‘National sickness service’ prevention call

The National Health Service could more accurately be described as the national sickness service because, while it treats illness, it does not often deal with the root causes of why the person got ill in the first place.

Pete Mossey, professor of craniofacial development and associate dean for research at Dundee Dental Hospital, said emphasis should be on prevention rather than cure.

In Scotland, tooth extraction is still the number one reason for children receiving general anaesthesia in hospitals.

Statistics show the trends have a direct relationship to socio-economic status– it’s worse in deprived areas – and Dundee is one of the worst in terms of childhood tooth decay per head of population.

However, Prof Mossey said that while a sugar tax or reduced sugar drinks might seem sensible at face value to reduce obesity, diabetes and improve dental health, it’s a pointless approach unless it is part of a wider, trans-sectoral package designed to improve general health.

The difficulties are that the greatest consumption of sugar is in deprived areas, and these are often most difficult to reach.

Dundee Dental Hospital has helped Scotland lead on the globallyrecognised Childsmile scheme, implemented in Scotland in 2011.

Based on the principle of “proportionate universalism”, this system sees the greatest resources go to areas of greatest need, and has helped raise the number of decay-free individuals in Scotland by 20%.

The world-renowned Hall Technique was also pioneered at Dundee where, instead of drilling cavities, a cap is placed on the tooth which seals it off.

However, Prof Mossey believes more can be done including health coaching. This scheme, being pioneered, focuses on individual responsibility and, instead of providing passive health education, dentists engage with patients and ask them what they can do for themselves.