What you’ve missed this week

Missed out on this week’s dental news? No problem, here’s what happened over the past seven days…

Child extractions increase by 18% over last five years

extraction

There were 45,077 extractions of multiple teeth in under 18s in England over the last year.

Local Government Association figures also show the cost for extractions to the NHS in 2017/18 was £38.9 million.

There has been an 18% increase in the number of extractions costing the NHS £205 million in total since 2012.

The BDA has blamed the Government for the growing numbers pointing to inaction and a lack of funding.

The association describes Starting Well, a Government programme to ensure children receive better dental advice, as an ‘unfunded gimmick’.

It calls on Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock to ensure dentistry budgets benefit from the NHS70 investment.

UK Home Office launches EU Settlement Scheme pilot for healthcare professionals

The UK Home Office has launched a pilot aimed at healthcare professionals from the EU for settled status.

In preparation for the UK’s exit from the EU on 29 March 2019, the UK Government has committed to protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members currently living in the UK.

This includes the right to live here, work here and access public services such as healthcare and benefits. To retain these rights after 31 December 2020, EU citizens must apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Further details on the settlement scheme can be found on the UK Government website.

Smokers who roll their own are less likely to quit

People who roll cigarettes are less likely to try to quit smoking, a new study from University College London shows.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), found 15.9% who rolled their own cigarettes were highly motivated to quit.

This compares with 20.3% of those who mainly smoke factory-made cigarettes.

The main reason appears to be the cost of hand-rolling, which is significantly cheaper than factory-made products.

Saving money remains an important factor in encouraging smokers to give up their habit.

Not enough evidence for energy drink ban

MPs have ruled out statutory ban on sale of energy drinks to children

Experts advising the Government have said there is not enough scientific evidence to warrant a ban on the sale of energy drinks to children.

Critics said they were disappointed not to see a recommendation for a ban.

The House of Commons Science and Technology committee found that current quantitative evidence alone was not sufficient to warrant a statutory ban.

The committee sought to understand whether the caffeine in energy drinks had a negative health and behavioural effect on young people and if the sale of energy drinks to under-16s should be banned.

Older women who suffer from tooth loss are more likely to develop high blood pressure

A recent American study suggests that postmenopausal women who have experienced loss of all teeth are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

This is according to a University at Buffalo study published on the 4 December in the American Journal of Hypertension.

Multiple studies have suggested an association between periodontal disease and tooth loss with hypertension, but the relationship with time remains unclear with these associations.

The study observed a positive association between the loss of all teeth and hypertension risk among postmenopausal women.

Specifically, these women had an approximately 20% higher risk of developing hypertension during follow-up compared to women who still had natural teeth.

The association was stronger among younger women and those with lower body mass index.


Catch up on last week’s news here.

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