Salutary lessons

‘The first requirement of a hospital is that it should do no harm’

Readers will note that this issue of Dental Update contains three articles which deviate to some degree from the normal clinical fare that is Dental Update, but, on reflection, they don't, insofar as the papers discussing the so-called Francis Report are central to UK's clinicians' understanding of how they should treat patients. The articles will also provide a legal backdrop to all that we do in our practices.

The statement attributed to Florence Nightingale may readily be adapted to the dental surgery and recent issues of Dental Update contain salutary lessons for dental professionals. For example, in the early days of dental implants, there was widespread expectation that these would provide long-lasting treatment solutions, with 100% success rates. We now know that this is a long way from the truth, with the work of Simonis and colleagues indicating that 65% of implants (with their associated crowns) survive for 16 years, 1 perhaps a salutary lesson in the dental field. In addition, the term peri-implant disease has only come into dental speak in recent years, with the article by Warreth and colleagues in the last issue providing an in-depth review of this problem2 and indicating that, in some studies, 40% of implants were affected. The lesson is obvious – in most circumstances, keep teeth going for as long as possible!