Page 70 - Dental Practice August 2022

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100 years of IDs: Large nUmber of

confIrmatIons for the event Dental X-rays likely to be used to assess
age of asylum seekers in UK
The entire global dental market will meet up in
Cologne for the International Dental Show 2023 Four supposedly scientific methods, including dental
from 14 to 18 March 2023, which is at the same time X-rays, will be proposed as a way to help estimate the
also celebrating its 100th birthday next year. Over ages of asylum seekers in the United Kingdom, accord-
850 companies from 50 countries have already con- ing to a report in New Scientist. This despite concerns
firmed their participation, including many interna- from researchers and health bodies that there is no
tional market leaders. And new applications are accurate way to determine someone’s age.
coming in daily. Germany, Italy, the Republic of The Age Estimation Science Advisory Committee
Korea, France, Switzerland and the USA currently represent the strongest has spent the past few months examining several meth-
international exhibitor participation. Numerous foreign group participations ods that could help officials better assess the ages of
have already confirmed their participation, for example from Argentina, asylum seekers. The issue has gained more traction in
Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and the recent months due to the UK government’s attempts
USA. IDS 2023 will be staged in the Halls 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11 of the Cologne to deport asylum seekers back to their countries.
fair grounds on exhibition space spanning around 180,000 square metres. A controversial method, the use of dental X-rays
works on the assumption that teeth mature at a con-
stant rate, and The British Dental Association (BDA)
Actor Swathi Satish accuses dentist of has previously called the technique inaccurate.

botched up RCT; Dentist refutes accusation

Kannada actor and TV anchor correctly and a local anaesthetic
Swathi Satish was recently left with was used before the sodium
a swollen face post root canal treat- hypochlorite. However, it may have
ment and has accused the clinic in been possible that at the time of
Bengaluru of a botched up proce- injecting the sodium hypochlorite,
dure. some may have spilled out onto the
“Even though I am recovering, I nearby soft tissues which resulted
didn’t get my proper lips shape in the inflammation. Now, this
back. I can’t smile perfectly and it’s kind of an occurrence is quite com-
been 23 days that I don’t have any mon. Our job is to know how to
sense in my lips. According to my deal with it, and the right way to do
current doctors, it may take anoth- so is to make sure to take the right
er two weeks or a month to get medications and antibiotics, which
back in shape,” Swathi says. “My REFUGEES’ CONSIDER RETURNING
root canal treatment isn’t even
completed because of the swelling TO UKRAINE' DUE TO DENTIST
currently,” she adds.
Talking about what went wrong WAITING LIST IN UK
during the treatment, she alleges
that the doctor, who treated the
actor made a mistake during the Some Ukrainian refugees who fled to UK following the war
procedure. “The dentist first inject- with Russia are now “seriously considering returning
ed me with sodium hypochlorite at home” to get the dental treatment they require, because no
which point I screamed and started NHS dentist is willing to take on new patients.
crying because it was extremely we were providing to the patient. A BBC investigation published earlier found that no
painful. Later, she injected anaes- We could not help her because she dental practices in Leeds in the UK are accepting new
thesia. According to other doctors I wasn’t ready to accept our help.” patients. Economic conditions, a shortage of dentists and a
consulted later, it should’ve been According to the dentist, the backlog of treatment exacerbated by the pandemic have all
done the other way around. The actor came back to the clinic after a been cited as factors behind the problem, which is affecting
anaesthesia goes first and then the few days to ask for compensation. much of the UK.
sodium hypochlorite,” she says. When we denied her the compen- A Local Liberal Democrat councilor was quoted as say-
To this, the dentist said, “We sation, she decided to go public ing “I felt embarrassed that a significantly wealthier coun-
have videographic proof to show with this incident 23 days after it try such as ours has a worse functioning dental service than
that the procedure was followed had occurred. an ex-Communist state.”

70 Dental Practice // July-August 2022 // Vol 18 No 4