Monthly Archives: February 2012
What do people need and has anyone asked them?
Half way down the escalator on the Tube a series of adverts caught my eye. They were designed to “follow” one as you progressed down to the platform. What is the difference between a lumberjack and a graphic designer? Answer: EXACTLY! Having had a very stressful morning and being in a rush to catch a train to the North of England it took me a few moments to work this out! The advertisement for a large insurance company was making the point that everyone is different and the needs of individuals is important, rather than “one size fits all”!
A Change in attitudes
Some years ago I recall a colleague, who worked in research, saying of a product “that will not be a major seller – it is not sexy!” Everyone present laughed but did not truly understand what he meant. It is only now that his words have become clearer and also illustrate the changes that are coming to modern dentistry. For many years the interest from the profession, and patients, has focussed on aesthetics and the products associated with them, of which there were many. Every dental manufacturer had a new restorative material promising better shades, better translucency, higher strengths etc. and, in fairness, there were … Continue reading
The health-seeking 70-year-old
You have read on this blog how age is positively associated with health-seeking behaviour. The older one gets, the less one smokes and the more the daily activity increases. Another recent survey conducted in the UK amongst 1,002 adults age 55 and over, confirms this behaviour.1 The survey conducted for Simplyhealth, the cash-plans provider in dental care, found that: 8 out of 10 70+ year olds, try to keep fit and healthy. More over 70s claim they focus on fitness than those in their 50s and 60s. The key issue for fitness was affordability but 1 in 4 said that companies (dental practices?) target the … Continue reading
Dental health literacy: the importance of clear and actionable information called the Partners in Prevention
There is increasing recognition that to improve health outcomes, health literacy must increase. Patients need to know the cause and effect of their condition and what to do to get better and stay better. Most importantly, the level of health literacy is associated with the likelihood of receiving preventive care.1 Health literacy is the “patient’s capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions.”2 The only survey of American health literacy found 12% of adults were proficient, a third were “basic” or “below basic” literacy levels and about half were at an intermediate level, meaning that they … Continue reading
Smoking Cessation and Tooth Decay: What’s the Connection?
A recent issue of The New York Times reports one study found that the nicotine patch and nicotine gum are ineffective long-term strategies to stop the smoking habit. There are several observations on this study from a dental perspective: More than 1 in 5 adults in the UK smoke and those that do have more tooth decay (Chart 1). This connection may be due to exposed roots due to periodontal disease (which is closely associated with smoking), poorer oral hygiene amongst those who smoke, and a general lack of health-seeking behaviour.
Getting Patients to Take Charge of Their Health
In her blog titled “Getting Patients to Take Charge of Their Health”, Dr. Pauline Chen, M.D. talks about how to engage adult patients to take better care of their chronic diseases. Her message applies to dental care as the population ages and has a growing burden of dental disease. Dr. Chen says that it is easy and customary to blame the patient for being sick. But she also points to some novel research on patient engagement conducted at a network of 40 family medical clinics in Minneapolis called Fairview Health Services. For almost two years, Fairview Health Services has been giving patients a survey to … Continue reading
Dentistry – An Essential Service or an Elective Service?
Regular visits to the family dental practice have become a good barometer of the economy. They rise when times are good and fall when times are bad. A recent study [PDF] by NPR and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that amongst all healthcare services, dentistry was most affected by the growth of long-term unemployed in the United States (Chart1). More than 6 in 10 such adults skipped dental care or checkups. Surveys of UK dental office attendance have found a similar phenomenon – since the start of the recession, regular visits have declined to levels seen 10 years ago. Pundits report there will be a … Continue reading
Oral Healthcare of Older patients in the UK
The British Dental Association has warned in a recently published report that the quality and availability of oral healthcare for older adults remains an issue and that insufficient priority is being given to making improvements. The report says that the health and well-being of older adults is poorly served and there are concerns for the future. Oral health is often not properly considered in the wider healthcare provision and may patients just don’t get the care they need. The chair of the BDA’s UK Healthcare policy, Dr Robert Kinloch, said “Good oral health is as important for older adults as it is for younger patients. … Continue reading