Dentists To Help People Combat Smoking in Bolton

Mon, 01 Oct 2007

Dentists in Bolton, Lancashire, are set to assist smokers in giving up their habit as part of new health plans for the town.

The new move, which will see employee’s at the borough's NHS dental surgeries receive training in offering support and expert advice to smokers who call in for check-ups, is aimed at providing assistance to more smokers on a larger scale than ever before.

Health experts in the area are confident people will welcome the extra help.

Adrian Butterworth, manager of Bolton's Stop Smoking Service, explined: "Dental staff are being trained in brief intervention methods which will enable them to direct patients to the right place to get the support they need to give up."

"The patient group involved isn't the same as that which visits their GP, and dental visits are generally at least every 12 months, which is more frequent than most people go to see their doctor, so this is a great place to push the public health message," he added.

The training, which will mainly be given to dental nurses, will be carried out over the next two years, although surgeries could start advising patients within the next few months.

The move has been welcomed by local NHS dentists who expect the move to make a big difference to Bolton's high smoking rates .

Surgery owner and dentist Chris Brooks said: "It's a great idea. Smoking cessation advice is something that's part of the overall oral health care assessment and the focus needs to be on the whole patient, rather than just their teeth ."
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