of the Division of Esthetic Dentistry at the University of Texas made a special trans-atlantic trip from San Antonio to Cornwall for an exclusive two day meeting of the Cornwall IDP at the Headland Hotel, Newquay on Friday and Saturday, 24th and 25th November 2006.

The first day consisted of a presentation on Adhesive Porcelain Restorations with the emphasis on moving from good to excellent and within the parameters of evidence-based treatment. Delegates were treated to an insight into the techniques involved in achieving results of the very highest standard.

On day two the format changed with Prof. Barghi giving a hands-on demonstration of his skills which dentists were then able to copy and practise for themselves. On both days the ambience was purposeful but relaxed with plenty of questioning and interchange.

Nasser Barghi turned out not only to be justly deserving of his world-wide reputation as a clinician and teacher but also as a man of great warmth and charm. The Cornwall IDP is indebted to him for providing an outstanding couple of days.

 

Nasser Barghi

Dr Nasser Barghi



Current Concepts in Cariology

A clinical day with Professor Edward Lynch was held on Friday 5th May 2006 at The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth.

The Chairman reports -

Ed was very impressed with the beauty of Cornwall - it was his first visit - and likened it to Kinsale in Ireland where he has a holiday home.

This was the first time we had used The National Maritime Museum as a venue and delegates were impressed with the sleek cutting edge lecture theatre and conference facilites.

The day opened with 'Ed's disco' - he had a dedicated soundtrack for each aspect of his lecture.This theme followed throughout the day. The morning was spent discussing top products (Ed is a Reality advisor) and his interactive style ("Do you use this?" "What do you think?" "Would you buy it again?") had delegates literally on the edge of their seats frantically scribbling notes. Everything, from impression materials, through burs, to bleaching, was discussed.

Lunch was buffet-style in the cafe, with a superb view of the Cornish coastline. The well-supported, high quality, tradeshow had to compete with the exhibits in the maritime museum for the delegates' attention.

The afternoon was a discussion of more recommended products, and techniques to use, in the minimally invasive treatment of dental caries. It included an in depth look at ozone therapy, a subject in which Ed is a world authority.

The day was a resounding success and many delegates did not want to leave. Needless to say, feedback was excellent and we hope to have a repeat visit in the future.


Conscious Sedation Available by Referral

Cornwall IDP member, David Burgess, who is principal of Carbis Bay Dental Practice, near St. Ives, has recently obtained the Diploma in Conscious Sedation from Newcastle University. He is now able to offer a useful service to colleagues.

Interviewed for the IDP website, David said:

"To the best of my knowledge I am the only dentist in Cornwall (and possibly this side of Bristol, but I can't be sure of that), with the Diploma in Conscious Sedation. I spent 15 months toing and froing to Newcastle, Sunderland and Darlington for a total of 10 study days, 7 clinical days, and 2 days of exams at the end. There were requirements along the way to pass 3 intermediate exams, complete an immediate life support course, present a 20-minute lecture to staff and colleagues on the course, and produce a 10,000 word dissertation based on a piece of "original" research. (Mine was An Investigation into the use of Self-Medication to Reduce Dental Anxiety - and was actually really interesting!). Final exams included a one and a half hour written paper, and 3 half-hour vivas over 2 days.

"I am happy to accept referrals on a private basis for any patient, adult or child, who practitioners feel would benefit from anxiety management, with IV sedation, RA sedation, oral sedation and hypnosis. I will be sending details to all local dentists in the not too distant future, with referral forms etc."




IDP Annual Dinner 2006

Friday 20th January was the date of the IDP annual dinner. Following the success of last year's event we again chose The Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth as our venue.

After an excellent meal we were entertained by ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley and his friends, with some of our members making notable guest appearances.

After an extremely enjoyable evening, well organised as usual by Peter Hodgkinson, a large number of members and their partners stayed at the hotel overnight. Breakfast was fairly quiet!

 
jimmy Tamley

During the evening a presentation was made to the retiring chairman, Martin Wills, as a gesture of thanks for all the work he has put in during the eleven years since the formation of the IDP. He was one of the inspirations behind the inception of the group and had been the chairman since the beginning. He is now the owner of a smart new pen.


