Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

A project to build a com- prehensive living his- tory of dentistry, the John McLean Archive, is seek- ing participants from across the UK to help make dental history. Participants are required to participate in the project’s next witness seminar in Oc- tober; and to take part in an ongoing series of oral his- tory interviews across the UK. The second witness semi- nar for the project, which will take place at the British Dental Association’s (BDA’s) London headquarters on 26 October 2011, will focus on changes in dentistry since 1948. Discus- sion is expected to concentrate on topics including the intro- duction of the NHS, payment and contracts, developments in equipment and evolution of pri- vate practice. Participants in the project’s first witness seminar, which took place in March and looked at the development of the regulation of dentistry, included past Presidents of the BDA and General Dental Council, three former deans of dental schools and a former dean of the Den- tal Faculty of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. It was chaired by Professor Nairn Wilson, Dean of King’s Col- lege London Dental Institute. Deliberations from each of the witness seminars will be pub- lished and placed in the John McLean Archive via the BDA Museum’s website:www.bda. org/museum. Volunteers are also being sought to carry out oral history interviews with dentists and dental care professionals across the UK. The transcripts of these interviews, which will focus on different aspects of the develop- ment of dentistry, will also be published as part of the project. Volunteers must have a con- nection to dentistry, good lis- tening skills and an interest in dentistry. Volunteers selected to take part will receive training in oral history and the use of the recording equipment that will be used in the interviews. Individuals interested in participating in either strand of activity contact Sophie Rich- es, the John McLean Archive project co-ordinator at the BDA Museum. Telephone 020 7563 4549, email sophie.rich- es@bda.org or visit the BDA Museum stand at the 2011 Brit- ish Dental Conference and Ex- hibition. DT Help make dental history A ccording to a report published in the lat- est issue of the British Dental Journal (BDJ), one in eight adolescents with promi- nent, or irregular shaped teeth have experienced bullying, with a negative impact on their self-esteem and quality of their oral health. The authors, hospital-based orthodontic specialists, found that the children, aged between 10 and 14 years, were at an in- creased risk of being teased or bullied by their peers if they had certain dental features: these in- cluded maxillary overcrowding; a cleft lip, with or without a cleft palate; an overjet and a deep overbite (ie prominent teeth). The specialists also ex- pressed concern that psychoso- cial factors are not considered when assessing a child’s need for orthodontic treatment; al- though they acknowledged that the relationship between the shape of teeth, self-esteem and bullying is a complex one. “Currently the severity and need for orthodontic treatment within the UK is judged on occlusal [bite] and aesthetic impairment without considera- tion of psychosocial factors,” warn the authors of the British Dental Journal report. Commenting on the report’s findings, the British Dental As- sociation’s Scientific Adviser, Prof Damien Walmsley, said: “As studies show that having well-aligned teeth can influ- ence our ability to make friends and progress in our careers, it’s not surprising that young chil- dren pick up on society’s ideal of what is perceived to be at- tractive early on. “Because prominent or ir- regular shaped teeth can affect a child’s self-esteem, or make them the subject of teasing or bullying at school, it’s impor- tant that these factors are taken into account when referrals for orthodontic treatment are con- sidered.” Bullying in schoolchildren - its relationship to dental appearance and psychosocial implications: an update for general dental practitioners, by J Seehra, JT Newton, and AT DiBiase, was published in the British Dental Journal, vol- ume 210, No 9, May 14, 2011. DT Could bullying be linked to dental appearance? Alcohol related problems are costing the NHS dearly Could children with prominent dental features be a victim of bullying June 6-12, 20114 News United Kingdom Edition T he number of admis- sions to hospital in Eng- land related to alcohol has topped one million, accord- ing to The NHS Information Centre’s annual report, Statis- tics on Alcohol: England 2011. Statistics show there were 1,057,000 such admissions in 2009/10. This is up 12 per cent on the 2008/09 figure (945,500) and more than twice as many as in 2002/03 (510,800). Of these admissions, nearly two thirds (63 per cent) were for men. Among all adults there were more admissions in the older age groups than in the younger age groups. New prescriptions data shows that alcohol depend- ency cost the NHS £2.41million in prescription items in 2010. This is up 1.4 per cent on the 2009 figure (£2.38 million) and up 40 per cent since 2003 (£1.72 million). There were 160,181 pre- scription items prescribed for drugs to treat alcohol depend- ency in primary care settings or NHS hospitals and dispensed in the community in 2010. This is an increase of six per cent on 2009 (150,445) and an in- crease of 56 per cent since 2003 (102,741). The report also shows that in 2010 in England: • There were 290 prescription items issued for alcohol de- pendency per 100,000 of the population • Regionally, the figures for pre- scription items per 100,000 of the population were highest in the North West (515 items) and North East (410 items) and low- est in London (130 items) The data on alcohol related hospital admissions and new data on prescriptions is pub- lished in the report, along with previously published informa- tion from a range of sources about drinking behaviours and health outcomes in England. The NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said that the “report shows the number of people admitted to hospital each year for alcohol related problems has topped one million for the first time. The report also high- lights the increasing cost of al- cohol dependency to the NHS as the number of prescription items dispensed continues to rise. “This report provides health professionals and policy mak- ers with a useful picture of the health issues relating to al- cohol use and misuse. It also highlights the importance of policy makers and health pro- fessionals in recognising and tackling alcohol misuse which in turn could lead to savings for the NHS.” DT Alcohol-related hospital admissions top one million