Current
Newsletter
COMBE ROAD
OPENS FOR EVENING SURGERIES
The most s
ought-
after appointments are th
ose
in
the late afternoon and
evening
and w
e have always
offered
at least one
evening surgery per week
. To make it easier for people
who cannot make day-time appointments,
we are now going to extend our evening surgeries to cover Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We are being joined by another dentist, Simon Ernst
,
who will be working on Monday and Wednesday evenings.
Simon graduated from
Bristol
Dental
School
in June 2006.
He worked his training year
in
Clevedon and then did 6 months voluntary work in
Africa
. Following that he worked as a Senior House Officer
first at
Newport
and then at
Bath
. Simon now works both in general practice and at
Bristol
Dental
Hospital
.
Please let your friends and family know about our new opening times. It may just be the push that they need to get their teeth sorted.
STAFF NEWS
Touraj Razavi
has now qualified as a Master of Implant Dentistry from
Guy’s Hospital
. Not only that; he also won the annual Implantology Award for the best clinical case of 2009 and had his research project published in the Journal of Clinical Oral Implantology Research. Our hearty congratulations to Touraj!
LABORATORY
Our in
-
house laboratory has been a great success
. D
entists and patients
alike have appreciated both t
he convenience
and the high quality of work produced by Nash. All-in-all the success of this new venture has exceeded our initial expectations and w
e are now in a position to
open up our
denture service to
patients
that attend other
practices
for their regular treatment.
There are a number of different types of denture in addition to the “standard” acrylic (plastic) denture most commonly used. One alternative that can provide a much comfier and secure ft than regular dentures is to use a chrome framework in place of the normal plastic. However,
this is
not commonly offered to patients
because chrome dentures require specialist skills to manufacture
.
Fortunately, we are able to produce these in house.
If you are having difficulties with
your
dentures then
please
come and talk to us. Also, please let any friends who may also be experiencing difficulties know that we may be able to help them and
suggest that they
contact us
for a
consultation
.
OVER-THE-COUNTER DENTAL PRODUCTS
S
upermarkets
are now selling “own-brand”
toothpastes
containing
fluoride; however,
the
se
often
contain
less than the optimum level of fluoride
. Please check
the
fluoride levels in
the
toothpaste
before you buy
. Normal adult toothpaste
(also used for children over 6 years old) should contain about 1450ppm F’.
The water companies in this area do not add fluoride to the water supply and the natural
level is
very
low
, so
it is important to use a toothpaste with the right amount of fluoride in it
.
We can give you more specific advice, particularly for younger children, during your regular appointments.
T
ooth
bleaching
products are
now available in some chemists
and over the internet
.
However, t
here is a potential problem
. T
he
se
products
are often very acidic. The enamel on your teeth starts to dissolve at
a
pH
of
5.5
. The lower the pH value, the higher the acidity level. T
he pH of at least one product
on the market in the
UK
was 3.5
, which will certainly cause significant damage.
The b
leaching gels used
in our
surgery are
only available through specialist dental suppliers. They are
based on a completely different bleaching agent
and will not damage the tooth structure
.
Mouthwashes are
also
big business
. However, they are no substitute for
proper tooth brushing
.
Often, people using mouthwashes cut down the time they spend brushing. The minty after-taste of a mouthwash may feel good but it can be deceptive.
The only effective way of cleaning your teeth thoroughly is to use a good-quality toothbrush together with
inter
-
dental cleaning
(floss, TePe etc) and this does take time.
We
do
sometimes recommend a mouthwash for a specific purpose, otherwise save your money and get brushing.
SWINE FLU
The practice will continue as normal
during the current Swine Flu pandemic. H
owever if you
have any
flu
-
like symptoms and you
have
an appointment
coming up,
please let us know
so that
we can rearrange your appointment to
a later
date.
METHODS OF PAYMENT
With the financial crisis well under way, many people are assessing the way that they manage their accounts. To enable you to access dental care we have many dif
ferent payment systems in place:
Ø
Pay as you go.
Ø
Smiletech ,Denplan (monthly capitation
payments
covering most
items of treatment
)
Ø
Family Plan (basic cover).
Ø
Direct debit payments
, pay over
6 -12 months
.
Ø
Interest free 12 month payment scheme
through C
h
rysalis
Finance Ltd
.
Ø
Please contact Reception for
further
details
.
|