Face masks during covid-19

Covid-19 is a serious illness. Deaths are rising steadily, and health systems are under strain. While most countries are following international health recommendations to wear face masks during the covid-19 pandemic the situation has been complicated in Sweden. Officials in Halmstad municipality, Sweden, forced a teacher to remove their mask and prohibited the use of masks and all forms of medical face masks in their schools. The municipality said there was no scientific evidence that wearing masks offered protection, citing the Swedish Public Health Agency. At the time, agency guidance stated that there were "great risks" that masks would be used incorrectly. This guidance has since been removed. To someone unfamiliar with the Swedish response to the covid-19 pandemic, this mask ban might sound appalling. Especially since growing evidence indicates that face masks possibly do help reduce the spread of covid-19, especially in situations where maintaining distance is impossible. This essay is asking the ethical question if policy makers should apply the precautionary principle and encourage people to wear face masks on the grounds that lives potentially could be save

Arginine and Caries Prevention : A Systematic Review

Objectives: To evaluate the available evidence that the use of arginine-containing dental care products prevents the development of new caries lesions and the progression of existing lesions. Search Methods: We performed a systematic literature search of databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library and EMBASE. Selection Criteria: We selected randomized controlled trials of treatment with arginine in fluoride-containing dental products measuring dental caries incidence or progression in children, adults and elderly subjects. Data Collection and Analysis: Two review authors independently assessed trials for risk of bias and evaluated overall study quality using the GRADE classification. Main Results: Due to conflicts of interest and weak transferability to Swedish conditions, no conclusions can be drawn from studies on the effects of arginine-fluoride toothpaste in children. Arginine-containing toothpaste costs about 40% more than basic fluoride toothpaste; to determine whether it is more cost-effective, the higher cost must be considered in relation to any additional caries-preventive effect. The literature review also disclosed some questionable research ethics: in several of the studies, the children in the control group used non-fluoride toothpaste. Toothpaste without fluoride is not as effective against dental caries as the standard treatment - fluoride toothpaste - which has a well -documented effect. This contravenes the fundamental principles of research ethics. Conclusion: At present there is insufficient evidence in support of a caries-preventive effect for the inclusion of arginine in toothpastes. More rigorous studies, and studies which are less dependent on commercial interests, are required. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Base