Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

I n December 2005, 13-year old Robbie Anderson set up a Trust to improve the quality of life for young people spending long periods of time on the children’s cancer ward, where he too was a patient. As explained on The Rob- bie Anderson Cancer Trust website: “Robbie knew his cancer was terminal, but even that knowledge didn’t deter him. Facing his second (and last) Christmas in hospital, he set about fundraising for a large plasma TV screen for his ward. He wanted the children on the oncology ward to be able to do what everyone else was doing - playing games and watching Christmas films with their families, something many of us can take for grant- ed. On December 24th it was fixed to the wall in the Day Room. Sadly, 10 weeks later, Robbie passed away.” Cancer is a battle that must be fought on all fronts - the psychological fight is in many ways as important as the phys- ical care and Robbie’s time in hospital was made so much worse by the lack of any facili- ties for his age group. “The focus was on much younger children, down to infant-sized tables and chairs in the day room and not much else but Disney DVDs to watch. While his life hung in the bal- ance he was placed in either a room with Mr Men mobiles hanging from the ceiling or in a crowded six bedded ward decorated with cartoon char- acters. The old fashioned TV’s on tables battled for space with life-saving blood prod- ucts and chemotherapy ma- chinery. There was no privacy for parents or their children; this, coupled with the sense of being in a nursery situation, Robbie found hard to bear.” It was then that Robbie de- cided to set up a trust to im- prove the quality of life for young people fighting cancer. His Trust, which contin- ues to support the Children’s Oncology Ward at Leicester Royal Infirmary, aims to work towards providing a facility where all children are treated in age-appropriate surround- ings, with a particular focus on teenagers. The proposed unit will cost £1.4 million to build, but will be a centre of excel- lence with clearly defined spaces for each age group. And this is where you, the reader, come in. In July, Rob- bie’s parents and members of the dental profession will be setting off on an epic jour- ney to the exotic principality of Monte Carlo to raise funds and awareness of the needs of children and young adults suf- fering with cancer. The trip, however, will also be carry- ing out one of Robbie’s wish- es, which was to go to Monte Carlo and place a bet on the number eight on a roulette table! All the participants are self-funding the drive and all money raised will go towards funding the age appropriate cancer facility at Leicester Royal Infirmary. Donations and sponsorship are desperately needed for the facility to become a reality. The Robbie Anderson Cancer Trust is proud to be supporting Uni- versity Hospitals Leicester in their campaign to provide a unit in Leicester that will make a significant difference to the lives of all young people fighting cancer. For those of you wishing to make a donation to this worthwhile fund or to find out more information visit www. robbieanderson.org.uk/index. php/donations-contact-us or www.robbieanderson.org.uk/ index.php. DT Dentists raise money for children’s cancer ward A recent study published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentist- ry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of Gen- eral Dentistry, found that an alarming increase in the con- sumption of sports and energy drinks, especially among ado- lescents, is causing irreversible damage to teeth—specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel. “Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy lev- els and that they are ‘better’ for them than soda,” said Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH, lead au- thor of the study. “Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid.” Researchers examined the acidity levels in 13 sports drinks and nine energy drinks. They found that the acidity levels can vary between brands of beverages and flavours of the same brand. To test the effect of the acidity levels, the researchers immersed samples of human tooth enam- el in each beverage for 15 min- utes, followed by immersion in artificial saliva for two hours. This cycle was repeated four times a day for five days, and the samples were stored in fresh artificial saliva at all other times. “This type of testing simu- lates the same exposure that a large proportion of American teens and young adults are sub- jecting their teeth to on a regu- lar basis when they drink one of these beverages every few hours,” said Dr Jain. The researchers found that damage to enamel was evident after only five days of exposure to sports or energy drinks, al- though energy drinks showed a significantly greater poten- tial to damage teeth than sports drinks. In fact, the authors found that energy drinks cause twice as much damage to teeth as sports drinks. One of the researchers, Dr Bone, recommends that her pa- tients minimise their intake of sports and energy drinks. She also advises them to chew sug- ar-free gum or rinse the mouth with water following consump- tion of the drinks. “Both tactics increase saliva flow, which nat- urally helps to return the acid- ity levels in the mouth to nor- mal,” she said. Also, patients should wait at least an hour to brush their teeth after consuming sports and en- ergy drinks. Otherwise, says Dr Bone, they will be spreading acid onto the tooth surfaces, in- creasing the erosive action. DT Source: www.agd.org Energy drinks responsible for irreversible damage to teeth Sports drnks are causing enamel damage A s unemployment of the un- der 24s surpasses the 1m mark, Neil Sikka, of Barbi- can Dental Care, has created an initiative that will provide train- ing and real job prospects. Working in conjunction with Tower Hamlets, the local col- lege and other practices in the City and Canary Wharf, Neil’s iNSkills initiative will provide dis- affected youth of Tower Hamlets and Newham the opportunity to learn and work within the dental world. After an 18-month period, candidates will graduate with an NVQ Level 3 qualification in Den- tal Nursing. Neil Sikka states: “Within the Square Mile there are some of the most successful businesses and the richest people. But just outside, is Tower Hamlets and Newham, the poorest borough in the Capital. We wanted to create a scheme where we could offer people the chance of training, work and, more importantly, ca- reer development.” In the pilot scheme, launched in January 2012, trainees will be recruited from the borough of Tower Hamlets. Depending on the success of the initiative, it could go national. Tower Hamlet Council’s Skillsmatch – the outreach team with established links in the com- munity - will be responsible for sourcing, screening and mentor- ing the trainees throughout the duration of the course. Tower Hamlets College will provide the trainingonaday-releasebasisand students will gain work expe- rience and valuable on-the- job training in selected for the other four days. Students will benefit from a mentor- ing scheme to ensure their performance is maintained. Neil has been responsible for recruiting other practices to the scheme. The Dental Surgery in the Corn Exchange and Smile Im- pressions in Canary Wharf have both agreed to involved in the inaugural launch. Each practice will take on a minimum of two trainees. The initiative includes a ‘earn as you learn’ element, where students will be paid for their working and college time. Neil concludes: “We are very excited about iNSkills. Initial in- terviews are being arranged and soon we will have our shortlist of candidates. We are very commit- ted to recruiting, developing and empowering our students and we are confident iNSkills will be a success.” DT iNSkills – a pathway to a brighter future D etails of NHS den- tal services and new charges are outlined in a new leaflet and poster. The leaflet describes how NHS dental services in Eng- land work, including how to find an NHS dentist, what treatment to expect and how much it will cost. The poster shows the charges to pay from April 2012 depend- ing on the treatment needed. The NHS dental servic- es in England (340K) leaf- let includes information on: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/ files/2012/04/2900136-Den- tal-Flyer-V1_Tagged.pdf • Free NHS dental treatment or help with health costs • Treatments provided under the NHS • NHS dental charges • How to find an NHS dentist • How often to visit the dentist • Dental appliances • Urgent NHS dental treat- ment and care out of hours The NHS dental charg- es from 1 April 2012 (640K) poster includes details of: w w w. d h . g o v. u k / h e a l t h / files/2012/04/2900096-Den- tal-Poster-v1_TAGGED.pdf • Charges for each complete course of treatment • Charges for referral for a course of treatment • Treatments that are free • Where to find information on free dental treatment or help with health costs DT Leaflet and poster on NHS dental services and charges now available May 21-27, 20124 News United Kingdom Edition