Dental erosion is considered to be an increasing problem. However, clear information about the number of people affected is lacking. This review of 22 observational studies suggests that the worldwide prevalence is 30.4% (95%CI 23.8–37.0). However there is considerable heterogeneity between the studies in part related to the number of indices currently being used to measure tooth wear. So the estimate needs to be viewed with caution.
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The NICE scoping guidelines on multimorbidity now thankfully include people with learning disabilities. However, the original scoping draft specifically excluded them, despite NHS England and the Department of Health commenting on the first draft.
Here, Pauline Heslop, one of the authors of the Confidential Inquiry report and a key campaigner to get people with learning disabilities included in the scope, talks about some the issues this raises.
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Service user researcher and consultant, Gerry Bennison presents his first Social Care Elf blog. In it he critically discusses the findings of a study looking at how leaders in health and social care are responding to service user involvement.
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Active support is about ensuring staff have working practices and organisational procedures to improve levels of participation and engagement in activities.
In her debut blog for the Learning Disabilities Elf, Louise Philips describes a study which set out to look at whether the quality of practice leadership was a factor in developing active support.
Louise also sets out an excellent breakdown of exactly what practice leadership is what managers need to do to ensure this framework for practice development is robust.
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The use of clear orthodontic aligners is increasing, despite searching a wide range of databases this review only identified a limited number of small studies. The quality of the studies was not sufficient to draw any evidence-based decisions on the effectiveness of orthodontic aligners so better quality studies are needed.
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What needs to be done to ensure quality services for adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities and how can organisations ensure that this is done consistently?
Here, Nick Burton describes the findings of an Australian study that uses observational methodology to look in great detail at what was happening for a number of people in small 24hr staffed houses for four to six people.
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Should all molecular research institutes looking at neurodegenerative diseases be replaced by parks, playgrounds and cycle paths? Mark Horowitz highlights a recent systematic review of modifiable risk factors associated with cognition and dementia, which suggests that from a public health perspective, there may be some sense in this idea.
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Trauma to primary teeth is relatively common. As the developing permanent teeth are closely related and trauma to primary teeth could adversely affect the permanent successor. This review looked for studies to assess this relationship. Only 17 low quality studies were identified and while they suggest a relationship the low quality means that the findings should be interpreted with caution.
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In her debut blog, Mary Larkin, Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at the Open University, examines a piece of qualitative research exploring the experiences of former carers and discusses what it might mean for policy and practice.
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Lisa Burscheidt reports on an RCT of the Headspace mental health literacy intervention and the impact it has on the mental health literacy, stigma, help-seeking and mental health of a group of young people in Australia.
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