Welcome to the members section of the NZDA website. This is where you will find all our member resources and information. While some information is public, most pages will require you to log in. If you are having difficulty logging in, please contact Kirsty Dale on (09) 579 8001, or email Kirsty

NZDA Conference 2013

The 2013 NZDA conference will be held in Rotorua from 14-17 August 2013.

Registration for the conference is NOW OPEN.  Click here for further information and to register.

The Dental Trauma Guide – www.dentaltraumaguide.org – March 2013

This online resource replaces the 'Dento-Alveolar Trauma: A Desktop Guide' and is a is a non-profit website dedicated to optimising worldwide treatment of dental trauma.

The site covers treatment guidelines for primary and permanent teeth. The website is developed in cooperation between the Copenhagen University Hospital and the International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT).

NZDA encourages all dentists to refer to this online resource – it is kept up-to-date by world experts and is designed for dentists in the 'moment' of dealing with dental trauma. This website assists with the diagnosis of the injury with animations which are helpful for patient education. It is constantly updated and contains up-todate evidence-based treatment information.

Members can still download the desktop guide. Please log in to view.

Intergovernmental Treatment on Mercury (and Dental Amalgam) - March 2013

In early 2009 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed on the need to develop a global legally binding treaty on mercury. Governments were tasked with negotiating a treaty through a series of five conferences called Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings. Beginning in 2010 they were concluded in January 2013. The last of the meetings, which brought together over 140 countries, resulted in a global legally binding treaty on mercury. This wide ranging agreement aims to reduce mercury emissions and releases to the air, water and land.

The UNEP treaty on mercury is highly relevant to oral health, as it will include provisions for dental restorative materials, specifically dental amalgam.

The treaty, just announced, is known as the Minamata Convention and will be signed in Minamata (Japan) later this year. It will enter into force once it has been ratified by 50 countries. This will regulate a range of areas, including the use of mercury in products and industrial processes. The treaty requires countries with coal fired power plants to install filters and scrubbers on all new plants and to commit to reducing emissions from existing operations to prevent mercury from coal reaching the atmosphere. The treaty requires governments to draw up national rules to comply and could take between three and five years to take effect.

For more information please refer to the following documents Global Mercury Assessment and Mercury - Time To Act.

Changes to the Medicines Regulations - 2 November 2011

There have recently been changes to Medicines Regulations which affect dentists.  Whilst not substantive for most prescribing dentists they are important. The amendments include, amongst other things:

Changes to the rules relating to prescribing and dispensing medicines, including alignment of prescribing provisions for different prescriber groups, provision for generic substitution by pharmacists, and updates to the requirements for prescriptions.

Exclusion of certain products (e.g. some fluoride toothpastes,) from regulation under the Medicines Act 1981

Please read the following document for more details here.

ERMA Environmental Risk Management Authority Decision - 4 August 2011

Amendments are made to the Dental Products (Oxidising, [5.1.1]) Group Standard 2006 and the Dental Products (Subsidiary Hazard) Group Standard 2006 (the specified Dental Products Group Standards) in accordance with section 96B of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (the Act).

The Committee's decisions with regard to dental products containing or releasing hydrogen peroxide can be read here.

Global agreement on mercury - 8 November 2010

New Zealand's Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) has been asked to contribute to a process that aims to develop a multilateral international agreement on mercury. This proposed global agreement is being facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). ERMA participated in a meeting that was held in Stockholm in June 2010 and will again participate in a UNEP meeting in Japan in January 2011.

By definition, an amalgam is an alloy of any metal with mercury. The NZDA has been asked to provide comment on specific questions that relate to the use of mercury in dentistry. These comments have been approved by the Executive of the NZDA and have been submitted on behalf of the Association to ERMA. Submissions were due on the 29th October 2010. Click here to view the NZDA submission.

Therapeutic Guidelines CD giveaway

NZDA has 150 copies of the Therapeutic Guidelines Oral and Dental CD, in partnership with the Australian Dental Association, to give away.You will need to log in for more details.