Here we go again, from the mouth of who?

A recent report from the world of dentistry suggests that dentists should be the people who quiz you about your  alcohol intake and then teach you how not to drink too much.

Well to be precise to get dental nurses and hygienists to teach you.


Here we go again, walking down the only road I've ever known.

It feels like the classic Whitesnake song because I seem to have trod this path before. These people have simply no training about alcohol apart from the stuff that is in mouthwash of course. How on earth can dentists truly believe that this is the way forward. And half the time the people you are trying to reach don't go to a dentist anyway because they can't get one on the NHS!

Alcohol education should be left to the professionals, not the amateurs. It needs to be carefully manged otherwise all the old wives tales will just keep coming back, and back and back again. A bit like plaque really.

Whilst I believe that education in alcohol should be as consistent as brushing your teeth the education has to be correct in the first place. It is true that dentists search for mouth cancers etc but it is only really spirit drinkers that are at real risk of these type of cancers.

If you drink 5 units of neat spirits per day on average then the chances of you developing an upper GI cancer is increased by 80%. Now that is stunning however two things needed to be pointed out.

Firstly the incidence of upper GI cancer in the UK is far less than lower GI (bowel) cancer and it is hard enough persuading people, especially men, to get checked for this. If they are going to be quizzed by the dentist then there is a very high chance of denial. Secondly the number of neat spirit drinkers in the UK is nowhere near as high as those from say Russia or Japan where we see high rates of oesophageal carcinomas. Now the problem is that the majority of these carcinomas are lower in the oesophagus and no dentist would be able to spot them by observation. And on a further point smoking actually causes a bigger problem in this type of cancer yet I cannot ever remember being asked about my smoking habits or being educated by a dentist about this. OK you say I don't smoke which is correct but I would still like to have seen some articulation about the dangers.

Whilst I am glad that dentists appear to be joining the fight I wonder in these times of austerity is it some more smoke and mirrors.


Real education now from real educators!