Oral prehabilitation for patients with head and neck cancer: getting it right - the Restorative Dentistry-UK consensus on a multidisciplinary approach to oral and dental assessment and planning prior to cancer treatment.

Historically, oral and dental issues for head and neck cancer patients were often not considered until after cancer treatment was complete. As a result, outcomes for oral rehabilitation were sometimes suboptimal. Inconsistencies in service delivery models and qualification, training and experience of staff delivering dental care often compounded this problem, making research and audit almost impossible. Collaborative working by consultants in restorative dentistry from all over the UK as part of a Restorative Dentistry-UK (RD UK) subgroup, renamed more recently as the RD-UK Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Excellence Network (CEN), has re-emphasised the importance of specialist restorative dentistry intervention at the outset of the head and neck cancer pathway to optimise outcomes of patient care. The CEN has driven several initiatives, reflecting Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) principles aimed at reducing unwarranted variation. This improved consistency in approach and optimised collaborative working of the team now presents a better environment for multicentre audit and research. Ultimately, this should result in a continued improvement in patient and carer experience.

Genuine Movement Learning Through a Deleuzian Approach.

The purpose of the article is to outline how Deleuzian concepts, notably the notions of apprenticeship in signs based on a pedagogy of the concept, can stimulate thinking and understanding of movement learning, and provide insights about pedagogical implications in various movement educational settings. Methodologically, the article falls somewhere in between theoretical exposition and presentation of original empirical research, i.e., a "theoreticoempirical" exposition. We borrowed some ideas formulated by Deleuze (and Guattari), which have been further developed by educational researchers, about "an apprenticeship in signs" based on "a pedagogy of the concept," to analyse situations where students explore new movements. We use material generated from pedagogical interventions comprising of exploration of kinescapes. In these interventions, school and university students are encouraged to explore, and learn, juggling, unicycling and dancing. Findings indicate how students pass through interpretative illusions until some of them grasp difference in itself in what could be called its immanent differentiation of the actual, i.e., they learn how to juggle, unicycle or dance. This is what we designate genuine learning. The triadic relation between concepts, percepts and affects offer us clues to what juggling, unicycling or dancing mean to learners (concepts), what learners pay attention to while practising (percepts), and what gets them moving (affects). Importantly, through viewing learning as an apprenticeship in signs, the Deleuzian approach reminds us that the triadic relation is open-ended, meaning that concepts, percepts and affects are never final but always a potential actualisation. Concepts, percepts and affects are constantly in the process of becoming. Since genuine learning is not about narrowing down how a movement should be executed and experienced, the task of a movement educator could, then, be to accompany learners in explorative pursuits. In this way, teachers can help learners escape preconceptions about movements (who can do what and when) and instead explore new movement opportunities.

Implant assessment.

UNLABELLED: Meticulous planning in implant dentistry is essential in order to achieve a predictable and successful outcome for both the operator and the patient. This paper summarizes the important aspects of planning, including factors related to clinical and radiographic examination and the use of study models. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This paper has relevance to practitioners carrying out implant treatment and also to colleagues who are likely to refer patients for implants.

Mandibular two implant-supported overdentures as the first choice standard of care for edentulous patients--the York Consensus Statement.

The Annual Conference of the BSSPD (British Society for the Study of Prosthetic Dentistry) was held in York on 6 and 7 April 2009. At the symposium on mandibular overdentures, presenters offered a synopsis of the research available on the efficacy of implant-supported mandibular overdentures in the edentulous mandible. Emphasis was given to both qualitative and quantitative research based on patient-centred outcomes of treatment. A draft consensus was circulated to all presenters and to the Council members of the BSSPD and to BSSPD members on the Society's website. The statement was modified in the light of their comments, audience feedback following the presentations and members' feedback. We hope that this consensus statement will be a useful guide for patients and clinicians and that it will act to stimulate wider debate. We also hope that it will prove useful to other patient and professional organisations and will inform discussions with providers of national healthcare and with independent funders.

A pilot survey of dental health in a group of drug and alcohol abusers.

This study was designed to provide a broad estimate of the level of dental disease in a group of patients attending a Regional Addiction Unit, and outline some of the perceptions of this group with regard to the importance of dental health and gaining access to dental services. In a survey of consecutive patients admitted to a day Hospital Service at a Regional Addictions Psychiatry Unit, 50 patients were with either opiate or alcohol dependence were surveyed and asked a range of questions in relation to their dental health. A basic dental examination was carried out. The majority of patients had either moderate or severe dental disease. Disease levels were higher among opiate abusers compared to alcohol abusers. A large majority of patients had experienced dental problems within the preceding year and there was found to be a problem in accessing dental care for this group of patients. Improving dental care for this group of patients presents various challenges given the high rates of dental disease and poor access to dental services.

The need for dental treatment in a group of patients undergoing treatment for malignancies other than of the head and neck.

This paper reports the findings of an audit carried out to estimate the dental needs of patients undergoing oncology therapy for malignant disease at various sites of the body. All of the subjects were in-patients on an oncology ward. Over fifty percent of the patients had dental, periodontal or mucosal disease. It was concluded that there is a need to increase the dental service provided to cancer patients to allow further co-ordination between medical, dental and nursing staff for the prevention, management and resolution of oral complications of cancer therapy.