lecture * with pracie

Gave an interesting one yesterday,
Don't think those there child-dentists liked it much.
Few too many home truths; I tried to be gentle.
But someone's gotta tell it like it is.
Dentistry in this country serves the dentists well... shame about the people.
They don't hear that much in dental school.


amendment: pracie of lecture.
Defined equity.
Defined values.
Defined subjectivity.
Defined distribution.
Defined values of developed nations
Defined health as a human right in this context.
Described distribution of poor oral health in Australia.
Described medical vs dental expenditure in Australia
Defined communism (they always confuse equity with communism)
Defined universal health care
Described dental system as NOT universal
Queried the equity.
Queried dental health profession interest in equity
Queried dental health profession commitment to population health
end of story

environmental dental

In Australia, over 30 million toothbrushes are used and disposed each year, amounting to approximately 1000 tonnes of landfill each year, so says the blurb. If this is correct, thats a lotta toothbrushes and thats just us! A young Aussie ex air force dentist has started producing a 100% biodegradable bamboo toothbrush, both bristle and handle which goes a step toward eliminating such waste. The environmental toothbrush tried to get made in Australia but a Chinese bamboo kitchen utensil company was the only company she could source that was willing and able to produce. 12 will cost you $33 dollars including postage and handling and international orders are welcomed. That price is pretty good i reckon considering top end brushes retail at around $6. I put my order in today. Its the first time the dental mag that I get each month with my dental organisation membership has come in useful!

Haiku Friday

mindful reflection;
allow yourself the freedom.
take some time to see.

Im with Michael Moore

Im getting a bit worked up over all the US media reporting on the Obama administration plans to propose some univeral health care in the US and the amount of rhetoric thats getting bandied around. The fearmongering and misinformation thats being poured on the population is incredible (but predictable). Living in a country where universal health care has been a part of the health care landscape for forty years or so I just cannot imagine life without such a fundamentally civilised approach to population health. Well that might be the problem, the 'population' bit. The US has such a fiercely individulaistic approach to life that collective insurance hits a nerve. The old red herring of the red peril, 'the Socialist road' predictably gets given a work out. Like its a BAD thing. "Oh no, lets not look after each other in times of great stress and need, thats too SOCIALIST." Coming from the land of the religious zealots, i find that a bit rich! Surely universal health care beautifully embodies the Christian tenets? The US stands alone in the industrialised world as not offering its citizens access to good quality health care as a fundamental right. Doenst that ever give them pause for thought? Why is everyone else doing it and were not?

Doesnt the fact that they have one of the most expensive health systems and yet 40 million remain outside that system, ever make them think that theyre not doing this health thing very well, very effectively? That their life expectancy and infant mortality rates really suck compared to other 'comparable' nations? (heck, even uncomparable ones like costa rica). The whole 'its too expensive, we cant afoord it' argument gets wheeled out along with the substndard medical care argument. All the research shows the US spends way more per capita for poorer outcomes.How is that a measure of 'better'? I look with interest to see if the people start to march in the streets demanding what Australia, England, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Singapore all enjoy. Last time I looked, all pretty capitalist societies - no Reds hiding anywhere near power there. I can dream cant I? Sadly, I think I know where this attempt will end, triumph once again for the rich and powerful industry lobbyits keeping the stockholders happy. Ahh Capitalism, humane isnt it?

standing up for a basic human right

Yes, grinning innanely, in love, just hours after birth and just a step away from my special patch of floor where i birthed the Bean.(doesnt look very beany...more like a watermelon! 11.5 pounds or 5.5kgs of watermelon at home-it can be done! lol)
If you have ever thought home birth was an option, ever thought there may be something to be gained, had, by birthing at home, if you've ever imagined another way, then take some action now and support your right, your partners right, your sisters right,your daughters right, your friends right, a womans right to birth how she needs too.

