Sir, at this time of year, it is not unusual for dentists to indulge in the festive spirit, whether that be in the form of eating heartily, excessive gift buying, or, more frequently, drinking spirits to raise one's spirits.

Naturally, we are not condoning excessive alcohol consumption, but wanted to highlight the potential advantages of using a tried and tested device that is right in front of every dentist who wishes to indulge this season by having a tipple or two – the dental spittoon.

Spittoons are a mainstay of every practice across the UK and beyond and offer the perfect receptacle for when a clinician may have over-indulged on the festive 'spirit'.

Now some people may condemn this controversial use of the spittoon, referring to it as nothing more than a makeshift 'sick bucket', but we at the Association of Perpetual Dental Indulgence (APDI) want to dispel these views.

The spittoon is designed to take whatever one throws at it and can be thoroughly sanitised afterwards. Appropriate use of the spittoon is a subjective matter and as long as full sanitisation regulations are followed, we see no problem with use of these devices for those times when a healthcare professional finds themselves with little choice but to turn to them in an emergency.

Numerous pieces of peer-reviewed research exist to support the long-held belief that one always feels better after an exorcism of matter from the stomach in times of over-indulgence. Accordingly, we recommend use of spittoons for just such a purpose and wish your readers a very 'merry' Christmas.

Note to readers

These letters have been created for the entertainment of readers in the spirit of seasonal good humour and, on the whole, are entirely fictional.