Doctors' Drugs and the Dangers of Dental Decay.

Many "anti-something" medications, which are prescribed by medical doctors for older patients, often for dubious reasons, result in a serious reduction in the quantity and quality of saliva. That drug-induced xerostomia can produce dangerous dental decay, particularly in already compromised dentitions.This article suggests that doctors should undertake a personalised "benefits, risks, alternatives, nothing" (BRAN) analysis including an assessment of the possible dental decay risks, especially before prescribing combinations of "anti-" drugs for marginal conditions.Doctors should consider carefully if alternative approaches are feasible which could produce acceptable outcomes without incurring those serious dental decay risks. Alternative approaches may include patients altering their diet and lifestyle to include more physical exercise for controlling conditions such as marginal hypertension, for example, or perhaps prescribing counselling/talking therapies for depression or anxiety.If various "anti-" drugs really do have to be prescribed, this article describes cheap, pragmatic, and effective ways of mitigating the risks of already compromised dentitions developing new decay.

Darwinian Dentistry? Social Media, Smartphones and Selfie Sticks.

The COVID-19 pandemic produced numerous challenges for clinical dentistry which necessitated adaptation and innovation. This article will illustrate the use of selfie stick devices and ring lights for dental care practitioners to create customised 'selfie' videos of them using very effective cleaning devices on the patient's own smartphone. Because these short, engaging videos are now readily available to the patient at their home it reminds them which brushes to use, where and how. Patients are empowered by these videos which put them at the centre, reinforcing the key preventive message that they can improve and maintain their oral health by introducing effective oral hygiene behaviours. The many advantages, both for patients and for their practice teams, will be discussed in detail.

A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion-Related Interventions for Individuals With Chronic Physical Health Conditions.

Self-compassion, defined as a mindful way of coping with pain and suffering by showing kindness, care, and concern towards the self, may improve psychological adjustment in people living with a chronic physical health condition (CPHC). Various studies illustrate that self-compassion is associated with positive outcomes in general. The aim of this systematic review is to establish the effect of compassion-related therapies on self-compassion specifically in people with CPHCs. Secondary aims are to (a) establish the effect on other psychological and physiological outcomes and (b) explore the relative effectiveness of different therapy types among those identified. Cochrane, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched using "compassion" AND "chronic disease" AND "psychological outcomes" and their synonyms, from 2004 to March 2019. Eligible studies had an experimental design using a self-compassion scale with an adult population. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using the Cochrane RoB tool. Effect sizes were calculated for study outcomes. Fifteen studies, including a total of 1,190 participants, 7 different CPHCs, and 11 types of therapies, were included in the review. Nearly all included therapies significantly increased self-compassion with medium to large effect sizes, and reported positive outcomes, such as decreased depression. None of the therapy types appeared clearly superior to the others. Findings from this review show that included therapies increased self-compassion and improved various outcomes, which may represent clinically significant benefits for patients. However, there is a need to further understand how self-compassion exerts its benefits and determine the best methods to increase self-compassion.