Cultural Treasures Days at Melbourne Uni

The Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum will be participating in The University of Mebourne's Cultural Treasures Days, from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 September 2008.

This is a special opportunity to see behind the scenes of many of the University's 33 cultural collections. Visitors will discover exhibitions, talks, demonstrations, displays, tours, performances and workshops.

Cultural Treasures Days is supported by the Russell and Mab Grimwade Bequest.

For further information check the website at http://www.unimelb.edu.au/culturalcollections/treasuresdays/ or email treasures-days@unimelb.edu.au to join the mailing list.

Museum opening hours:
Friday: 10-5Saturday: 11-5Sunday: 11-5

Dental Museum Events:
Friday: Honorary Curator's tour of the Museum (Professor Atkinson) - 2.30pm and 3pm
Sunday: Curator's tour of the Museum (Louise Murray) - 2.30pm and 3pm

The Big Kill

Quit Victoria today launched updated figures showing that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in every local government area in Victoria.

Data from the Cancer Council Victoria for the period 2002-2005 show that on average, out of every 1000 deaths in Victoria:

• 119 are caused by smoking
• 24 are caused by alcohol
• 12 are caused by road deaths
  
• and 3 are caused by other drugs, including heroin

Victoria's peak health bodies, including the ADAVB, joined Quit in sending letters to all Victorian Parliamentarians, urging them to consider the impact of smoking in their own communities and to take further steps to reduce the overwhelming harms of tobacco, including offering support for a complete ban on the display of cigarette packets at retail outlets.

Overview of Commonwealth funding of dental care

The funding of dental services by State and Federal Governments has long been a confusing and contentious matter.

The publication of an overview of the Commonwealth Government's involvement in funding dental care is therefore a welcome development.

The Parliamentary Library at the Parliament of Australia has now published a Research Paper (13 August 2008, No.1 2008-09, ISSN 1834 9854), which will prove informative to dental practitioners and members of the public trying to gain a clearer understanding of the way public dental funding has been provided by the Commonwealth Government at various times.

Strangely, the report uses data from the 1990's when referring to private dental fees. More recent data suggests that many dental fees have not been increasing by as much the rest of the Health index. The overview also appears to be out of touch with the impact of new dental schools and the significant increases in the number of dentists in training over the last few years.