I recently came across an article in The Economist about Norway. It reminded me of another article on dentistry, which I have also included, along with a third piece that I think is relevant. I have added human behaviour into the mix because, in my view, it is one of the most neglected factors in how healthcare is delivered.
Not long ago, someone asked me why people are often not interested in prevention when it is so obviously in their best interest. If I knew the perfect answer to that — and could market prevention as successfully as a weight-loss injection — I would probably be a very rich man.
Over the next few weeks, I want to explore different aspects of how dental care could be improved, and hopefully contribute something useful to the discussion. If I receive helpful feedback, I plan to follow up with a webinar, blog post, and perhaps a newsletter the following week. These may appear on the Teeth4Life YouTube channel, on the DentalHealthService.org blog, or in a newsletter for those who register on the website.
After more than 40 years working in dentistry, I am now retired and looking at things from a wider perspective — from the proverbial helicopter, as entrepreneurs like Richard Branson might say.
I believe dentistry should be properly integrated within healthcare, rather than continuing to sit partly outside the NHS mainstream.
There is also an argument that, if there were no all-inclusive NHS safety net, people’s behaviour might change. But the issue is more complex than that. As the Economist articles suggest, health outcomes are shaped by wider systems, incentives, and behaviours.
When it comes to innovation in healthcare, I believe we need a much wider net for collaboration — including closer integration with social care.
