Sir, the letter Kitchen standards (BDJ 2012; 212: 154) highlighted how excessive the present HTM 01-05 regulations are.

It is not something I would wish to dwell on when eating out; I have more pressing matters in trying to find a sensibly priced good wine to accompany the meal; but as I put the fork in my mouth, my mind briefly asks various questions: how many mouths has that fork been in? How many of those mouths had active periodontal disease present with spontaneous bleeding and more importantly was that fork adequately sterilised since the last customer?

It makes me think about the lengths I have to go to to sterilise a mouth mirror.

Surely at the least the fork should be bagged up before being placed on that crisply starched tablecloth or maybe the takeaway has got something going for it! Come to think of it, maybe takeaway dental care might negate the need for HTM 01-05!

1. Lowestoft