The last bite

Happy New Year

As we plunge optimistically into another New Year, which we here at The Dentist trust will be a happy and healthy one for all our readers, spare a thought for those who are down in the mouth metaphorically. It seems from a New Zealand study that people who have a negative view of the world are more likely to have poor oral health, including decayed or missing teeth.

The low oral health status comes from having dental anxiety, as well as other life-anxieties, causing them to avoid dental treatment and thereby suffer greater treatment needs when they do attend. It may be we can provide a positive health benefit by recognising that patients with high treatment needs might also benefit from a dose of merriment too. Perhaps we can join up with the psychiatrists and devise a scale of mental-and-dental treatment need; the higher the DMF the more pessimistic. Needless to say, the scale could also apply to practitioners treating such patients; which makes complete sense. When they open their mouths and you see a raft of caries how does that make you feel?