Laws are notoriously hard to overturn and impending policy change is about to make a womans choice to birth her children safely at home impossible through the mechanism of exhorbitant insurance by way of lack of government indemnity and the link between insurance and midwife registration. midwives will be able to attend homebirths as a 'guest' but will have no recourse to a legal and respectful hospital transfer if required. This blog post written by my last homebirth midwife tells it well.
Homebirth Australia is organising a rally in Canberra on September 7 at 11.30am if you can make it, but they have also come up with what i think is a stroke of genius for those who can't attend but want to show their support on the day; a virtual rally ticket where "your pledge of $25 goes towards the printing and assembling of your head shot and message, as well as towards our continuing campaign to keep homebirth with a midwife a viable option for Australian families” and your ugly mug can be placed on Parliament House lawns.This act will help try to keep Homebirth a legal and viable option for Australian women who choose another way to birth. Attend the rally or buy a ticket to have a virtual attendance. Imagine having a law that mandated you had to take all mammalian pets to the veterinary surgery for them to birth their young? Sounds crazy like that huh?

Haiku Friday

blades in my stomach.
cant sleep. my whole body aches.
small amusements help.

Pandemic preparedness

As an epidemiologist i have to confess to finding an emerging pandemic quite a fascinating occourrence. However as a planet member, I know that the destruction which a virus can wreak on the population is devastating.

The emergence of any zoonosis is a worying thing. The transfer of a virus from one species to another is quite a rare event and flus are particularly problematic as they mutate very quickly, making treatment tricky. By the time the scientists have developed a vaccine for one flu strain, its mutated to another and being a socially transferred illness, it spreads quickly. So flu shots are rarely beneficial unless youre a medico in a hospital and get exposed to many strains at an intensive level.

So when the Queensland Chief Medical Officer yesterday advised members of that state to start stockpiling food and was promptly contradicted by the Federal Health Minister i wondered what was going on, thinking that some 'other' pressure must have been at work to make Ms Roxon object to such a simple suggestion.
I came upon an interesting article from the food industry which i believe explained MS Roxons 'dont panic' response. This article on food supply shows that Australias urban food supply is one of the most vulnerable in the world. Our reliance upon 2 big guns in food distribution who at best are shown to have only 3 days supply on their shelves, without panic purchasing, and 80% of Aussies get all their food from these distributors. I found this incredible and rather worrysome.

Another article which was very interesting from the Medical Journal of Australia was 'the food lifeboat developed by Sydney University which details energy requirements and energy allowances for general non perishable foodstuff which we should all have in stock in case of a major disaster of any kind. The biggest danger is probably panic buying if you rely on supermarket food! Its an easy to follow read and really quite interesting.

Now Im not one to run around shouting 'the sky is falling' and I think the international response to this emerging flu strain has been incredibly efficient and well co-ordinated and I dont actually percieve a level 6 pandemic being declared due to the diseases timeline. However i am relieved to know that we have just over 2 months food stock in the pantry, just as a matter of intellectual and practical interest.

much ado about [milk]

i gave a presentation last night, i think i can call it that?? picture a moment where speed dating met a Powerpoint presentation. It was a Pecha Kucha style evening. Each invited speaker had 15 slides to present, 15 seconds per slide, each with auto transition (so no cheating possible) on the topic of Milk. It was the third in a series of 15x15 events hosted by Mulloway Studio and speakers came from all disciplines; an art historian, an events organiser, an actor, an installation artist, a philosopher, an interpretive artist, an architecht, a nanotehcnologist, me and even a milk protein scholar, all gathered together in the vast concrete space that is k2-02; the South Australian School of Art Gallery. Sounds good in theory right?

Somehow I managed to pack an overview of animal welfare, environmental and health consequences of our addiction to cows milk into 3 minutes 45 seconds and still came out somewhat comprehensible. I segued my way from bovine mastitis to nursing caries to greenhouse gasses to breastfeeding rates to maternity leave and around to plastic waste, across to salma hayek and back to unethical dairy farming practices, commercialisation and globalisation at a whirlwind rate. Im thinking that the designer audience probably werent quite expecting what i delivered, especially the tale about 'choco-loco fresh cow colostrum with added organic russian keffir grains'. I mean seriously, how first world greedy, unethical, indulgent and totally OTT is that?

