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Reassuring reading for “dental amputees”
NI kids brush for the shortest time
ORAL HEALTH
Children in Northern Ireland brush their teeth for the shortest time on average according to research by the UK’s largest dental group. The My Dentist survey of more than 2,000 parents
found that kids in the province brush for a mean time of a little over 60 seconds, compared children in the North West who brushed for on average 77 seconds – still well short of the recommended two minutes. The survey also paints an alarming picture of
parental dental knowledge in the UK, with more than one million children under the age of eight having never been to a dentist and more than 700,000 in the same age group having had at least one filling, costing the NHS nearly £22 million. It also highlighted that 20 per cent thought fruit smoothies were good for their child’s teeth, one in eight believing that fluoride is bad for their child’s teeth and more than 30 per cent were unaware of free NHS treatment available to kids, such as fluoride varnishing.
After treating edentulous patients for more than 30 years, Dublin dentist Professor David Harris has written a book to inform and reassure the general public about becoming a “dental amputee”. Prof Harris, who is a specialist oral
surgeon and the clinical director at Blackrock Clinic Specialist Dentistry, wrote the book to high- light the severe mental and physical issues that the public and dental professionals don’t fully recognise. He said: “After 30 years of treating
people who had lost all of their teeth, I realised that there was a huge problem out there that was not appreciated by people who still had their teeth. I wanted to bring to atten- tion the severe emotional, physical and quality of life changes that adversely affect people who undergo this – it takes them by surprise. “When you have lost all your teeth
it is more or less a seaside joke but it is a very cruel joke and people can suffer very badly.” After writing countless academic
papers during his career, The Dental Amputee marks the first time Prof Harris has written for the general public and he conceded it took a little getting used to. He said: “As an academic, you set out a very struc- tured approach where you set out a problem and, at the end of the paper, you state your conclusions. “If you are writing for the general
public, you will have lost them in the first five words. So, you have got to come to the conclusions first,
Getting to the tooth of the matter...
Associate GDP required
for expanding 6 surgery mixed NHS/Private practice in Dungannon, Northern Ireland.
Te practice accepts referrals for implant and endodontic treatment.
Contact David & Philip McCarter at 02887726979 email CV or further enquiries to
mccartersdgn@btconnect.com
10 Ireland’s Dental magazine BOOK REVIEW
Professor David Harris’ book provides a clear and concise overview of the physical and psychological effects of edentulism. And, while pitched as a book for
the general public, there is plenty of interest for the dental profes- sional, not least the excellent
chapters on the ‘Emotional and Psychological Effects of Tooth Loss’ and ‘The Ageing Time- bomb’. Prof Harris manages to cover
some complex ideas in an acces- sible fashion while not overly dumbing it down for public consumption. As an implant dentist, there is a heavy focus on the subject but, coming from one of the founding fathers of implants in Ireland, this is essential reading.
grab people’s attention and then work backwards.” As a founder member and former
president of the European Asso- ciation of Osseointegration Prof Harris has been involved with dental implants since the early ı980s and worked closely with implant pioneer Prof P-I Brånemark for many years. He revealed that he was told of the professor’s death just hours before the book was printed and managed to stop the process so he could add in a special dedication to the man. He said: “My whole career was built
around him. He changed dentistry utterly and completely and I was very fortunate to become involved with him right at the very early stages.”
®
The Dental Amputee is published by Londubh Books.
David Harris
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