Update in endodontics

Robert McAndrew and Jeremy Hayes from Cardiff led a hands-on course at Carlyon Bay Hotel on Friday 9th December. It was sponsored by Coltene-Whaledent.


Professor Richard Ibbetson at St. Mellion in the Snow

Richard Ibbetson 

Friday 25th November 2005 was the date of Richard Ibbetson's first presentation to Cornwall IDP. He gave a series of lectures, entitled 'Predictability in the Restoration of Extensively Damaged Teeth'.

The day will be remembered for both the excellence of his presentation and the heavy snowfall during the day, which made the journey home that evening very difficult for some, and impossible for others.


Richard started by pointing out the obvious - that crown and bridge work is elective, and not a matter of life or death. Therefore it should only be carried out if it can be done to a high standard and the results are predictable.

In the morning he discussed the assessment of periodontal condition, radiographs, and mounted casts. These were followed by diagnostic wax-ups and the construction of accurate temporary crowns, to be used for a while until both patient and clinician are satisfied. Only then is permanent work begun.

 Snow at St. Mellion

St. Mellion Hotel 

During the afternoon he used case studies to illustrate the importance of a thorough assessment of the occlusion before planning treatment for patients. Routinely mouting casts on fully adjustable articulators even for seemingly simple cases showed how resin retained bridges can often be used for long spans. This may involve no tooth preparation and is infinitely more conservative than the old-fashioned multiple full veneer bonded porcelain bridge abutments.

Richard's presentation gave the audience many examples showing how relative axial tooth movements are maximised to achieve astonishing results in cases which might at first appear to require a radical increase in vertical dimension.


In essence he extolled the virtues of meticulous planning resulting in remarkably simple restorative procedures.

The audience loved it and we hope to hear more from him in the future as one of our most gifted speakers.

By the end of the day St. Mellion was well snowed up. Some people battled their way home. They group shown here enjoyed dinner, stayed overnight, and drove home next day - far more sensible.

 The Overnighters


Adhesive Restorations - Concepts and Techniques

A group of ten IDP members met at Carlyon Bay Hotel on Saturday, 5th November for a hands-on course entitled 'Adhesives and Composites' with Brian Millar and Nic Hodson of Guys, Kings and St Thomas's.

All aspects of enamel and dentine bonding were discussed, and all the members had the opportunity to build up fractured incisors using the layering technique.

The event was sponsored by Coltene-Whaledent who provided all of the materials.



'Hands on' Periodontal Course with Peter Galgut

A successful hands on course took place at Tresanton Hotel on 16th September 2005. Peter Galgut gave a well presented and informative update in current concepts in periodontology.

Nutrition was discussed during the morning session as well as several complementary therapies, including homeopathy and ayuverdic. The easy to digest information was supported by references derived from well respected journals.

Delegates enjoyed an alfresco lunch on the terrace, making the most of the sunny weather.

The afternoon hands on session explored alternative methods of root surface debridement for deep pockets. The meeting received excellent feedback from all who attended.

 

Peter Galgut at Tresanton




2005 AGM

7 pm on Friday 23rd September

Alverton Manor, Truro

The Cornwall IDP AGM was held at Alverton Manor, Truro, on 23rd September. As usual, it was an informal social occasion for members to meet together, enjoy an excellent free buffet with wine, and exchange ideas.

The business part of the meeting was completed in about 30 minutes. Martin Wills announced that he will be standing down as Chairman. He has held this position since the formation of the group, and members expressed their thanks for all the work he has done and the leadership he has provided. He will be staying on the committee, with his place as Chairman taken by Jason Smithson. The Treasurer, Craig Jeffrey, reported that the group's finances are still sound.

Members then enjoyed a talk by well-known and nationally important dental speaker, Dr Amarjit Gill. As well as being a freelance journalist, he was the last Chairman of the BDA's General Practice Committee and is currently a BDA Executive Board Director, where he has served for the last 5 years. His talk, entitled 'The Funding Futures', reflected the insights he has picked up from that time.

He reviewed current trends in dentistry, and then considered scenarios for the future.




The Return of the Sipkos

10th June 2005 saw the return of Bud and Karin Sipko to lecture to Cornwall IDP.

