Northern uplift
Devolution has thrown up many interesting facets of life. One such is the recent revelation that the number of NHS dental nurses in Scotland has increased by 65 per cent over a five-year period. Government statistics show that there were 862 NHS dental nurses in 2007, compared with 1,426 in 2012, while the number of dental technicians also rose from 48 to 130 in the same period.
Although the SNP claim the figures prove the party is committed to improving the health of people living in Scotland, which I am sure no one would doubt, such a steep increase does raise some questions. Is it that there are now many more NHS practices in Scotland or that the existing ones are suddenly realising that they can’t manage without more nurses? Or might it be that the mandatory registration of DCPs with the GDC has made them more countable? Whatever the explanation I am sure that dental patients are happy to have 65 per cent more smiley faces at their Scotia chairsides.
Sweeter collaboration
It may be my imagination but sugar seems to have been slipping off our radar in recent times. Whether the euphoria over improving oral health has obscured its relevance or whether we have been diverted by other matters I’m not sure but it looks as if finally we are getting some allies in our long-term campaign to reduce consumption.
Dr Robin Lustig, a paediatrician from the USA who specialises in treating overweight children and who has spent 16 years researching the effect of sugar on the body, says that sugar is addictive and compares it to controlled drugs. He claims that sugar is responsible for many cases of obesity due to the effect it has on the body’s insulin levels.
Meanwhile, a study by the American Heart Association has dramatically suggested that sugary drinks contribute to 180,000 deaths a year worldwide by linking them to 133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000 deaths from heart disease and 6,000 deaths from cancer. Such pressure to cut down has to be good news for oral health too. Perhaps at last we will find some willing collaborators for our messages.
Ancestral calculus
Research into the DNA of ancient oral bacteria has revealed a marked decrease in its diversity, according to a paper in the journal Nature Genetics. An international team led by the University of Adelaide extracted DNA from calculus from 34 north European skeletons, spread over 7,500 years, from the last hunter-gatherers, through the first farmers, to Bronze Age, medieval and modern times. What was the fee for a scale and polish in Bronze Age Britain I wonder?
The authors conclude that oral bacteria in modern man are markedly less diverse than historic populations, which is thought to contribute to chronic oral and other diseases in post-industrial lifestyles. I wonder whether there is potential for extending the current interest for family trees and ancestral searches into the world of micro-organisms? Whose calculus do you think you are a part of?