Dental School

Emerging research areas


Facial injuries research

Descriptive epidemiology

An emerging research area is facial injuries. This includes descriptive epidemiological analyses of routine NHS databases and the Violence Reduction Unit police datasets.

Future analytical epidemiology may include development of case-control studies. The focus of these studies is facial injuries and in particular injuries related to assault and alcohol. Deprivation is a major determinant of facial injuries in Scotland.

Medics against violence

Medics against Violence was set up in 2008 with funding and support from the Scottish Government. We currently have two ongoing projects. The 'Schools project' attempts to influence attitudes to violence among second year school pupils using an intervention developed to fit within a school lesson.

The lesson is presented by medics with front line experience of dealing with injuries related to violence. The lesson has to date been piloted win 23 schools in the Glasgow area, most in areas of social deprivation, and will be fully evaluated over the coming year.

The second MAV project is the ‘Domestic Violence and Dentistry initiative’ which will provide training and information to allow general dental practitioners to help patients who may be victims of domestic violence. This project uses an American model and will be piloted in North Ayrshire where the incidence of domestic violence is among the highest in Scotland.

MAV is a registered charity SC 041153.  Find more information visit the Medics Against Violence website, or email admin@medicsagainstviolence.co.uk

Brief interventions for alcohol and violence

Work has been completed to assess predictors of outcome following brief intervention in patients with alcohol related facial injuries via a randomised controlled trial of two brief intervention strategies in male patients with alcohol related facial injury sustained as a result of interpersonal violence.

Training needs assessment for alcohol intervention with general dental practitioners

In collaboration with NHS Health Scotland we are undertaking a training needs assessment of alcohol interventions with GDPs and development of a training package on alcohol intervention for use in the dental practice setting.

Grant funding

  • 2003-2006. Alcohol Education and Research Council. Predictors of outcome following brief intervention in patients with alcohol related facial injuries (£50,000)
  • 2006-2009. Violence Reduction Unit, Scottish Government. A randomised controlled trial of two brief intervention strategies in male patients with alcohol related facial injury sustained as a result of interpersonal violence. (£100,000)
  • 2008-2010. NHS Health Scotland. Alcohol Brief Interventions and Dentistry (£39,055)

Recent publications

  • CA Goodall, RR Welbury, et al (2007). Do you take a drink? Asking patients about alcohol in general dental practice. Scottish Dentist March/ April issue.
  • CA Goodall et al. (2008).  A prospective randomised controlled trial of nurse delivered brief interventions for alcohol misuse to hazardous drinkers with alcohol related facial trauma. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 46:96-101.
  • F. Oakey, CA Goodall, et al (2008).  Delivery of a brief motivational interview package for alcohol to patients with alcohol related facial trauma: A role for a specialist oral and maxillofacial trauma nurse. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 46:102-106.
  • C.A. Goodall, K. McCluskey Alcohol and violence: the prime suspects in the aetiology of facial trauma. Oral Surgery (2008) 1:69-77
  • Conway DI , McMahon AD, Graham L, Snedker S, McCluskey K, Devlin M, Goodall C.The scar on the face of Scotland: deprivation and alcohol-related facial injuries in Scotland. J Trauma. 2010 Mar;68(3):644-9.

Oral health of older people

With changing population demographics, research into the health of older people is an expanding field. The group will help inform and respond to national research strategies developed to improve oral health and reduce health inequalities among this population group.

Recent publications

  • Kerr GD, Sellars C, Bowie L, Bagg J, Sweeney MP, Langhorne P, Stott DJ. Xerostomia after acute stroke. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2009; 28:624-6.