Dentists are urged to quiz patients over drink habits

DENTAL patients could be questioned about their drinking habits and lectured on how to cut back.

Dentists believe they are well placed to spot the early warning signs of excessive alcohol consumption, such as tooth decay or cancers.

Proposals recommend that dentists routinely ask patients how often they drink and whether they ever struggle to remember a night out if they’ve overdone it.

Guidelines alternatively suggest that receptionists hand out drinking questionnaires to patients.

Those whose consumption is deemed excessive would be referred on to sessions with dental nurses or hygienists for advice on cutting down.

The proposals have been drawn up by dentists at the University of Cardiff.

Jonathan Shepherd, Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, said: ‘Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to cancer of the mouth, larynx and oesophagus and dentists may be the first to notice these conditions.’

Around a quarter of adults regularly consume more than the Government’s safe alcohol limits of two of three units a day for women and three or four for men.

Dentists point out that while most Britons only go to their GP on the occasions they are ill, they will see their dentist more frequently for check-ups.

The proposals, published in the Royal College of Surgeons’ Dental Journal, estimate that binge drinking costs the UK economy £25billion a year.