MBR SEPTEMBER ALL LR

Malta Business Review
DENTAL HEALTHCARE
EU: ROAMING
Malta Business Review
Lack of faith
and overcoming your fears!
Cheaper
A Case Scenario
A young woman in her late 40’s, presents
with a poor-looking heavily treated dentition.
She is unhappy, disappointed and has almost
given up on finding a solution to her troubled
smile. She was given a few options, from jaw
repositioning to removable dentures, which
were too extreme for her. Her saving grace
was that she wasn’t expecting any miracles.
She was realistic in what she wished to
achieve and more than anything determined
to get it done. 3D radiography showed more
obstacles; the presence of a large cyst, lack of
bone quantity both in width and height, all
difficult factors to deal with. Her wish was not
to have a Hollywood smile (almost) but to be
able to smile again, with confidence!
The treatment consisted of 2stages.
Stage 1
Cosmetic crowning and veneering
of the lower dentition
Removal of remaining upper
teeth and cyst
Placement of 6 implants with
simultaneous bone grafting
Stage 2
Provisional fixed bridge to assess
new tooth angulations, colour
and contour.
Conversion of provisional fixedbridge
to a definitive porcelainbridge.
Extra-Oral before treatment
Lateral view before treatment
For some dentistry is a sore point and not a
topic of conversation. It could be a subject
that makes you churn and even sweat.
Why? A history of bad dentistry? Repeated
toothache? Is it true to say that not everyone
is blessed with good teeth? I believe it is
partly true. According to Darwin we are
both what our environment makes us to be
and what our parents made us to be. Fiftyfifty!
The environment includes sugary diets
and lack of hygiene while in some, genetics
may predispose them to weak teeth. Some
patients brush and brush religiously and yet
still develop cavities or have gum disease.
Others rarely or never brush and yet have
intact teeth with no gum disease.
Some patients say they have been let down
by their dentist. This could be due to poor
treatment, pain during treatment, lack of
communication and cosmetic end result.
They may have never been offered the
right treatment plan that suits them. These
scenarios are not necessary associated with
old age. Some patients have real dental
problems early on in their adult lifetime. Some
mothers say that their teeth degenerated
Extra-Oral after treatment
Lateral view after treatment
during pregnancy and early motherhood. An
old wife’s tale? Maybe, however there might
be some truth at least in timing as young
career mothers have less time for themselves
and their daily needs resulting in a possible
decrease in dental care amongst others.
It is never too late to fix your smile. All ages
matter! Previous failure in fixing your teeth is
nothing but the opportunity to start again!
Ask your dentist! MBR
DR JEAN PAUL DEMAJO
Dental and Implant Surgeon,
Trained in London working in
private practice in Malta
MEP Marlene Mizzi
Long-distance intra-EU calls should cost the
same as calling within the same country,
according to a draft law approved on Monday.
The Committee on Industry, Research and
Energy (ITRE) voted on Monday evening on an
update of EU rules on telecoms. The objective
is to improve access to networks across
the EU, including making 5G connections
available to all citizens. The bill, still to be
agreed with EU Ministers, also provides for
measures to protect consumers.
Cost of long-distance calls
EU communications companies should
justify when they charge additional fees to
users calling from mobiles or landlines to
another EU member state, committee MEPs
agreed. The Body of European Regulators for
Electronic Communications (BEREC) would
set out guidelines on how service providers
could recover the costs they incur in other
ways.
Reverse 112 to alert in the event of a
terrorist attack
A “reverse 112 system” was also introduced
by committee MEPs, enabling national
authorities to alert citizens in the event of
imminent major emergencies and disasters,
such as a terrorist attack or a natural
catastrophe, using geo-localisation tools.
This system aims to reduce casualties by
instructing people on what to do if they are
in danger.
Protection from hacking
MEPs also want the use of end-to-end
encryption to be mandatory to protect the
confidentiality of communications. Users
should be informed of risks resulting from
a security incident and possible protective
measures or solutions that they can take.
New rules for businesses
The reform of EU telecoms markets aims to:
• stimulate competition and reduce
differences in practices among national
antitrust bodies
• encourage bigger and longer-term
investments in network infrastructures
• provide consumers with faster
connections, including 5G
In addition, MEPs want licences for the radio
spectrum for telecoms companies to last 25
years to incentivise investments. They should
be subject to a review after at least 10 years,
to ensure they are being used efficiently.
MEPs also want reserve prices (i.e. price set
for a bid) and licensing fees to reflect real
market conditions.
Finally, companies providing electronic
communications services in more than one
member state will benefit from a home
market regime, i.e. the same conditions as
local companies.
Setting up of BEREC
The committee finally voted on a separate
draft legislation, still part of the same package
of proposals, for the establishment of the
Body of European Regulators for Electronic
Communications (BEREC), with the objective
of implementing electronic communications
legislation consistently across the Union.
phone
calls to
other EU
countries
MEPs
MEP Marlene Mizzi, S&D negotiator on
this file in the Internal Market Consumer
Protection Committee (IMCO) said:
"Roaming was a great political victory, but
now it is time for the next big step towards
creating a single telecoms market for
European consumers. Now, it is time to lower
international call charges and to ensure that
having access to basic and affordable internet
is an universal right to all EU citizens.
Today, with one vote we have won many
battles. We not only lowered the price gap
between national and international calls,
but we improved enormously consumer’s
rights and rights for people with disabilities
in the telecom sector. This proposal will bring
many tangible benefits to European citizens
and might even save their lives with the new
provisions on the emergency numbers 112
and 116 on missing children and with the
adoption of a special public warning system
that will inform people who find themselves
in danger zones, such as terrorist attacks or
natural catastrophes."
Next steps
Informal negotiations with EU Ministers are
expected to start promptly, once plenary has
approved the draft negotiating mandate. MBR
Creditline: Directorate-General for Communication,
Directorate for Information Offices, European
Parliament Information Office in Malta
44 45
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