Substantial grant for caries research

Professor James Elliot, Dr Paul Anderson and Dr Stephanie Dowker have been awarded a £500,000 grant from the Medical Research Council for fundamental research into physical chemical aspects of dental caries.

The goal of this integrated research programme is to understand physiochemical processes important to formation and remineralisation ('healing') of carious lesions in dental enamel. Results of this research will be useful in developing techniques that will have clinical relevance.

The research will take place over five years and is to be carried out at the Queen Mary and Westfield College in London.

Staff updates at Queen's University, Belfast

Professor Philip-J Lamey (top, left) was appointed as Head of the Dental School in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Queen's University, Belfast in October 1998. Philip was appointed as Professor of Oral Medicine in 1992, coming from the post of Senior Lecturer/Consul-tant in Glasgow Dental School. During his time in Belfast he has made a considerable impact on the research effort in the school.

Professor John G. McGimpsey (bottom, left) is the Assistant Director for Teaching at the School of Dentistry, Queen's University. He has contributed much to the curriculum development of the school over the years, culminating in the recent Subject Review result from the school.

John's major interest in and contribution to teaching and education in Dentistry was recognised last year by his appointment as the Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Cathedral dental team tops again

Above: : After taking top honours in the Quality Development Award in 1997, John-Barnet Lamb and his team at the Cathedral Dental Practice have gone on to be recognised as an Investor in People.

Adult Dental Health Survey results

The 1998 Adult Dental Health Survey, commissioned by the four United Kingdom (UK) Health Departments, is the fourth in a series of national dental surveys that have been carried out every ten years since 1969 in England and Wales and in the whole of the UK since 1978.

A full report of the results of the survey is due to be published in December 1999, but preliminary results have been announced.

Since 1978 there has been an improvement in the proportion of people retaining their natural teeth, decreasing from 30% in 1978 to 21% in1988 and 13% in 1998.

The proportion of adults that had lost all their natural teeth varied within the UK from 12% in England and Northern Ireland to 17% in Wales and 18% in Scotland. There was an increase in the proportion of dentate adults with artificial crowns, from just over a quarter (26%) in 1988 to just over a third (34%) in 1998.

Word of Mouth on the move

The British Dental Health Foundation advice line Word of Mouth has moved to the Foundation headquarters in Rugby.

The line was launched two years ago and has grown from a small scale operation to one handling over 450 calls a week covering a range of dental subjects.

Staff will also be involved in the new on-line information service which can be found at www.wordofmouth.org.uk.