Last day to register! Take an active role with the ADAVB and our closely linked charities

Last day to register! Catch up with colleagues, enjoy refreshments and learn about opportunities to take an active role with the ADAVB and closely linked charities at our Volunteer Information Night on Monday 4 September, 6.30pm - 8.30pm.

Presentations will include how to get involved with:

• ADAVB Sports and Social Committee 
• Royal Flying Doctor Service
• eviDent Foundation
• National Dental Foundation
• Australian Dental Health Foundation

Download event flyer

Register online

To register please contact  Lisa Legge today on 8825 4601 or email: lisa.legge@adavb.org

Do you want to better manage patients’ cosmetic concerns and align expectations?

Did you know that an estimated 15% of patients presenting for cosmetic procedures suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)? Patients with symptoms of BDD are more likely to be dissatisfied with the outcome and pursue further treatment.

The eviDent Foundation has teamed up with The University of Melbourne to conduct vital research into this alarming trend, with the aim of identifying patients with increased symptoms of BDD before irreversible prosthodontic or cosmetic treatment is carried out. Identifying these patients and recognising their expectations could lead to better treatment outcomes – and reduce the likelihood of future litigation!

You can take part in this critical research! Participants in the BDD Project can be any practising general dentist or prosthodontists who have an interest in cosmetic dentistry or prosthodontics.

With your help, the BDD Project’s research findings will lead directly to improving treatments for your patients by:

• Raising awareness of the meaning and implications of BDD 
• Training dental practitioners to have a conversation with their patients about BDD or other mental health issues 
• Validating a questionnaire for clinicians to identify patients who present with BDD symptoms 
• Improving collaborations between dental practitioners and community psychologists 
• Developing collaboration and referral pathways between health professions to better case for patients with BDD.

Register your interest by calling Dr Carolina Perez Rodriguez on 03 9035 8402 or emailing ask@evident.net.au

Learn more about the project.

Handing out energy drinks at kids' sport is a load of Red Bull

One of the simple pleasures of being a parent (depending on your point of view) is spending the weekend experiencing the careers of others under the guise of children's sport. Get the taxi ready to ferry kids back and forth to the venue, play the role of a medic with ice-pack and Band-Aids on hand, coach and cater (those oranges don't slice themselves).

I don't expect to have to play the role of public health advocate. I want my children to play sport in an environment free from the food politics that inhabits much of my own professional life.

So, imagine my disgust to see the relative serenity of the local soccer match ambushed by a couple of young people handing out free drinks high in sugar and caffeine to the families watching their kids playing soccer.

This type of marketing is actually in breach of the voluntary Australian Beverages Council's industry commitment on energy drinks, which provides guidelines for the responsible marketing and promotion of energy drinks to which members agree to be bound. These guidelines are meant to ensure that marketing and advertising activities of energy drinks are not directed at children.

In this instance, the promotion targeted what was clearly a junior sporting event where the participants – and a large number of spectators – were children.

This is why everyone in public health has legitimate concerns about self-regulation and industry involvement in policy areas such as food-labelling, advertising and the much-maligned 'Health Star Rating' system.

Industry is clearly not concerned with the health of their consumers; they are only interested in their own bottom line. This compromises any role they may have in shaping policies designed to improve health.

So next time Red Bull turns up at the local soccer game, I'll be suggesting they get their wings on and fly away. I want my kids sport sugar-free, thanks.

ADAVB CEO Clinical A/Prof Matthew Hopcraft

Read the full article.

Dentists welcome the Andrews Government’s commitment to improving Victorians’ oral health

All Victorians deserve to have good oral health.

The Victorian Government’s announcement of upcoming consultation on a new strategy to prevent oral disease in Victoria is welcomed by the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB).

The ADAVB has long advocated for enhanced strategies to prevent oral disease and promote the oral health of Victorians, and consulting broadly on future plans is a critical step in this process.

Although there have been significant improvements in community oral health, more than 15,000 Victorians, including around 6,000 children, still experience preventable hospital admission due to dental disease each year – and this needs to change.

Multiple approaches are needed to empower Victorians to maintain good oral health, especially for people at higher risk of oral disease.

We look forward to continuing to work with the government, oral health professionals and the community to develop the new dental health strategy.

Engage with your patients and the community about their oral health this Dental Health Week

Did you know:

• 65% of Australians haven't visited a dentist in the past two years
• 63% only visit if they have a specific problem
• 25% of adults only brush once a day.

These statistics just go to show how important it is to engage with the community about the importance of dental health. Dental Health Week provides us with the perfect opportunity to do so.

The theme for 2017 Dental Health Week is Oral Health for Busy Lives. It aims to encourage Australians from all walks of life to treat their oral health as an indispensable part of their day, no matter how crowded their diary may be.

Visit dentalhealthweek.com.au to learn how you can get involved. And remember to spread the message by using the hashtag #dentalhealthweek on social media. 

How you can help the ADAVB fight the top health and safety risk faced by dentists

© iStock/seoterra

The risk of musculoskeletal injuries is the top occupational health and safety risk faced by dentists worldwide!

Dentists and dental professionals suffer musculoskeletal complaints resulting from their work practices, such as tasks that require awkward postures, repetitive or sustained force, high or sudden force, repetitive movement and exposure to vibration. These generally cause discomfort at different end points – in the neck, low back, shoulders and hand or wrist.

With the support of PSA Insurance, ADAVB will conduct the Dentists Wellbeing Ergonomics Project (DWEP) with Productivity Matters to gather data to develop an online resource that will help members to prevent and avoid such injuries.

The research – conducted by Productivity Matters under ADAVB’s management – will consist of 10 dental practices receiving a workplace review using WorkSafe’s OHS Essentials Program. The data collected from these reviews will be used by Productivity Matters to develop the content for the training resource.

We are seeking expressions of interest from Victorian dental practices to participate in this vital study into musculoskeletal injuries in dental professionals. If your practice is located within 20 kilometres of Melbourne CBD, we’d love to hear from you!

Register your interest to participate in the DWEP by emailing Mr Nicholas Leong from Productivity Matters at nicholas@promatters.com.au.

For further information, contact ADAVB CPD & Training Manager Ms Caroline Kaur on caroline.kaur@adavb.org.

ADAVB supports smokefree outdoor dining

From today, 1 August 2017, smoking is banned at all outdoor dining areas when food is available for consumption. This includes:

• premises such as restaurants, cafés, take-away shops and licenced premises, including courtyard dining areas and footpath dining
• food fairs
• other organised outdoor events, including community or street festivals.

There is strong community support for this reform, with over 73 per cent of Victorians supporting the introduction of a ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas.

The ADAVB actively supported the Cancer Council of Victoria’s campaign to introduce smokefree outdoor dining under the Tobacco Amendment Act 2016.

As part of our commitment to the oral health of the community, the ADAVB joined 13 other leading health and community organisations to co-sign a statement calling on the Victorian Government to introduce smoking bans in outdoor dining and drinking areas.