What the team do when we're not at Absolute Dental!

As a dental nurses, dental hygienist, dental therapist or dentist we have to be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) and one of the things we have to do to remain on the dental register is continuing professional development (CPD)

It was introduced in January 2002 for dentist and August 2008 for Dental care professionals (DCP) (which is a nurse, hygienist, therapist or laboratory technician)

What is CPD and why do we do it?

 ‘‘CPD is study, training, courses, seminars, reading and other activities which advance your professional development as a dental professional.  There are two kinds, general and verifiable.’’

It is important because …

‘‘CPD helps to keep up public confidence in the dental register by showing that dental professionals stay up to date so that they can give their patients the best possible treatment’’

A CPD runs over a 5 year cycle and for dentists they have to accrue 250 hours of learning, 75 hours of this has to be verifiable

For DCP’s they have to accrue 150 hours, 50 hours have to be verifiable

How do we do this?

By attending courses and lectures we can achieved verifiable hours as there are clear aims and objective to the learning and we have to give feedback then we receive a certificate.  This often takes place over the weekends or some evening courses.

Distance learning is becoming more popular it can be more convenient as you often do it via the internet or by reading some of the dental magazines you can fill out a question and answer sheet to test your knowledge and achieve a verifiable certificate this way.

Private study can be reading journals and magazine or researching new products, or even staff meetings.  This would be general hours.

 

Rachael

Absolute Dental Team take on The Commando Challenge 2013

For the second time, an intrepid team from Absolute Dental are taking on The Commando Challenge in October of this year. We thought that you might like to know a little bit more about the challenge we face:

 

What's it all about?

 

The Royal Marines from their nearby Commando Training Centre still use this world famous Endurance training course on Woodbury Common near Exeter to train new recruits - and once a year in October they uniquely allow members of the public to find out first hand just what its like to take on such obstacles as "Peter's Pool", "The Sheep Dip" and the "Crocodile Pit" - whilst at the same time raising funds for our charities.   Why not see some of the 100's of photos in our Facebook page or play the clip on our Home page  http://www.commandochallenge.co.uk/

So - if you have GRIT and DETERMINATION and a terrific sense of humour and want to take on this famous training course then this is the charity event for you - and dont forget that 'getting down and dirty' is par for the course?

 

 

We are obviously all looking forward to the challenge (and meeting the marines!), and if you would like to sponsor us and support the charities Devon Air Ambulance, Royal Marines Charitable Trust and C-Group (a charity for the rehabilitation of injured marines) then please visit our just giving page at http://www.justgiving.com/absolute-dental or call in to the practice.

 

Di

 

Sports Training can ruin your smile! Advice from Absolute Dental

Sports products including carbohydrate gels and drinks may improve performance and time to fatigue however use with caution or you may be forced to reconsider your smile ........

What happens .........

The outer enamel tooth surface is susceptible to acidity which can result in dental decay , dental erosion or both. Enamel and dentine are dissolved at pH less than 5.5 . Sports drinks have
pH 2.4 - 4.5. Salivary flow neutralises acids and tooth remineralisation occurs. However prolonged exposure when sipping sports drinks lengthens the recovery phase so teeth are more vulnerable to erosion. The form of sugar in energy drinks and gels is a type that adheres to teeth more than saliva and provides a substrate for additional acid production by bacteria.

Dehydration is an issue for many athletes ....a dry mouth decreases salivary flow and increases the time for tooth surface damage.

Common mouth myths .......

Water chaser - Rinsing with water will not prevent erosion? It doesn't contain bicarbonate calcium or phosphate.

Brushing makes it OK? Actually, brushing within 30 minutes of consuming sports drinks or gels can cause further damage as the tooth surface is still soft

 How to minimise Dental Erosion ........

* For children and low intensity sports tap water is appropriate

* Dental products such as tooth mousse can help protect teeth

* A water chaser can help by clearing the acidic beverage from the mouth and rehydration will aid salivary flow

* Use neutralising products ...varnishes gels rinses , milk , CPP-ACP in chewing gum (Orbit ) to remineralise tooth surface

* Swallow drinks immediately or take with a straw (Camelback ....) . Do not hold or swish

* Do not rinse your mouth with sports drink before inserting mouth guard

* Avoid dehydration and rehydrate quickly during recovery

* Delay brushing teeth for at least 30 minutes after consuming sports drinks

* Discuss your training and hydration regime with your dental professional

* Have regular dental check ups to detect early damage

Happy training ...and keep smiling !

Ruthie

Six Month Smiles at Absolute Dental - 4 months in.

We wanted to use this weeks blog to bring you some amazing photographs of one of our patients who is currently undergoing the Six Month Smile treatment here with us as Absolute Dental.

The patient came to us as she was not happy with the appearance of her upper teeth (see pictures). After the initial consultation with Rhodri John, it was decided that the Six Month Smile treatment would be the best short term orthodontic treatment option for the patient, and so we began the treatment.

We have been seeing the patient regularly every 4 weeks, as is necessary with the treatment, and at her latest review appointment earlier this month, Rhod took the following pictures - it is important to remember that this patient is only 4 months into her treatment - the results are already amazing!

If you would like straighter teeth before the end of 2013, or would like more information about the short term orthodontic treatment options here at Absolute Dental, then please call us on 01548 852165

Dental Erosion - why 4 a day is better than 5 a day!!

The government has been promoting their 5 a day campaign to encourage us to have 5 a day of healthy portions of fruit/vegetables. This is a great idea for our general health particularly to help lower the incidence of heart disease and cancers, but one area of dental concern to us has been the widespread increase in consumption of fruit smoothies, to help gain some of these 5 a day portions. Our concern at Absolute is due to the erosive properties of fruit and particularly with certain fruits having a greater acidity than others, and greater capacity to cause reduction in the hardness of the tooth surface and also the reduction in the surface depth of teeth.