They gave a fascinating insight into their unique dental practice, where they spend two hours on each new patient, outlining their treatment planning criteria for most of their oral rehabilitations. Occlusion formed the baseline and all posterior restorations were gold if aesthetics permitted. Study models mounted on fully adjustable articulators were used routinely for every case.

It was an excellent day with much to offer the young private practitioner and the more experienced alike.




Members' Dinner

David Copperfield

David Copperfield

 

Following the success of our members' and partners' dinner at which Chris Barrow spoke in January 2004 (see below), we enjoyed another bigger and better event on 21st January 2005.

We decided to have a change from dental speakers, so an excellent dinner was followed by a hilarious cabaret performance by comedian David Copperfield.

We are grateful to Peter Hodgkinson for arranging the evening. Also to the Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth who looked after us very well.

A number of members and their partners stayed the night at the hotel and met again for breakfast.




Dr. Peter Galgut lectures in Falmouth

Peter Galgut

Dr. Peter Galgut
 

As we had not devoted a day to periodontology since Richard Palmer and Peter Floyd lectured to us in November 1996, it was time for an update. We were very pleased to be able to welcome the eminent periodontologist, Peter Galgut, to lecture to us for the first time, on Friday 19th November 2004.

It was an excellent day - and was the first IDP meeting which completely sold out.

Peter gave a well-rounded overview of current concepts in periodontal research and ongoing problems, and how this current knowledge has altered our approach to practical periodontal therapy in general practice.


He dealt particularly with the problems of host resistance and identified many areas of which we still have little understanding.

Why is it that some of our patients have severe perio problems despite having very little plaque present?

Certain chemotheraputic adjuncts to treatment can alter the host response and he alluded to these.

He offered us many examples of case studies, both successes and failures which all the delegates could identify with.


 
The audience

The appreciative audience

Trade Show

The trade show

 

The meeting took place at St. Michael's Hotel, Falmouth, a venue we were using for the first time.

Associated with the clinical meeting was a large trade show, and, as usual we are grateful to the members of the dental trade who sponsor and support our meetings.



Dr. Marvin Berman at St. Mellion Golf Club

Friday 18th June 2004 was the date of another highly successful study day, when we presented Dr. Marvin Berman from Chicago, lecturing on the subject, 'Dentists, Children, Parents.....It's a Brave New World - providing quality care for our young patients'.

With the impending changes to the National Health Service system of delivering dentistry this was a highly topical subject.

Marvin illustrated his presentation with video footage taken in his practice, showing his handling of a succession of extremely difficult children, some of which he said suffered from "Obedience Deficit Disorder". He explained that he has no time for restraints or sedative medications. Instead he relies on the old-fashioned skills of mixing discipline with kindness and affection, and maintaining a very high standard of clinical care. It was transparently obvious that he thoroughly enjoys what he does.

 

Marvin Berman

Dr. Marvin Berman


Marvin at the piano

 

He explained how he meets and greets a child and its parent in his reception area but only the child enters the treatment room.

His demonstrations of the art of administering a local anaesthetic injection will have made every practitioner present reconsider his/her technique.

Marvin is also an accomplished pianist and relaxed before the presentation and during the breaks by playing to us.


We were delighted to be able to entertain Marvin and his wife, Joyce, for the weekend, and to show them a little of Cornwall.

Here they are seen by the harbour at Mousehole.

 
Marvin and Joyce



Annual General Meeting, 2004

The Annual General Meeting took place at Alverton Manor Hotel on Tuesday, 27th April 2004.

We met at 7pm. for a buffet supper which was followed by a short business meeting at which we received reports on the past year.

The chairman reported three successful events - two full-day clinical meetings and an evening dinner meeting. He also thanked Phil Budden for carrying out the office of treasurer since the group was formed. Phil has now retired from dental practice, and has been made an honorary member of the IDP. Craig Jeffrey will be taking over as treasurer.

In his last report as treasurer, Phil Budden described another year in which our income slightly exceeded our expenditure. He proposed that we keep our subscription at £10 per member per month, and that our donation to The Dentists' Health Support Trust for 2004 be raised to £2,000. He also congratulated our sponsorship secretary, Chris Ettling, for raising over £33,000 in sponsorship during his period as treasurer.

