A message from a very special lady

So many of you have been asking after our lovely Maureen in the recent weeks. She is away from work at the moment (on doctors orders - not much else keeps her away!!!), and is facing her treatment with a bravery that is both inspirational and humbling.

We miss Maureen very much, but she keeps in touch & pops in to see us as often as she can. We were lucky enough to see Maureen yesterday, and can tell you all that she is looking amazing.

She asked me to pass this message on to you:

" I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all of the patients who have taken the time to send me get well wishes and also the team at Absolute for their support.

I'm doing really well and can't wait to see everybody in the spring!

Lots of Love and Merry Christmas!

Mo"

Sports Injury Prevention at Absolute Dental

As we saw another of our younger patients last week with a broken upper front tooth following a sporting injury, this weeks blog is about Making Sense of Mouthguards! Luckily, the child involved in this case wasn't badly injured and their treatment was covered by their Practice Membership insurance, but this is not always the case.

Many people, young and old, take part in regular exercise these days, this can be anything from school sports and after school clubs to cycling, running, swimming and horse riding. This can be a great time of excitement or trepidation and we often don't realise the potential for dental trauma linked to sport. Back in 2002 an American study revealed that in over 1000 athletes, 28.8% had suffered from dental trauma and in the study 52.4% knew about the need to use a mouthguard but only 15.9% actually used one!!!!!!

I was interested to know that  Hockey actually had the lowest risk of dental trauma but fortunately this can be attributed to the enforcement of mouth guard wear and the athletes heightened awareness of the risk of dental trauma. 

The highest numbers of incidences are commonly seen in the first and last 15 minutes of a game. This may be explained by the adrenaline rush at the start and also fatigue playing a part at the end of the game.

The most common traumas in football are dental fractures at 74% and avulsion, where the tooth is completely displaced out of its socket, at 59%. 

Types of mouthguards

1. Stock. These are commonly sold in sports shops and are the cheapest option and offer a very low level of protection. the difficulties in these are that they are bulky and have a poor accuracy of fit, leading to speech and breathing difficulties. 

2. Boil and Bite. These are the most commonly used. Yet again they do not provide the proper thickness/ comfort or protection of the posterior teeth. 

3. Custom fitted. These are produced from impressions taken in the dental surgery and are constructed exactly to the wearers specification in terms of dimensions, personalisation,  colour and style and most importantly provide the correct thickness and maximum protection of all the teeth. 

There are also several variations of mouthguards for specific purposes. Orthodontic mouthguards are designed to help protect not only the teeth but the inside of the mouth from brackets and sharp arch wires.  In certain sports such as martial arts and hockey and extra hard acrylic layer is incorporated for extra protection. 

The British Dental Association recommends that anyone engaged in contact sports should use a well made mouth guard to reduce the risk of injury to teeth, bone and lips. It will also reduce the risk of concussion. A custom made mouth guard designed by a dentist is preferable to those solid in sports shops and they will be more comfortable to wear and more likely to stay in place on impact. 

At Absolute we can help with your mouthguard or childrens mouthguard so you can stay safe in sport. 

Maureen

 

Absolute Dental Patient Questionnaire results

Each year we ask 10 patients who see each of our clinicians to complete anonymous Patient Questionnaires, this helps us to deliver the very best treatments, customer care, advice and dental environment.

We discuss the findings at our team meetings and agree on the correct course of action to improve the results in any areas we feel are unsatisfactory. We like to share the results with you, and they are as follows:

1) What is your overall opinion of the clinical treatment you received at Absolute Dental?

80% said Outstanding
12% said Very Good

2) How satisfied were you with the overall experience at Absolute Dental?

84% said Outstanding
16% said Very Good

3) Do you feel you receive value for money at Absolute Dental?

56% said Outstanding
36% said Very Good
8% said Average

4) What was your opinion of customer service at Absolute Dental?

90% said Outstanding
10% said Very Good

5) I really understand the condition of my teeth & gums

74% Strongly Agreed
26% Agreed

6) I really feel that my dentist/hygienist listened to me.

84% Strongly Agreed
16% Agreed

7) I really feel that my dentist understands the concerns I have about my teeth and gums

80% Strongly Agreed
20% Agreed

8) Do you feel you are seen on time for your appointments?

76% said Always
24% said Sometimes

9) Do you feel confident about the cleanliness of the practice?

100% said Yes

10) Do you feel that we treat you with dignity and respect and high levels of confidentiality?

100% said Yes

11) How easy is it to make appointments at Absolute Dental?

66% said Very Easy
34% said Easy

Six Month Smiles - Recognised Provider status for Absolute Dental

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed a new logo on our website home page this week , it is that of a "Recognised Provider" for the Six Month Smile short term orthodontic program.

