During these trying times, EndoCare is here to help.

If you have a patient who needs complex endodontic treatment or whom suffers from dental phobia or anxiety, by referring to us you can ensure they will receive the care they need.

The team at EndoCare are all specialists with years of experience and use only the most up-to-date techniques and methods during treatment to ensure the best chances of success. Furthermore, we have a real passion for providing as pain-free as possible treatment, which we know can help put people with anxiety and dental phobia at ease and even help them overcome their fears in the long run.

We’ll always return patients to your care with full details of all treatment performed and our suggested next steps.

Find out more by contacting the team today!

For further information please call EndoCare on 020 7224 0999

Or visit www.endocare.co.uk

Humans have always been naturally social beings. We survive and thrive on connecting with others, which is why the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on our ability to socialise have felt all the more profound. Isolation and loneliness were prevalent within the population prior to the pandemic, but efforts to reduce the spread of the virus through quarantine measures, stay-at-home restrictions and social distancing guidelines have only seemed to exacerbate an already serious problem.

The pandemic has even limited physical proximity between family members from different households. For the 7.7 million people in the UK living alone – many of whom rely on visiting relatives for social interactions – this has meant little to no human contact for weeks or months. It’s no wonder that many people are feeling more isolated than ever before, with around 2.6 million UK adults having reported that they often or always felt lonely during the peak of the pandemic at the beginning of April and that of May.[1]

Effects on health and wellbeing

There is substantial evidence that poor social interaction can have a serious effect on general health and wellbeing, increasing the likelihood of mortality by a worrying 26%.[2] In fact, according to one review, the effect of social isolation and loneliness on mortality is comparable to the impact of well-known risk factors such as obesity, and has a similar influence on overall health as cigarette smoking.[3] Furthermore, loneliness is associated with a greater risk of conditions such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and stroke.[4]^{, [5]}

Prolonged feelings of loneliness can also increase an individual’s chances of developing mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, stress, cognitive decline and dementia.[6]^{, [7], [8]} This can lead to the adoption of harmful coping mechanisms such as excess alcohol consumption, substance abuse and overeating.[9] Social isolation can simply become an overwhelming burden for some people, which is why it is related to a higher likelihood of suicidal behaviour.[10]

A spotlight on dentistry

Given that poor mental health is a well-known issue in dentistry, it is worrying to think that many dental professionals could be experiencing an unprecedented level of isolation and loneliness due to COVID-19 working conditions. Clinicians are ultimately confined to a sterile clinical setting for most of their working day, with increased pressure to provide timely and effective patient care on top of completing day-to-day administrative tasks. The current litigious climate only adds to the stress and anxiety that some clinicians may be feeling. 

Dental teams can take steps to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness by adapting how they connect with each other and finding new ways to stay in touch during this challenging time. For instance, access to in-person educational events may be limited right now, but dental professionals can still take part in online courses – not just for the learning opportunities, but also for the chance to interact with colleagues in a more relaxed and informal manner.

Now, more than ever, is the time to maintain strong social networks that can act as a buffer against poor mental health. One of the greatest benefits of joining a progressive organisation like the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT) is that you become part of a welcoming and inclusive community of professionals. The BSDHT understands how isolating being a dental hygienist or dental therapist can be, which is why it offers an outstanding platform of support whenever members need advice, guidance or encouragement.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge every aspect of our lives. What’s inspiring is that people remain resilient and within dentistry, in particular, individuals have continued coming together to lend a helping hand to those who are struggling, which will ultimately support the profession in moving forwards from the crisis. Remember, in a world where you can be anything, be kind.

For more information about the BSDHT, please visit www.bsdht.org.uk, call 01788 575050 or email enquiries@bsdht.org.uk

DIANE ROCHFORD – President BSDHT

CEB DIP DENT HYGIENE 1996, BSC (HONS) 2016

DENTAL HYGIENIST

[1] Office for National Statistics. (2020) Coronavirus and loneliness, Great Britain: 3 April to 3 May 2020. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/coronavirusandlonelinessgreatbritain/3aprilto3may2020#how-has-the-coronavirus-impacted-people-living-with-loneliness. [Last accessed: 26.10.20].

[2] Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T. and Stephenson, D. (2015) Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspective on Psychological Science. 10(2): 227–37. DOI: 10.1177/1745691614568352.

[3] Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B. and Layton, J. B. (2010) Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review. PLoS Medicine. 7(7): e1000316. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316.

