It also reinforces the need to exercise common sense and care when purchasing dental equipment and to have adequate systems in place to ensure that equipment is genuine, compliant and safe to use.
Tony Reed, executive director at the BDIA, comments, “The recent GDC hearing is a stark reminder of the seriousness of using counterfeit dental devices. It may also sound alarm bells for any dentists who may have purchased from unreliable sources and emphasises the importance of purchasing from reputable suppliers.”
The BDIA’s award winning Counterfeit and Sub-standard Instruments and Devices Initiative (CSIDI) has worked hard over the last eighteen months to raise awareness of the dangers of counterfeit and non-compliant dental devices through its hard hitting press campaign. Acting hand in hand with the dental press, the association has repeatedly warned of the potential dangers to patients and to a professional’s registration that could result from the use of counterfeit and non-compliant dental devices.
The association continues to work closely with the profession and MHRA on its CSIDI activity. The overall message of the initiative is very simple - substandard and counterfeit instruments and devices are potentially dangerous to patients and users and the BDIA recommends that all purchases, however small, are made from a reputable supplier and that all suspect instruments and devices are reported to the appropriate authorities at the earliest opportunity. Reporting can be done via a simple, dedicated web page on the BDIA website at www.bdia.org.uk