The decision by the General Dental Council (GDC) in March 2013 to remove the requirement for a patient to first see a dentist before any treatment by a dental care professional, has been seen by some as controversial. The GDC has stated patient safety is the utmost priority and a literature review on direct access in dental and other healthcare fields was commissioned by the GDC in April 2012. The review considered whether any expansion of direct access would involve increased risk to patients, either by treatment or through failure to recognise and refer problems outside DCPs' clinical remit. This paper is an edited version of the results of that literature review.

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Background: The impacts of interventions designed to change health behaviours are potentially affected by the complex social systems in which they are embedded. This study uses Scottish data to explore how men receive and utilise partner support when attempting to change dietary practices and physical activity within the context of Football Fans in Training (FFIT), a gender-sensitised weight management and healthy living programme for men who are overweight/obese. Methods: Separate semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 men and their cohabiting female partners (total n = 40), 3-12 months after the men had completed FFIT. Data were thematically analysed and individual interviews were combined for dyadic analysis. Results: Men's and women's accounts suggested variations in men's need for, and utilisation of, partner support in order to make changes to dietary practices and physical activity. There were also differences in descriptions of women's involvement in men's behaviour changes. Typologies were developed categorising men as 'resolute', 'reliant'/'receptive' and 'non-responsive' and women as 'very involved', 'partially involved' and 'not involved'. Men were more reliant, and women more involved, in changes to dietary practices compared to physical activity. The role of partner involvement in promoting men's behaviour change seemed contingent on men's resoluteness, or their reliance on the partner support. Conclusions: These results highlight how interactions between men's resoluteness/reliance on cohabiting female partners and the partners' involvement impact the extent to which female partners influence men's changes to dietary practices and physical activity following a weight loss intervention. Understanding this interaction could increase the impact of health interventions aimed at one individual's behaviour by considering other family members' roles in facilitating those changes. The typologies developed for this study might contribute towards the development of behaviour change theories within the cohabiting couple context.

Objectives:To review the evidence of a relationship between sugar-containing methadone and dental caries. Data sources: A systematic search of Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Current Controlled Trials, WHO, OHRN, SIGLE and ERIC databases was conducted from January 1978 up to June 2010. Study selection: Articles were assessed and data abstracted independently by two reviewers. Papers that provided information about methadone and dental caries and were written in English were included, regardless of type of publication, authors, source of financial support and outcomes. Nineteen articles were identified; of these only three contained quantitative evidence, one of which was a survey. Conclusions: Many people on oral methadone maintenance programmes have been reported to have high levels of dental caries. However, there is no strong evidence to support a direct link between sugarcontaining methadone and an increase in dental caries. High quality studies are required to assess the potential adverse effects of methadone on oral health.