February's ailments
If January seems to drag then February is usually just that bit shorter (Leap Years excepted) but what does the shortest month hold health-wise? Apparently a rise in the risk of detached retina, according to a study which found twice as many cases at the beginning of the year due possibly to cold weather making eye tissue more vulnerable.
However, sperm counts are highest in February and March (lowest during September) according to research in Fertility and Sterility journal, although no one seems to know why, while March and April see the most cold sores, with another spike in August, according to a study in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research. Low immune defences may be responsible for sores in spring, while sun exposure, which can also reduce the immune system's strength, may be implicated in August.
Scientists have also found that gum disease peaks in winter, which may be linked to a lower immune system but as March is one of the safest times for surgery perhaps planning those gingivectomies might pay off!
A name by any other...
Have you heard of a phenomenon known as nominative determinism? Good, because neither had I until recently but it refers to cases in which people's career choice is related to the sound of their name. Famous examples of possible nominative determinism include the sprinter Usain Bolt (running fast, get it?) and the poet William Wordsworth.
A paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Research concludes that people are disproportionately likely to 'choose careers whose labels resemble their names'. The report cites the disproportionate number of dentists called Denise or Dennis as an example of the trend and concludes that it occurs because people 'prefer things that are connected to the self (for example, the letters in one's name)'.
I remember acting as a student volunteer for an international maxillofacial conference in London many years ago where one of the delegates was a Dr Slaughter. I wonder what the connection was there?
Tooth fairy goes arty
Stem cells are shaping up to be the new wonder cure for all our ills but it is not just in science and medicine that their influence is being felt but in art too. A Liverpool artist has been busy creating a two metre high sculpture from crystal resin which is to be encrusted with real teeth. The piece will have primary teeth glued on in small clusters and is being created to raise awareness of stem cell research. The artist was inspired after attending a public workshop on the subject and the teeth are being donated by children who surrender them to the project in return for a token they can then leave under the pillow for the tooth fairy.
If the artist had attended a lecture on orthodontics I wonder if we'd now have the Angle of the North (west)?
DECEMBER WINNER
The winner of the December prize of Beverly Hills Formula products is Eileen Swanson of Kent for the caption: ‘I'm dreaming of a Pearly White Christmas, for every dental patient that I treat!’