Following the business meeting, Andrew Warren, a director of DPAS, talked to us about monthly payment plans for children. With far-reaching decisions to be made during the next year, this was a singularly appropriate topic. He spoke for about 15 minutes and then answered questions. A discussion followed on the future options for the provision of children's dentistry.




An Evening with Chris Barrow

Chris Barrow

Chris Barrow

 

After the highly successful postgraduate meeting with Chris Barrow in October 2002 we had many requests to try to entice him back to Cornwall.

This time the setting was more informal and we combined his visit to the Penventon Hotel, Redruth, on Friday 23rd January 2004, with a sumptuous dinner.

Chris did not give a formal presentation this time, but, instead, spoke 'inter-course' and answered questions.

 




IDP supports Leukaemia Research

Cornwall IDP has given a donation of £250 to the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Optident representative, Steve Walkden, has been growing a moustache in order to raise money for the fund, and has earned a total of £1,700.

His growth was ceremonially shaved off at the Optident Christmas party.

Steve Walkden

Steve, who is in the centre of this picture, has now given up smoking after seeing how yellow his new moustache became after just a few days.

He is probably finding it much harder than growing facial hair, but has not asked for sponsorship so far!



Cathy Jameson plays St. Mellion

Cathy Jameson 

St. Mellion played host to Dr. Cathy Jameson on Friday, 31st October 2003. Most of us were familiar with her through her regular articles in the dental press, and we were greatly looking forward to meeting her in person.

The lack of dental education amongst the general public leads to a lack of perception of the need for help, and is the principal reason that people fail to seek dental care.

The ability of dental professionals to communicate well is therefore vital, and Cathy discussed how to do it, who should do it, and where to do it.


Cathy particularly stressed that clinical recommendations should be separated from financial considerations. The correct treatment should be planned, and the financial arrangements put into place subsequently.

In an interactive day, Cathy frequently spoke whilst strolling among the audience. And, unusually at a dental meeting, interesting contributions by course participants were rewarded with chocolate!

 
Cathy offers candy

Cathy opened the afternoon session with a song, a reminder of her previous life as a country and western singer. This was a day to remember.



Dr. Ron Jackson at St. Mellion Golf Club

On Friday, 20th June 2003, we welcomed Ron Jackson, from Middleburg, Virginia, USA, to St. Mellion, where a large audience heard his presentation entitled Mastering Direct Resin: Anterior and Posterior.

As well as regularly lecturing in America, Ron is a confirmed Anglophile, appreciating the finer things in life, like British beer.

Our committee member, Perran Ziar, had heard him lecture previously and recommended him to us. Perran also made the arrangements with Ron in order to bring him to Cornwall.


Ron Jackson

Dr. Ron Jackson

In the morning session Ron discussed the use of composite resins in posterior teeth. He showed a simplified, predictable placement technique for the Class II direct resin restoration.

He discussed the 5th generation adhesives, advanced resins specifically developed for posterior use, and newly designed instrumentation, along with a standardised system of resin placement. These combine to reduce the time and effort for the dentist and increase the aesthetic satisfaction of the patient.

Ron Jackson and Perran Ziar

Ron Jackson and Perran Ziar

After lunch he presented a session entitled 'Giving Your Patients Something to Smile About: The Art of Direct Resin'.

Using modern advanced resin systems he demonstrated a huge range of uses, from simple diastema closure to full veneers.

The consistent emphasis was on high quality restorations, indistinguishable from the original teeth - the sort or restorations that only the dentist and the patient would know were there.

Among the appreciative audience were several who had travelled long distances to be present.

We were also pleased to welcome the Vocational Practitioners currently working in Cornwall, together with their tutor, Ian Holloway, who is one of our members.

We make the Vocational Practitioners honorary members of Cornwall IDP for the duration of their year, and are pleased to introduce them to the sort of high quality dentistry that can be performed in our practices.

Ron's presentation was a perfect example of the very best of dentistry.


Annual General Meeting, 2003

The 2003 AGM took place at Alverton Manor Hotel, Truro, on Tuesday 6th May.

It was well attended by members and, following the usual reports, an interesting general discussion took place.