 

This is an exclusive logo, only given to recognised providers who have successfully completed a specific number of Six Month Smile cases, and reached Level 2 in the "Frequent Smiler Programme". It also means that Rhodri John now has 2 stars beside his name on the list of Six Month Smile providers on their official website www.sixmonthsmiles.com

We're really pleased to be able to offer patients this fantastic treatment, and are really pleased with the results being achieved here.

So if you would like to go from this

to this

 

in as little as six months, call us today on 01548 852165 to book your consultation.

Tooth Whitening at Absolute Dental

  Are you looking for a touch more sparkle this Christmas? 

Maybe you've always wanted a beautiful white smile, your teeth have yellowed over time, or you're not happy with staining that may be a result of drinking coffee, tea, or red wine? Whatever your reason for wanting a whiter brighter smile, we can help with our tooth whitening at Absolute Dental.

There are many reasons for whitening your teeth, including:

The boost to your confidence and self-esteem that comes from a great smile
A younger appearance
A special event such as a Christmas party or wedding
To make a positive first impression on others
To simply reverse years of everyday staining and yellowing

Before beginning any whitening procedure, be sure to consult with your dentist, Rhod or Ruth will be happy to discuss your whitening needs and answer any questions you might have.

Whitening is a completely safe procedure which will not damage your teeth in any way and as you do it at home, you are in complete control of the final result.

A change of just two or three shades can make a noticeable difference to your smile, while still looking natural. 

So what are you waiting for? Call us today on 01548 852165 to book your appointment to be sure to have your extra sparkle this Christmas!

Kelly

Stabilising Mobile Teeth at Absolute Dental

Our restorative specialist, Bill Beare, sees many varied and complicated cases here at Absolute Dental, cases that are referred to him from all over the South West - and beyond (Thailand is the furthest to date!).

Because he is a specialist, patients often come to him when a problem has exceeded the knowledge of the patients own dentist, and this can sometimes mean that the problem is quite advanced.

This case concerns a lady in her late 70s who came to see Bill following a history of periodontal (gum) disease throughout her life, which had left her with some mobile back teeth and areas of deep pocketing around other teeth.

Sadly due to the damage done by the gum disease to the bone over a prolonged period (the patient had first been aware of a problem in her 20's), some of the back teeth had such little bone support that there was no option but for the patient to have these teeth removed. However, Bill was keen to work with the patient to keep some of the teeth further forward.

Thorough cleaning of the remaining teeth was carried out under local anaesthetic, and the patient was given comprehensive oral hygiene instruction to enable her to keep on top of her regime at home.

Although the results from this were pleasing, Bill still felt there was more improvement possible and discussed the prospect of "regenerative surgery" the patient, using a product called "Emdogain" - this is a product that is made up of  a unique group of active proteins found in natural tooth development, and predictably regenerates lost tooth attachment. It was hoped that this would reduce the pocket depth around the upper right canine tooth, reduce the mobility and therefore stabilise the tooth.

Below is a copy of the before (on the left) and after (on the right) x-rays of the canine tooth. Before the Emdogain treatment this tooth had pocket depths around the tooth of between 7-10mm (this is 2-3mm in health) and 3 months following the treatment, these pockets have reduced to 2-4mm. You can clearly see the boney infill to the right of the tooth in the centre of the picture on the right. It is this that has caused the improved stability of the tooth.

 

We will need to continue to monitor the patient, and their visits to the dental hygienist are vital to address her on-going periodontal problems, however, this is a great result and has certainly prolonged the life of a very important tooth for this lovely patient.

 



Previous decade sees “alarming” rise in mouth cancer

Thank you Ruth, for sharing this recent article with us for this weeks blog:

Mouth cancer rates rose by over 50 per cent in first decade of this millennium with a reported 7,698 new cases in 2011 according to statistics obtained by the British Dental Health Foundation.
 
The charity reports that there were more than 6,000 new cases in England alone, while Scotland still has the most cases per 100,000 people. Almost double the number of men developed the disease compared to women.
 
Deaths from mouth cancer approached 2,500 in 2011 and rates are expected to continue rising over the next decade.
 
November is Mouth Cancer Action Month which is organised by the British Dental Health Foundation and aims to educate the public about mouth cancer and common risk factors.
 
Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter said: "The scale of increasing mouth cancer rates is very worrying. There is a clear gap in public knowledge about what causes mouth cancer that needs to be plugged. Smoking and drinking to excess increase your chances of getting mouth cancer by 30 times as much, yet so many social smokers often light up while having a drink.
 
"Of greater concern is the rise of the human papillomavirus. It is forecast to overtake smoking as the leading cause of the disease in the next ten years. Poor diet has been linked to half of cases in the UK. All of these factors make early diagnosis so important. If it is caught early, your chances of surviving mouth cancer are 90 per cent. If it is caught late, which unfortunately many cases are, then you have a 50/50 chance of living."