What erosion might feel like.

 

Some patients complain of an increase in sensitivity or pain.

 

What erosion might look like.

 

Teeth can take on a very smooth appearance particularly when loss of enamel occurs on palatal surfaces. The tooth can appear shorter in height and on some molar teeth, pits can appear on the biting surfaces of the cusps of the teeth.

 

Management

 

This includes an initial investigation into the cause of erosion and we often ask our patients at Absolute to complete a diet sheet which patients complete with all the drinks and snacks they have over a period of time e.g. a week and the times of day as well. This allows us to evaluate where acidic drinks/foods are being consumed.

 

The new threats to your teeth.............................................Smoothies and thickies!!!

 

Legally there is no legal definition of a fruit smoothie but it is well accepted in the soft drinks industry that fruit smoothies are made only from pure fruit blended with 100% pure fruit juice (not from concentrate) with no added ingredients e.g. sugar, dairy sweeteners or water. They were thought to have originated in Brazil as a by-product of juicing fruit and first appeared in the UK in 1994 and have steadily increased their share of the soft drinks market. Thickies however, are a variation of smoothies and they contain dairy products and are particularly good for general health as they are classed as probiotics and provide a very good aid to digestion. This is due to the lactobacillus acidophillus they contain. The dental concern with these is more likely linked to some of the other ingredients, e.g. honey which could have the potential for caries as opposed to erosion. The share of the market for smoothies is huge with an increase from 6 million litres in 2001 to 34 million litres in 2006 and this is projected to treble in the next 5 years. This is just the shop bought smoothies.......................................

 

One recent study into the erosive capacity of smoothies carried out comparing 5 smoothies, 1 thickie, water and orange juice revealed that apart from the water and the thickie, all of the drinks brought about reductions in the surface hardness of teeth but those which were classed as significant were cranberry, blueberry and cherry fruit smoothie. When they looked at the loss of the depth of the tooth surface, kiwi, apple and lime smoothie produced the greatest loss of the depth of the tooth.

 

The tooth surface can only withstand 4 acid attacks a day before damage occurs and it takes at least 45 minutes for the mouth to produce enough saliva to neutralise the acid in the mouth, and for patients whose saliva contains less bicarbonate of soda, or who's saliva flow is reduced, this may take much longer.

 

Whats being done to help?

 

Where children are concerned, the World Health Organisation have developed nutritional educational guidelines for schools and in some who have adopted these, a maximum of fruit juice is limited to 200ml at lunchtimes.

 

What can we do as individuals?

 

Ask the team at Absolute!!!!

 

• Avoid holding acidic foods and drinks in your mouth or sipping drinks over long periods.
• Check the foods and drinks you consume and perhaps try a diet sheet for a week and see if you can recognise where you could change your diet to limit the number of times you have acids.
• Brush your teeth gently but thoroughly with a soft or medium toothbrush and avoid rinsing after brushing.
• Use a good fluoride mouthwash after mealtimes.
• Wait until at least 45 minutes after consuming acid rich drinks or foods before brushing teeth.
• Use a specialised low abraision toothpaste.

 Maureen

Short Term Orthodontics at Absolute Dental

The use of short term orthodontics (such as Six Month Smiles and then Inman Aligner) are being used more and more to given adults the straighter smile and subsequent confidence in their smile they so often looking for.

This week’s blog looks at a success story here at Absolute.

Our patient came to see us in June last year really worries at the amount her teeth had moved since her childhood orthodontics. Treatment was started in mid July 2012 and our patient was advised to wear her appliance for 16 hours per day.

By the time we saw our patient again in September she was already delighted with the changes in her smile, and by October the upper teeth were completed and looking lovely. At this stage we made a retainer for the patient to ensure she can now maintain her smile forever.

Between November 2012 and March 2013 we completed the same treatment on the lower teeth and we saw our patient in June 2013 to review things and to say we were all completely delighted is an understatement.

The before and after photographs below speak for themselves.

 

The most important part of this success story is that we are now carrying out the same treatment for the patients mum, just showing that you are never too old to make changes that allow you to smile confidently and feel better about yourself.

 

To see what some of our other patients though about their Inman Aligner Treatment, please click here.

 

Call us on 01548 852165 for more information on any of the Short Term Orthodontic options offered here at Absolute Dental or to book your consultation - in just six months, you too could have straighter teeth

Pass it On - National Transplant Week 8-14th July 2013

Did you know that only 31% of us in the UK have joined the organ donor register - yet more than 10,000 of us need a transplant.  So who's giving them?

The answer is not enough people.  The serious lack of donations mean 1000 per year are dying needlessly.   So the purpose of the week is to draw awareness to the problem and make a change.

Kidney transplants are most common, as well as hearts, livers and other organs.  Donated corneas also give people a new way of looking at the world!

So how does it work?  Donors are matched according to blood and tissue type.   People from the same ethnic group are likely to be a closer match - although people from different ethnic groups usually match just as well.
When you register and get your donor card you can choose which organs you want to donate - but not who they're donated to.

The long-term organ transplant benefits are invaluable.   Not only does it give someone a second chance, transplants are less expensive than having to to keep paying for medication that would ultmiately only be a temporary solution.

When someone dies, it's really hard to accept that they're gone.   But knowing that a part of their loved one will help someone else will be a huge help for the person grieving.

Hearts, kidneys livers and corneas are all vital organs needed by people to survive and go on to enjoy their lives.

The idea of this week is simply to raise awareness of this subject, however, if you would like to join the organ donor register click here now.