Teenage boys should be encouraged to get the HPV vaccination as well as girls, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference heard. Public Health England is considering plans to extend the vaccination programme to boys, after international studies showed that by 2020 the number of men contracting cancer from the HPV infection will outstrip the number of women.
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Coca-Cola allegedly warned the Government of potential legal action over its sugar tax on fizzy drinks in a concerted lobbying campaign against the levy, reports the Sunday Times – an allegation that the company denies. This was broadcast on Channel 4’s Dispatches. It has also been reported that the food industry will fail to hit a government goal to cut sugar by a fifth by 2020.
Applying fluoride varnish to children’s teeth is just as effective at preventing tooth decay as the alternative method of sealing teeth and could save the NHS money, concludes a study led by Cardiff University. The ‘Seal or Varnish?’ study treated just over 800 children with either fissure sealants or fluoride varnish to discover which treatment is most effective and offers the best value for money for children aged 6-7 years.
Read more: Varnish is as effective as sealants says new study
The British Dental Association (BDA) has initiated legal proceedings against NHS England for setting up potentially impossible barriers to smaller contractors in tenders for over £1/2 billion of orthodontic services. It has argued that the tendering process, covering orthodontic services in the South of England, is in breach of Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition (PCCC) regulations by failing to treat providers equally.
Croydon has a brand new dental centre after vital changes were made to a department in desperate need of an upgrade. This fulfils the dream of oral surgeon, Graham Gilmour, who fought for years to secure the vital improvements but did not live to see it realised. His widow opened the new facility recently.
Researchers have discovered the world's most ancient dental fillings in northern Italy. The fillings were spotted inside a pair of 13,000-year-old front teeth and they were made of bitumen, a semi-solid form of petroleum. This is the earliest example of dentistry known to date. “It is quite unusual, not something you see in normal teeth,” said Stephano Benazzi an archaeologist at the University of Bologna.