Injuries to Children’s teeth
My one year old daughter is currently crawling around the floor, head butting the furniture, so writing this blog and refreshing my memory couldn’t come at a better time.
One in five children will have some sort of accident involving their teeth, with boys being twice as likely to have an accident.
Toddlers can injure their teeth by falling, whilst older children are more likely to suffer a dental trauma from a sports injury or hobbies such as skateboarding, running, diving into pools. Normally it is the top front teeth that are most commonly injured.
Always call your dentist immediately if your child has a tooth or gum injury.
If a permanent tooth is knocked out it can actually be saved by placing it back into the socket. This needs to be done as soon as possible following these steps:
Remain calm and reassure your child you can help.
Rinse off the tooth with saliva or milk but do NOT scrub it.
Hold the tooth by the crown (NOT the root) and gently push into the socket making sure it is the right way round.
Hold the tooth in place and ask the child to bite gently onto a clean handkerchief.
Go to your dentist immediately.
If you can’t replace the tooth then either place it in some milk or place the tooth in the mouth between the cheek and gum until you can get to a dentist. It is important not to let the tooth become dry.
We cannot wrap our children in cotton wool, trips, slips and bumps are inevitable but knowing these instructions may help put you at ease and help keep your children smiling.
To minimise the risk of a tooth injury in children:
Teach your child NOT to walk or run whilst holding an object in their mouth
Make sure your child wears a mouth guard for any contact sports

A printable download is available click on this link.

Written by Sophie Loxton - Dental Nurse

Botox Treatment at Absolute
We have a fantastic offer throughout the month of July. We are offering upto £100 off Botox treatments. So go on spoil yourself.

Deep wrinkles such as crows feet and frown lines are caused by overactive muscle movement which gradually wear away the collagen in the skin, causing the skin to sink and wrinkles to appear. The Botox treatment, botulinium toxin, is used to reduce muscle contraction by injecting it directly into the wrinkle. It temporarily relaxes the muscles thus softening existing lines. The result is a more youthful look. This treatment has been used to treat over 1 million patients worldwide for more than 11 years.
For more details or to make a booking please call 01548 852165 or email info@absolute-dental.co.uk

Oral Health – New Concepts for the New Millennium, new technology for preventing oral diseases including alternative treatments.

The 18th international symposium on Dental hygiene was held in Glasgow on the first three days of July 2010. The international federation has several aims including to promote and co-ordinate the exchange of knowledge and information about the profession, its education, and its practice, which translates to hygienists as a good chance to catch up with all the gossip! And of course to further our knowledge and pass it on to our colleagues and patients. The conference had a very varied format including workshop sessions and smaller lectures on a huge variety of subjects, ranging from enamel therapy to everything you wanted to know about consumer products but were afraid to ask! As you can imagine, this entailed several pages of scribbling as we picked up on the nuggets of information so I have divided my blogs into mini blogs to help get the most out of these current concepts.

Oral and systemic link
There has been a tremendous amount of research recently into the effects of plaque on systemic disease and also the effect of medical condition in the oral cavity and links have been established between periodontal disease and:
Osteoporosis
Endometriosis
Cancer
Gastritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Chronic nephritis
Diabetes
Interestingly more than 50% of the causes of endocarditis have not been identified and only 15.1% of cases caused by the organisms in the oral cavity. There also seems to be a genetic link between cardiovascular disease and periodontal disease.

The links with Diabetes have been reported for many years now and we know that periodontal disease reduces the efficacy of insulin and periodontal treatment leads to an improvement in glycaemic control in type 2 diabetics. It is now becoming more relevant to screen patients showing signs of increasing periodontal desease, for diabetes. http://www.absolute-dental.co.uk/treatments/preventive.html

Absolutely Fabulous News
We have just received this morning, the fabulous news that Lucy has passed her National Certificate for Dental Nursing exam. Well done Lucy, all the hard work, sleepless nights and dedication has paid off.

The Big Day
In September of last year I started my training for my Dental Nurse qualification. I knew that my life for the next eight months would revolve around studying and hard dedication. I was willing and ready to give it all I had. I knew I needed to do everything I possibly could and put everything I had into giving this my best shot.
From the start Diane Cox (my tutor) had informed us she would do everything she could to help us in any way, giving us all the support and guidance we needed. I knew if I ever needed help with anything she was always there to talk to which was so reassuring for me, for this I am extremely grateful.
Looking back now I remember thinking May was so far in the future and that we all had so much time, but before I knew it the Big Day arrived (after a not so pleasant nights sleep, thanks to my nerves)
The journey to the examination centre went so fast, squeezing in some last minute revision, my heart was racing. On arrival at Plymouth University, I knew I just had to focus and remember everything that Di had taught us, along with all the hard work and time I had put into the last 8 months, I had to do my best for myself and all the team at Absolute.
When the last section of the exam had finished. I was so emotional, I had done it and I had done all I could. Now the waiting game is on until the results are posted mid July.
I just want to thanks everyone at Absolute for supporting me, and Di for all of her time, hard work and guidance, we wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.
Written by Lucy Wells – Trainee Dental Nurse

Absolute Treatment Co-Ordinator

It has been interesting and extremely beneficial for our clients introducing the role of treatment co-ordinator at Absolute Dental.

A treatment co-ordinator opens up a line of communication for the patient right from the very beginning. This communication can be vital particularly for a new patient, as often they have a number of questions, sometimes are anxious and need to develop trust in the new relationship they are about to form with their dentist.

Our treatment co-ordinators are all very qualified, knowledgeable nurses that are familiar with the dentistry we provide. They are here to understand the aspirations patients have for their dental health, and will guide them through any options that are available.

They will answer all the questions that patients can sometimes have before and after a consultation and they then become a point of contact throughout any treatment. At Absolute your treatment co-ordinator can discuss dental insurance with you and assist you in the completion of the paperwork.

Our aim is that you as a customer don't feel rushed and leave us well informed and looked after.

Written by Rhodri John - Clinical Director