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Health of the dental professional part 6: Alcohol

BDJ In Practice volume 37, pages 466–468 (2024)Cite this article

In our last article we looked at substance misuse. Here we will concentrate on a particular substance - alcohol. Having a drink with friends, nothing wrong with that, is there? Celebrating success with a glass of something sparkling, nothing wrong with that, is there? Red wine does you good - allegedly. Our society has embedded alcohol into our social interactions, it's ‘normal' to drink. Sadly, there is nothing normal about the effect alcohol can have on our minds and bodies. Research has indicated that there is no level of alcohol that does not have an adverse effect on our functioning - that is extremely disconcerting. Something that seems so normal, so embedded in our culture, so enjoyable, having an alcoholic drink, can be deadly, it's hard to fathom. This article is not going to preach abstinence, it's going to set out the effect that too much alcohol, an addiction to it, can cause.

There are a number of definitions of how much alcohol is excessive. However, generally excess daily consumption is considered to be more than four drinks per day for men or more than three drinks per day for women. Excess total consumption is deemed to be more than 14 drinks per week for men or more than seven drinks per week for women or (NHS Alcohol units).1 At this point you are probably adding up what you drank last week and either feeling OK, or a bit worried.

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References

  1. NHS Alcohol units and limits. Available online at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/ (accessed September 2024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dental Coaching and Training Consultancy, Northampton, United Kingdom

    Janine Brooks

  2. London, United Kingdom

    Richard Jones

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  1. Janine Brooks
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  2. Richard Jones
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Correspondence to Janine Brooks.

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Brooks, J., Jones, R. Health of the dental professional part 6: Alcohol. BDJ In Pract 37, 466–468 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-024-2950-0

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