Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Flap's Dentistry Blog Links May 19, 2009

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On Tuesday, Sprint and Palm officially announced what we have all been waiting to hear: an official release date and pricing for the Palm Pre. The Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. In addition to Sprint stores, the Pre will also be sold at Best Buy, Radio Shack, and select Walmart stores as well as online. Accessories for Palm's Web OS-based smartphone will also be available on June 6, including the Touchstone Charging Kit (Touchstone dock and Touchstone back cover), which will retail for $69.99. Alternatively, you can buy the dock and back cover separately for $49.99 and $19.99, respectively. The Pre will include access to Sprint content, including Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live.

NHS dentistry in England needs to be completely overhauled to improve access, the Conservatives have said. They have proposed a series of measures, including NHS quotas for dentists, school check-ups and an overhaul in the way dentists are paid.

Jon Steindor Valdimarsson, head of the Federation of Icelandic Industries, says the Minister for Health’s idea to put a special tax on sugary drinks is “unbelievable”. It is, he says, too easy to blame bad dental health solely on sugary drinks. “It’s just unbelievable to hear Ogmundur Jonasson’s plans to treat children’s tooth decay by taxing sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks. It’s fair to say I thought we’d already said goodbye to this sort of tax idea,” he told mbl.is. Valdimarsson points to inflation as a reason to abandon the idea, as fizzy drinks are already more expensive than ever.

Working a few years beyond retirement could help stave off Alzheimer's disease, according to a new British study published Monday. Experts from King's College London analyzed data from more than 1,300 people with dementia. They considered factors including education, employment and retirement. Researchers found that people who retired later were able to avoid the mind-robbing Alzheimer's disease longer than people who retired earlier. Each extra year of work was associated with approximately a six-week delay in the onset of dementia. The study was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and was paid for by the Alzheimer's Research Trust and Britain's Medical Research Council. "The intellectual stimulation that older people gain from the workplace may prevent a decline in mental abilities, thus keeping people above the threshold for dementia for longer," said Simon Lovestone, one of the paper's co-authors, in a press statement.

A dentist accused of murdering his wife and his ex-lover's husband is to be assessed by a psychiatrist. This is to decide if Colin Howell is fit to face further questioning by investigating officers. Mr Howell had been due back in court but his appearance was cancelled last week after he was admitted to hospital at Maghaberry prison. He is said to be suffering from severe stress and depression, and to be under close medical supervision. The 50-year-old, from Sea Road in Castlerock, is accused of murdering his wife Lesley and RUC officer Trevor Buchanan.

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