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Neel Kothari explains why administrative burnout and a lack of clinical support, not funding, are the real reasons dentists are fleeing the NHS. Undoubtedly years of under inflationary pay rises have made NHS funding a problem. But what is often overlooked is how difficult the day-to-day experience of being an NHS dentist has become and…
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Neel Kothari draws on previous cases of dental professionals breaching NHS regulations to determine if associates are being fairly governed. Imagine being asked to abide by rules that no one can explain the meaning of or prove they even exist. Sounds unfair, right? Well, this is what I think is happening every time the General…
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Neel Kothari asks why the process for referral to secondary care services in dentistry has become so complex, and what this tells us about the state of the NHS. This may sound unbelievable, but it wasn’t that long ago when we could send a referral for NHS secondary services via a single-sided letter. Sending along…
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Neel Kothari considers whether the dental profession is immune to the increasing use of AI across all sectors – is there anything only humans can do? A friend recently showed me a short video clip of his children when they were younger. The video quality was excellent and his daughters were having a lovely interaction.…
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Neel Kothari considers whether NHS dentists in the UK are obliged, or even able, to step in when overseas ‘Turkey teeth’ procedures result in complications. Firstly, let me apologise to my Turkish colleagues for using the term ‘Turkey teeth’. It goes without saying that there is good and bad dentistry everywhere. When I use that…
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Neel Kothari asks if the proposed NHS tie-in for dentistry graduates is fair and if it will work in practice. Recently the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) set out its NHS 10-Year Health Plan, concluding that the NHS was in ‘critical condition’. Whilst the diagnosis is self-evident, its prescription for change regurgitates many…
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With the amount of debt that dental students accrue on the rise, Neel Kothari considers whether young people are being deterred from entering the dental profession by finance. As I return from my 20-year dental school reunion in the wonderful city of Bristol, it strikes me that much has changed over the past two decades…
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Neel Kothari considers whether the dental profession might be over-exaggerating the benefits of water fluoridation and downplaying its risks. There is no doubt that exposure to the fluoride ion has been a paradigm shift in reducing the impact of tooth decay across the world. Put simply, it reduces the critical pH of tooth structures and…
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Neel Kothari explores the problem of greed and corruption around retention fees, and why they may cause ‘significant animosity’ between principal and associate. For those unaware, a retention fee is a sum of money withheld by the practice owner from a departing associate, usually for a specified period to cover costs for treatments identified as…
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As financial pressures grow, Neel Kothari warns that neither NHS nor private dentistry is immune to rising costs and reduced patient spending. For as long as I can remember, the perception of dentistry has always been one of wealth and prosperity. For many years, we’ve been fortunate to see good demand for NHS and private…
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Neel Kothari explores the potential consequences of online posts and questions whether the GDC’s approach to social media regulation is fair and logical. Over the past few years, many of us will have come across cases of dental professionals who have got themselves into trouble for what they have said on social media. A recurrent…
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Neel Kothari questions the morality of mandatory vaccination, citing the government’s strategy to force COVID-19 vaccinations on NHS staff. It’s bizarre to think that the COVID-19 pandemic was only four years ago. It was a scary time for many filled, with uncertainty over what was happening across the world. There was also concern for our…
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Neel Kothari questions whether new graduates have the competency, training and confidence required for safe clinical practice. You may have heard of the 10,000-hour rule popularised by Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, where Gladwell asserts that the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is simply a matter of practising in the correct way, for…
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Neel Kothari shares why, in one particular area, more regulation is needed from the General Dental Council (GDC). I must admit that I never thought I would be writing an article calling for more regulation, especially from the GDC. But there is one area of our professional lives that I believe is so vague that…
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As the general election approaches and with NHS dentistry a hot topic, Neel Kothari shares his thoughts on the political promises we can expect to hear. For many years now the dental profession has become accustomed to NHS dentistry being used as a political football around election times. Many will recall Tony Blair telling the…
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Neel Kothari explains how reintroducing dental reference officers could help to stop mistakes in dental regulation from slipping through the cracks. In the year 2000, professor of psychology James Reason proposed his ‘Swiss Cheese’ model of accident causation. This is also known as the ‘cumulative act effect’ and has gained widespread acceptance. It purports that…
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The introduction of GDC registration for dental nurses was intended to acknowledge their value and increase their professional status – Neel Kothari asks if those aims have been achieved. Registration with a professional organisation goes far beyond imparting a sense of achievement for the individual. It provides a series of assurances for the public. They…
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Neel Kothari explores why the UK dental sector might not live up to expectations for overseas professionals. Imagine deciding to move to a different country, perhaps to better your life or go on an adventure (or a bit of both). You pick the UK as a seemingly safe bet and decide to work within the…
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This month, Neel Kothari discusses the ‘ridiculousness’ of daily audits and needless regulations, and why they do more harm than good. Recently one of my nurses went to A&E in severe pain, but despite waiting for most of the night she still wasn’t seen. Hers is not an isolated story, and extended wait times are…
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