Researchers have found that chewing food prompts the release of an immune cell that can protect against infection. The study, recently published in the journal Immunity, found that mastication can stimulate the release of T helper 17 (Th17) cells in the mouth. The study team was led by Dr. Joanne Konkel of the University of Manchester.
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Specialist orthodontist Guy Deeming (pictured) has joined the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) Board of Trustees as Director of Clinical Practice and Professor Philip Benson as Director of Research. Welcoming both men onto the Board, President Alison Murray said: “We are very glad to have them working at Board level on some of the more critical issues that face us. I know we are going to value their expertise.”
NHS England’s closure of the “urgent dental service” in Kentish Town has been condemned for leaving the capital’s 8.7 million residents with only two busy hospitals to go to with teeth problems. The disappearance is the latest loss of walk-in services across England for people with emergencies such as a broken tooth or abscess.
The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, says that excessive consumption of sugary food and drink and poor oral hygiene is likely to be a major cause behind the high number of cases. New figures show there were more than 40,000 hospital operations to remove teeth in children and teenagers last year – the equivalent of more than 160 a day.
Read more: More than 160 operations a day to remove teeth in children
Simplyhealth announces that, after a 21 year career with Denplan and Simplyhealth, Steve Gates is stepping down as Managing Director, Denplan and will be leaving the Company at the end of January 2017. Following Steve’s departure, Caroline Coleman will now lead their dental and vets business.
Dentists treating the most vulnerable patients in Northern Ireland have been failed by Stormont. The British Dental Association (BDA) has lambasted the Northern Ireland Government for backtracking on an agreement to modernise the contracts of community dentists, who serve the most vulnerable patients.
Read more: Stormont fails to honour agreement with Community Dentists
Bristol is aiming to become a low-sugar city, curbing sweet drinks and snacks to tackle poor dental health and obesity. Latest figures show that 57% of adults and a quarter of the city’s five-year-olds have tooth decay. There are 20,000 diabetics in the city and in the past three years 227 people had a limb amputated because of the disease.
Healthcare legal specialists, Lockharts Solicitors, are set to join law firm Veale Wasbrough Vizards (VWV) on January 30. The partnership says it will enhance the service provided to both firms’ clients across the UK, which include dentists, doctors, optometrists, vets, pharmacists, care homes and healthcare professionals.
The BDA believes that dentists could ease the much-reported pressures on Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments if more in-hours urgent care slots were commissioned. The Chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, has today written to Chief Dental Officer (CDO) for England Sara Hurley seeking a meeting to establish if such an agreement can be reached.
Read more: BDA asks for more urgent care slots to be commissioned