British dental journal
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British dental journal · Mar 2013
ReviewWhy do GDPs fail to recognise oral cancer? The argument for an oral cancer checklist.
Delays in the diagnosis of oral cancer have been the subject of several cases recently reported in the media. Different types of delays include patient delays, doctor delays and system delays. Although diagnostic delays in primary care constitute a minority of these cases they are potentially modifiable and therefore an important aspect of care to address. ⋯ However several problems in fully assessing patients for oral cancer have been reported. These include time constraints, a lack of remuneration and little training in assessing risk factors and conducting a soft tissue examination. This article reviews these issues and puts forward the case for oral cancer detection as a compulsory CPD topic and a national oral cancer checklist as a tool to ensure all aspects of the oral cancer assessment are considered, which can then be audited and remunerated.
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British dental journal · Feb 2013
Biography Historical ArticleHelen Whelton: 'it is difficult to imagine the population's decay levels without fluoridation'. Interview by Ruth Doherty.
Helen Whelton, new President of the IADR, on fluoridation, inequalities in public health and the condition of Irish teeth.
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British dental journal · Dec 2012
Alastair Sloan: 'dentists have already been practising regenerative medicine for about 80 years'.
Alastair Sloan, speaker at the 2012 BDA Christmas Lecture, describes a regenerative future for dentistry, the standing of UK dental research and his scientific heroes.
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Immunological reactions to chlorhexidine, including allergy (Type I hypersensitivity) and allergic contact dermatitis/stomatitis (Type IV hypersensitivity), have been recognised for many years. This potential safety issue, however, is not well known within dentistry. The purpose of this paper is to alert dentists and dental care professionals to the potential of chlorhexidine in causing hypersensitivity reactions and to consider this possibility if unexplained hypersensitivity reactions occur.