[4] Hawkley, L C., Thisted, R. A., Masi, C. M. and Cacioppo, J. T. (2010) Loneliness predicts increased blood pressure: 5-year cross-lagged analyses in middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Aging. 25(1): 132–41. DOI: 10.1037/a0017805.

[5] Valtorta, N. K., Kanaan, M., Gilbody, S., Ronzi, S. and Hanratty, B. (2016) Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systemic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies. Heart. 102(13): 1009–1016. DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2015-308790.

[6] Mental Health Foundation. (2020) Loneliness during coronavirus. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/loneliness-during-coronavirus. [Last accessed: 26.10.20].

[7] Mushtaq, R., Shoib, S., Shah, T. and Mushtaq, S. (2014) Relationship between loneliness, psychiatric disorders and physical health ? A review on the psychological aspects of loneliness. J Clin Diagn Res. 8(9): WE01–WE4. DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2014/10077.4828.

[8] Cacioppo, J. T. and Cacioppo, S. (2013) Older adults reporting social isolation or loneliness show poorer cognitive function 4 years later. Evidence-based Nursing. 17(2): 59–60. DOI: 1-.1136/eb-2013-101379.

[9] Mental Health Foundation. (2020) Resilience across the UK during the coronavirus pandemic. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/resilience-across-uk-coronavirus-pandemic. [Last accessed: 26.10.20].

[10] World Health Organization. (2019) Suicide. Available at: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide. [Last accessed: 26.10.20].

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^[i] Barnes C.M et al. Comparison of irrigation to floss as an adjunct to tooth brushing: effect on bleeding, gingivitis, and supragingival plaque. J Clin Dent. 2005;16(3):71-7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16305005/ [Accessed 2^nd November 2020]

The Association of Dental Implantology (ADI) remains dedicated to supporting professional education in the field of implant dentistry. It is always evolving as an organisation, developing the member benefits it offers and the way in which it supports the wider profession. Most recently, the ADI decided to do something a little different when updating the guidelines it had in place for certain clinical situations relating to dental implants.

This project was the brainchild of Professor Nikos Donos, Academic Representative on the ADI Committee. Professor Donos is also the Chair of Periodontology & Implant Dentistry, the Head of the Centre for Oral Clinical Research and the Lead for the Centre of Oral Immunobiology & Regenerative Medicine at the Institute of Dentistry, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

Utilising his extensive expertise, Professor Donos proposed a new feature whereby professionals would be able to access the relevant evidence-based research needed to answer their clinical questions. He describes what the project was all about:

“There was a clear need to update the ADI clinical guidelines for peri-implant diseases given the number of international consensus conferences that have taken place in this topic in the past few years. The result of these meetings was the creation of a number of consensus statements and clinical guidelines, but they also identified research needs/directions that were important for future development in this topic.

“As the ADI already had guidelines regarding management of peri-implant diseases (which required an update), we believed this would be an appropriate topic to start with for this project. The ADI’s intention for this new feature is to further expand to other topics within the field of implant dentistry. We aim to bring together experts/clinical academics to review the different topics discussed at the international consensus conferences, and classify them according to clinically relevant questions.

“This new feature is not a typical guideline in that we extract the information and provide a list of instructions for clinicians. Instead, we have brought the information from recent consensus conferences together. We created different clinically-relevant questions within peri-implant diseases – for example, how do you treat peri-implant mucositis; can you predictably perform surgery in the presence of peri-implantitis? Then, in one platform, we collected all the titles of the most recent systematic reviews and consensus conference statements for each relevant question. An advantage of this feature is that a number of the titles listed are open access papers, which makes it easier for professionals to review.

“An important element was the team assembling this information. Based on the experience gathered over the years when attending many consensus conferences, I knew that we needed a team which included clinical academics at the forefront of research and clinicians who apply the clinical research outcomes to everyday practice and have experienced the development of implant dentistry over the years.”

This is just one way in which the ADI continues to support the UK dental profession, promoting and providing easy access to the science and evidence-based research that ensures the safety and effectiveness of implant dentistry procedures performed in practice.

“This project demonstrates to both the dental profession and the public that the ADI places emphasis on evidence-based information and the most up-to-date research outcomes.

“In addition, this platform is important in supporting dentists/dental team members working in the field of implant dentistry, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students who wish to have information in this topic.”

The next time you are looking for a consensus conference statement to develop your knowledge and skills in peri-implantitis, or to support your current protocols, the ADI will be here to help. The initial topics and questions have now gone live and we can expect new subjects to be added over the coming years as new science comes to light. Visit the platform at http://www.adi.org.uk/

For more information or to join the ADI, please visit www.adi.org.uk