Q&A Continued »
work is a mixture of about 60 per cent NHS service and the other 40 per cent is teaching and research. For the last 25 years I’ve
concentrated my research into local anaesthesia and am passionate about the subject. This developed in ı985 when Stewart Blair, one of my bosses in oral surgery at Newcastle University, invited me to participate in a project looking at the incidence of aspiration during local anaesthetic delivery. Stewart was a huge influence on me and through that project I developed an obsession for local anaesthesia that I’m proud to say has been the foundation of my career. If I could give one piece of
advice to dental practitioners it would be to treat local anaes- thetics with the respect they deserve. They are the most amazing and safe drugs when used appropriately.
The East Neuk of Fife is one of John’s favourite places
ABOUT JOHN MEECHAN
John
received his under- graduate training at the
obtained his PhD from Newcastle University.
University of Glasgow and
Q – Looking back over your career, what do you see as the highlights? My biggest career highlight was being awarded a distin- guished science award by the International Association for Dental Research. It was like winning an Oscar! I was told six months prior
to receiving the award in Australia. It is voted for by your international research peers, and I can honestly say it
was the greatest professional honour I could have been bestowed.
Q – Where do you see the future of anaesthetics? I’m not sure things will change that dramatically in the next ı0 years. In ı00 years I’m sure the equipment will be completely different and there will be a lot more changes. Clearly, the major issue is
the fact that anaesthetics can be uncomfortable to admin- ister and getting rid of that problem, which means ulti- mately getting rid of needles, would be significant. But that’s certainly not going to happen in the short term. I’m ı00 per cent sure that, at
some point in the future, we won’t be using needles. There are versions of needle–less anaesthetics in development at the moment but they have a limited indication. A guaran- teed pain–free anaesthetic will take time to come to fruition and I see this as being one of the biggest innovations in dentistry to come.
Q – What do you love most about Scotland? I’m incredibly proud to be Scot- tish. I love The Forth Bridge and Hampden Park for their ‘Scottishness’ and my favourite places are the West Coast around Port Appin and the East Neuk of Fife.
Q – Could you tell us any Scottish jokes? I love telling jokes, but I’m afraid I don’t have any that could be printed here (laughs).
28 Scottish Dental magazine
He has worked in general dental practice in Scotland and south Wales, held hospital positions in Glasgow and Newcastle, and university positions in Vancouver and Newcastle.
He is the author of nine text- books and over 150 papers. He chairs the dental injection systems working group of the International Standards Organisation.
He is the recipient of a Distin- guished Scientist Award from the International Association for Dental Research, a King James IV Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and in 2011 won the Medical Futures Innova- tions award for Dental and Oral Health.
SCOTTISH DENTAL SHOW
John is speaking at the inau- gural Scottish Dental Show at Hampden Park on Friday 25 May at 11-12.30pm, giving ‘An update on dental local anaesthesia’. Septodont, the leading supplier of dental anaesthetics, is proud to be sponsoring John Meechan at the Scottish Dental Show. Septodont has worked with John for many years and look forward to a great talk on the future of anaesthesia.
The company’s products are being administered by thousands of dental profes- sionals every day; indeed, there is a good chance you are using anaesthetics supplied by Septo- dont without realising it. Anaesthesia products with names you recognise, but perhaps have not, until now, associated with Septodont include: Lignospan Special, Scan- donest, Septanest, Pharmaéthyl and Xylonor.
Septodont guarantees that all of its anaesthetic products are 100 per cent latex-free, ensuring they have no contact with latex at any stage during production, offering the highest level of safety and security possible. So, when you next need to stock up on injectable and topical anaesthetics, as well as needles and syringes, turn to Septodont – the name you can trust.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92