This was followed by a talk from Peter Hodgkinson, our elected representative on the General Dental Practice Committee of the BDA.

He discussed the proposals in the recent government paper, 'Options for Change'.

As each of us will have to decide whether or not our practice negotiates a contract with the local Primary Care Trust, this is an important subject.

His talk was followed by a lively discussion on these changes.

 

Peter Hodgkinson

Peter Hodgkinson


Dinner and Presentation by George Manolescue

On Thursday 30th January 2003 we held a dinner meeting at Alverton Manor Hotel, Truro. It was well attended by members and their partners.

The meeting centred around a presentation by George Manolescue of Dental Business Solutions. This was George's second address to Cornwall IDP. He previously lectured to us in June 1996, in tandem with Jenny de St. Georges.


George Manolescue

George qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1976, and specialises in working with the dental profession. His extensive expertise has, over the years, helped clients to find solutions to the challenges of their practices and develop extraordinary businesses for themselves.

His enthusiasm is as great as ever and he is very optimistic about the future of private dentistry.

His magnificent new beard has rendered this photograph obsolete.



Marketing and Risk Management for the Private Dental Practitioner

Chris and Kevin

Chris Barrow and Kevin Lewis
 

Kevin Lewis and Chris Barrow presented an all-day seminar at Headland Hotel, Newquay, on Friday, 11th October 2002.

They gave a packed house a stimulating and highly amusing day.

Kevin's contribution's centered on practising ethical dentistry and risk management.

Chris's emphasis on team building and marketing showed that the two go together in the building of successful practices.

 


The meeting was organised by Peter Hodgkinson, who put in a great deal of work to produce such a memorable day.

The feedback afterwards was excellent. Several people wrote that it was the best course they had ever been on.

It was Cornwall IDP's idea to invite Chris and Kevin to perform in tandem for the first time.

The duo are probably now going to appear again in the future.

 
Chris and Peter

Chris relaxes with Peter Hodgkinson


Cornwall IDP Dental Hygienist Bursary

During a break in the meeting on 11th October the Chairman of Cornwall IDP, Martin Wills, presented the first Cornwall IDP Dental Hygienist Bursary.

The IDP is keen to encourage dental hygienists to move to Cornwall, and has set up the Bursary to help them with removal expenses.

The first recipient was Tracy Davies, who has moved from London to take up a position at Hayle Dental Practice.

 
Martin and Tracy

Tracy and Martin


Workshop on Dental Fibre-Reinforced Composites

Roosa Prinssi 

A hands-on training afternoon was provided for members in the use of the latest fibre-reinforced composite technology.

Dr. Roosa Prinssi, from Helsinki, demonstrated the clinical uses of the range of StickTech products.

This began with the splinting of teeth loosened by periodontal disease, splinting of teeth after trauma, and retention following orthodontic treatment.

Roosa also demonstrated the use of the system for the direct construction of reinforced composite bridgework, a technique especially useful as an emergency procedure.

Dr. Roosa Prinssi
  
   
Wayne John 

The dental laboratory procedures for the indirect construction of fibre-reinforced crown and bridge work were presented by Wayne John.

He has considerable experience in the development of these technologies at the University of Birmingham.

Wayne John
  

Our members worked hard with the materials during the afternoon.

These materials were new to the majority of us, so it was a valuable opportunity to try them in a non-clinical situation.

There was also considerable discussion about the uses of the materials. Probably the range of uses is only limited by the imagination of the operator!

Cornwall IDP is very grateful to StickTech for travelling so far to give this presentation, and to Peter Hodgkinson who organised the day.

 

 
Workshop

Members' Golfing Event

Ross Macrae

Following the success of last year's golfing event (see below), several members played another round on the Carlyon Bay course.

This took place in the morning, prior to the hands-on workshop, making a day that was a good combination of business with pleasure.

We were extremely lucky with the weather. Although it was overcast, we escaped the rain that was soaking the rest of Cornwall.

Roger Thomas
Ross MacRae prepares for his first tee shot
Roger Thomas displaying his usual sartorial elegance


The Return of Dr. Harris Sidelsky


On Thursday 30th May 2002 Harris Sidelsky returned to Cornwall to present an all-day seminar at Greenlawns Hotel, Falmouth.

