Around 300 dental professionals gathered to hear topical lectures on body dysmorphia and patient expectations at this year's Premier Symposium, a risk management event created for all members of the team.
Organised by Dental Protection and Schülke, the event also featured the Premier Awards 2009. This annual risk management competition has a total prize fund of £6,000 and accepts entries from projects which recognise the importance of patient safety.
The undergraduate prize went to Richard Beckwith for his paper Difficulties in obtaining valid consent in clinical dentistry, with Rachel Ingle in second place for her study A comparison of HTM01-05 guidance with the sterilisation of reusable instruments in the Dental Practice Unit, University of Sheffield.
The Postgraduate prize went to Flt Lt James Roberts for his paper An audit to assess the cleanliness and storage of decontaminated dental instruments and second prize was received by Richard Holliday for Dental record keeping and the role of oral cancer screening in the dental access centre.
The DCP prize was awarded to Michelle Mitchell for Ethical considerations in 21st century dental hygiene while second place prize was awarded to Amy Wilkins for Extending the role of the dental nurse in the orthodontic practice: the patients' perspective.
Kevin Lewis, Dental Director of Dental Protection said, 'The awards focus on raising the awareness and management of risks within the practice, and we are delighted that so many of this year's entries were so relevant to many of the hot topics in UK dentistry.'