However the take home message for the evening was definitely a questioning about how much dairy we consume, its impact and our complex and compromised relationship we have with the white stuff. It was a good night. Not a reference in sight (that nearly killed me as Im sooo well trained) and Im thinking that I might just take up the practice to have a glass of wine with crackers and cheese before every conference presentation; it certainly lubricated the 'have more fun' vibe, something every dental epidemiology conference can do with!

TV trash

so this is a biggie this post. its almost confessional.
I *heart* The Biggest Loser.
Love it. Hang out for. Hate saturdays. ( well not exactly hate...but..) Its a big deal for a supposed 'intellectual'. Supposedly, there's acceptable tv and then there's acceptable tv (and then theres national radio). Needless to say, I haven't mentioned my tv love affair at work.

When i was pregnant last year i started watching it when my belly became so big and uncomfortable ( 11.5 pounds of baby) that instead of the usual dinner table and conversation fare, i became an uncommunicative couch potato convert with dinner on the mound; bench seating at the dinner table was killing me. What was on the idiot box?...crappy news, black adder does archaeology and...yours truly. I never looked back. I have been forced ( by my own initial sense of shame) to 'deconstruct the love' in order to support the addiction.

I love seeing self directed change in people. I love to see the self realisation of the individual, the dawning of an inner strength; moving through doubt and self loathing. Even if its edited 'till the cows come home, im still there saying 'heck, its still a real transformation theyre having'. I really like to see people experiencing the benefits of healthful eating, the benefits of exercise, becoming observant of the slaves they had been to an 'unconscious' life. I know its extreme, but the process is a universal. It parallels somewhat my own dawning about 10 years ago; turning the observer in me into the doer. The realisation that if i put my mind to things, i could achieve. For me it was transforming the puff up the hill into a 10 km run. The day i became 'that woman' pounding the pavement with the double jogging pram and two kids and two whippets in tow (but firmly attached) and not the drive by woman observing the woman on the pavement running with the two kids and two dogs , i finally knew that i could steer my own destiny. That was my moment. Thats why i love this cheesy, feel good reality tv show. Im watching 'me' become 'me'.
Im finally learning to embrace my love, starting to declare it openly, just not yet at work. But im getting there.

But Im sure im not the only one with a secret reality tv show addiction...

love is...

annuska appearing at our door, matching oven mitts on, bearing a gift of hot comforting porky stuff; delicious caramelised aromas wafting, bread in a bag, a half hour chat, a hug, a smile, a laugh. You yourself were not well. Ahh, chorizo delivered by a beautiful spaniard! What more could one ask for...
It was superb.
Thank you, you lovely one.

Haiku Friday

Life. it ebbs, it flows.
suspended in time. breathing.
walking out the door

Image: Pinky girl

current indication

this recipe for pork belly and chorizo stew posted by haalo gives a pretty good indication of exactly where my emotional state is at. Its comfort food of the highest order. pig pig and more pig (i rarely eat pig and then only if theyre happy housed neighbourhood piggy wigs). The problem with feeling like indulging in such a porky extravaganza (besides the hip load, look at all that fat!) is that after spending hours creating; i do like to stand at the pot for said stewing hours with wine in hand and just poking the mixture every now and then, is that i effectively have only made dinner for two. The two never meat eating children (*sigh* how did that happen?) still need to be fed. Ive tried removing the meaty bits, but ive never got away with it. Would someone make this and get back to me...just how fabulous was it?

blogs and truths

Ive been struggling the last two weeks with some pretty personal health issues. Issues that have left my blogging mojo pretty frayed. Its been hard for me. I blog because i like to write, its my diary. It started this way, just for me. It was a genuine shock when i recieved my first comment and it dawned on me that people actually might pass my way! I know. Doh. Its a public blog... Im bog into honesty, i like to tell it like it is and i like others doing the same. Im a no holds kinda girl. Not much shocks me , not much scares me but i also wear my heart on my sleeve. So its been hard for me to keep these issues away from the blog but becasue they are so personal im just not sure how much to share; to open myself up for public comment...maybe not quite so ready for that right here, right now despite my intense desire to just spill. So, Im just going to say, bear with me while we get back on our feet; i'll take the pressure off myself and hopefully when the clouds have lifted, I'll be back with the old mojo in tow.