He addressed a memorable meeting at the same venue four years ago, and we had been trying to arrange a return visit for some time.

He was introduced to an enthusiastic audience by Cornwall IDP chairman, Martin Wills.

As usual he offered a great many ideas and suggestions for improving quality, with recommendations of products to use.

 
Sidelsky and Wills

Martin Wills and Harris Sidelsky


He began by discussing high quality crown and bridge work, particularly emphasising the need for well thought out and executed preparations, and excellent impressions.

His advice ranged from the correct use of retraction cord and electrosurgery, to relaxing by having a cup of coffee made to shade A3.5 !

He stressed the importance of good communications with our patients, tailoring treatment plans to individual needs and circumstances.

 
Trade Show

The Trade Show
Harris at the Trade Show

Harris checks out the Trade Show
 

In the afternoon he discussed the development of practice caries control programmes. Most progressive practices have periodontal programmes, but structured caries prevention programmes need to be promoted.

They take time, and cost money, but are the only way to prevent the disease process rather than to just repair the damage.

Another example of not only treating people but "providing the right conditions for patients to heal themselves", as expounded by Stuart Ferraris at our Complementary Medicine Symposium (see below).

We hope it will not be as long as four more years before we welcome Harris to Cornwall again.

The meeting was well supported by fourteen sponsoring companies who put on one of the best Trade Shows we have ever had.


Go Kart Grand Prix

The first Cornwall IDP Go Kart Grand Prix took place at the Tuckingmill circuit, near Camborne, on the evening of Thursday 9th May 2002.

Organised by Perran Ziar, it was an exciting event, with a mixture of experienced and novice drivers taking part.

After 5 heats, in which everyone took part, six drivers competed in the final.

The Pit Lane

In a highly competitive race, there was an early pile up, after which Graham Cockcroft was given the red card.

The Winner

Richard Hudson

 

 

The Podium

The Podium

The remaining five battled on to the finish, and the clear winner of the magnum of champagne was Richard Hudson.

Ian Holloway was second and Adam Randall third.

The fastest lap was recorded by Ian Holloway.


Complementary Medicine Symposium

On Friday, 22nd February, 2002, we held a symposium entitled 'Evidence-based Complementary Medicine, as it relates to Dentistry'.

Complementary medicine is a fascinating but bewildering subject for most orthodox practitioners, not least because it is backed up by very little statistically relevant data. Indeed, to use it in a dental treatment plan, based purely on anecdotal evidence, is medico-legally very risky.

Exeter University

The meeting was begun by Prof. Edzard Ernst from the University of Exeter.

He holds the only chair in Complementary Medicine at a British University, and tackled the difficult subjects of "What is Complementary Medicine?" and "Does it work?"

He stressed the importance of improving the evidence for the efficacy of the various therapies by carrying out randomised clinical trials.

Edzaed Ernst
Reg D'Souza

The next speaker was Reg D'Souza who practises in Truro as a physiotherapist and acupuncturist.

For us he talked on the subject of acupuncture, particularly discussing its relevance to dentistry, where it can be used for controlling pain and for reducing the gag reflex, as well as helping relieve temporomandibular joint dysfunction and atypical facial pain.

This was a contribution full of clinical experience, excellent patient care, and good humour.

He was followed by Dr. Peter Darby who is a dentist, practising in Wolverhampton, who is also Dean of Dental Homeopathy at the Faculty of Homeopathy in London.

He explained the principles of homeopathy and how the remedies are produced.

He went on to explain how he uses homeopathic remedies for periodontal disease, pericoronitis and infected sockets.

This enables him to greatly reduce his prescribing of antibiotics.

Peter Darby
Stuart Ferraris

After lunch we heard from Dr. Stuart Ferraris who practises as a holistic dentist in North Wales, in a building shared by complementary therapists.

Discussing how conditions of the mouth and jaws may be related to problems in other parts of the body, he stressed the need for medical and dental practitioners to work together to "provide the right conditions for patients to heal themselves".

The Ferraris Car

The meeting concluded with a panel discussion, and a 'question and answer' session, which explored further the possibilities of incorporating complementary therapies into dental practice.

After a most interesting day, and a most unusual one for Cornwall IDP, we left Tregenna Castle with a last look over the misty St. Ives harbour.

St. Ives

Trade Show 1

As usual we were well supported by our sponsors.

We are grateful to Dental Directory, Dental Practice Systems, Dexcel Dental, Optident, Menarini, and The Royal Bank of Scotland, for their support.

Trade Show 2


Dr. Bill Comcowich

Dr. Bill Comcowich

An excellent day of instruction entitled 'How to Make the Difficult Restorative Case Easier' was presented by Bill Comcowich at St. Mellion Golf Club on Friday 23rd November, 2001.

We had a record turnout of dentists and also welcomed some of our crown-and-bridge dental technicians.

Eleven Vocational Practitioners, who are honorary members of our group for their training year, attended for the first time.


Bill is a very skilled teacher, with a great gift for making the difficult subject of occlusion more easily understandable.

He is also an extremely generous man, inviting our members to ski with him at his hometown of Aspen, Colorado. He may well get more visitors than he expects!

An exceptionally comprehensive trade show was also held, and we are grateful to Caesey, Coltene-Whaledent, Dental Directory, Dental Payment Administration Services, Dental Practice Systems, Dexcel Dental, Keeler, Menarini, Optident, Phillips Oral Care, and Royal Bank of Scotland, for their support.

They are the reason we can put on such a high quality meeting at such a reasonable price.

The feedback from the meeting was very positive. We know of two problems - the lunch queue was too slow and it got too hot in the lecture room during the afternoon session.

If you were there and have any other comments, let us know by clicking here.


July 2001 meeting with Dr. Brock Rondeau

For our first ever meeting with an Orthodontic flavour we presented Dr. Brock Rondeau from Toronto, Canada, who addressed an enthusiastic audience at Carlyon Bay Hotel.

Roger Thomas & Brock Rondeau

Cornwall Orthodontic specialist, Roger Thomas (left) with Brock Rondeau


Brock is a very eloquent and persuasive advocate of early orthodontic treatment in the mixed dentition, mainly carried out by providing simple functional appliances.

This particularly involves expanding the dental arches to their full width in order to provide room for a full set of adult teeth, avoiding extractions where possible. Also giving consideration to breathing difficulties in small children, caused by underdeveloped arches and large tonsils and adenoids.

Brock provided much food for thought for the general practitioners, some of whom carry out a good deal of orthodontic treatment, and the majority who do not, and concluded with a short presentation of temporomandibular joint problems.

He intends to return to the southwest to instruct on two three-day courses in the near future.

Further information is available on the Rondeau Seminars website.

 


Members' Golfing Event

As the above meeting was being held at the Carlyon Bay Hotel which boasts an excellent golf course, it was decided to offer our members a morning of golf and to start the seminar at lunchtime.

So eighteen intrepid golfers arrived at the clubhouse just before 0800.

The full ability range was represented - from regular players to those who hardly play at all and had to be provided with clubs.

We played a 'Texas scramble' during which even the most irregular golfers managed the occasional good shot.

 

Golf group
The weather was generally kind, although there was a short period of heavy rain midmorning.

Out on the course

Some players displayed particular style and grace.......

......even using Grandmother's clubs!

Style

And even the most non-golfing player hit at least one good shot.

Yes, this is where the tee shot landed on the 18th green!

After that we philosophised about the human capacity to remember the good things in life, and forget the bad!

It's what keeps us sane.

One good shot


Perhaps we will do it again sometime?

Thanks are due to Peter Hodgkinson for arranging both the clinical meeting and the golf.


Meeting the Expectations of Your Prosthetic Patients

John Besford and Ruth Pessok

 

An extremely successful meeting was held on Friday, 23rd March 2001, at the Headland Hotel, Newquay, where the speakers were Dr. John Besford, and his dental nurse, Ruth Pessok.

John kept a packed house of dentists and prosthetic dental technicians entertained all day.

 

The dental nurses listened to John in the morning, and Ruth ran a separate session for them in the afternoon.

Practical Lesson
 
John Besford at work

Such is John's enthusiasm for his art that he worked overtime, presenting practical demonstrations during the lunchbreak.

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