Absolute Dental In Kingsbridge.

Working at Absolute Dental is a pleasure for me, for a start as I live in Kingsbridge I don’t need to get up quite so early although Alfie my Beardie still demands exercise at the crack of dawn!

As a specialist in restorative dentistry I have always travelled and worked in many different practices. I have been impressed by the way Absolute Dental is managed and by the enthusiasm of all the dentists and nurses. They are all very keen to embrace the latest ideas as well as the well tried and tested.
The study club is very active and though organised by Absolute we invite dentists and staff from the other practices in the neighbourhood. I enjoyed talking on dental implants to the last meeting, which was well attended. It was good to meet many of the other dentists and their staff. 12th January is the next study group and will be presenting 'Perio Treatment for the non-responder'. Call to book your place as spaces are limited.

Bill Beare

Dental care is important to so many...

I was horrified a few weeks ago whilst queuing to purchase my lunch to catch a glimpse of the horrific pictures on the front page of the newspaper.

A donkey being forced to parascending 150 feet above the ground on a beach in Russia. Her name was Anapka.

Everyone who knows me here realise that I am a huge fan or all things furry and feathered and I found this story really upsetting. I was later delighted to hear that one of the donkey sanctuaries in this country was trying hard to re home the donkey into a nice kind new environment.
The story then it seems developed a dental twist

Donkeys are unable to eat if their teeth become overgrown.

Anapka, has now been rescued and had her over sized teeth ground down by dentist Julia Ostanina. Anapka will need at least three more operations before she is able to eat properly, and vets fear she could slowly starve to death unless her teeth are reduced by half. Julia said: 'Her teeth are awful, some of the worst I've seen. She's never been properly checked before.' Her next operation will be in two weeks. The world-famous donkey has fast become a national treasure in Russia, with huge TV coverage of her story. She is living at the prestigious Kremlin School of Riding in Moscow before her long-term future is sorted.

I hope Anapka continues to be looked after. So may animals suffer from various dental problems.

Perhaps its time to get all those you love and care for checked out, both two legged and four http://www.absolute-dental.co.uk/treatments/assessment.html

Record of Experience - what are the benefits?

Having just met with my new intake of students for the next evening course for dental nurses, http://www.absolute-dental.co.uk/absolute%20training/absolute_training_course4.htm one of the first things I am keen to impress upon them, and their workplace mentors, is the significance of the NEBDNs Record of Experience (RoE) and the huge part it will play in their workplace training.

The RoE was introduced after the GDC decided there needed to be a better way of continually assessing student dental nurses, rather than just basing their pass/fail award on the final examination. I think this is a great idea. For many the thought of sitting an examination, with your career in the balance is terrifying. At least with a RoE behind them, the students have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw on and a real sense of achievement upon completion of the RoE that it offers a boost of confidence too.

The RoE consists of approximately 145 Personal Experience Record Sheets (PERS) for the students to complete, and they cover all procedures within general dentistry and usually include treatment room set up, instrument preparation, dental nurse role during the procedure and treatment room clear down/sterilisation procedure. The PERS needs to be witnessed by the students mentor (who is already registered with the GDC), and gives room for both the student and witness to add their reflections on the procedure. If completed correctly, the PERS serve to be a valuable learning tool for the student, who can ask their mentor to give pointers on how they could have assisted in the procedure in a different way, or how they could improve a certain technique (eg mixing alginate) in the future. This way, the student is encouraged to improve their performance and receives constructive feedback at the same time. This benefits both the student and the patients, who are receiving treatment from a team working together to offer a first class service. I always teach "best practice" on the course, and I expect to see this reflected in the PERS, once again aiming to improve the students understanding and performance of their duties.

A hurried RoE, a mentor who is reluctant to sign PERS or offer any feedback to their student is NOT a useful learning tool. Students and mentors need to accept the responsibility that comes with the RoE and plan to complete it in a way that is beneficial to the students learning and treatment offered to our patients. It should be embraced, viewed as a challenge and something the students can look back on and reflect on their improvements as they progressed with their training - every day presents opportunities to improve on yesterdays performance -the scale of the improvements is up to us!

Are your teeth going to be a collectors item?

A collector bid more than three times the guide price at a recent auction in order to purchase a set of gold plated false teeth once worn by Winston Churchill paying £15,200.


They were sold by Nigel Cudlipp, the son of Derek Cudlipp, the technician who made them, at an auction at Keys Auction rooms in Aylsham, Norfolk.



The dentures helped the British prime minister overcome terrible dental problems and he was believed to be so anxious about losing them, that he always kept a spare set - which is why several survive.


Two years ago, two letters written by Sir Winston Churchill to his dentist, telling him that he had been nominated for a knighthood, went up for auction. The letters were written in 1952 and 1954 when Sir Winston was in his third term as prime minister, to Sir Wilfred Fish, the most acclaimed dentist of his generation.


Throughout his life, the statesman feared that problems with his teeth would affect his public speaking, one of his most powerful attributes.


We pride ourselves at Absolute in the quality of the workmanship that goes into our denture design and construction, often giving our patients back the ability to speak, chew and smile again with confidence. http://www.absolute-dental.co.uk/treatments/abouttreatments.html I wonder if any of our patients feel they would like to nominate us for a knighthood?

This is the second in a series of mini blogs from the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene. In my previous blog we were looking at some of the evidence that links periodontal disease to other systemic diseases including diabetes. Moving on from this we have realised that there may be a great deal we can do to not only help the oral hygiene of our patients but to identify other conditions affecting the mouth. The great challenges that we face are not only a question of which toothbrush to use but about how to change the behaviour of our patients to help them take greater responsibility for their oral care. Some of the ways we can help improve are care at the chairside are:Biofeedback - this means measuring plaque on the tooth surfaces, bleeding on probing or use of disclosing solutions.Near patient testing at point of care- this can mean recording the levels of cotinine in saliva of patients who smoke. This could be done in house so that results can be instant. Other new forms of biofeedback include a system called Previser which we can use as a risk assessor for periodontal disease. It is a computer based system which allows us to record details of patients general health, including smoking, levels of bone loss, recession and periodontal pocket depths. This is then e-mailed to a computer system which gives a prediction of risk of further disease. Oralinsights is also a very new concept for toothbrushing. It is also computer generated and the patient uses a toothbrush which has a sensor in the head. This produces a computer generated picture of the areas of the teeth which are being brushed well and the deepest darkest corners where we have missed! Its great to see how far technology is reaching into dentistry! In my next mini blog I will take us through some of the other hot topics at the conference of enamel therapy, sensitivity and allergies. In the meantime, I want to share with you a conversation I had recently with a patient which made me think how important it is when we are advising patients on their oral hygiene methods.I saw this particular patient last week and we had been discussing how he had improved his oral care since his last appointment and he said that he had been thinking about the toothpaste he uses as I wanted to know. On closer inspection of his toothpaste tube he said that it had two arrows pointing to the cap of the toothpaste and instructions to squeeze from the bottom on the tube. He was very amused as he looked everywhere on the tube but couldn't find anything to say you had to take the cap off to get the toothpaste out!!!!!! Happy brushing! http://www.absolute-dental.co.uk/treatments/preventive.html

Sensitive Teeth
If you suffer from a sudden sharp pain or twinge when eating or drinking something hot or cold it is probably caused by sensitivity.
What causes sensitive teeth?
Teeth have an outer layer of hard enamel. If it is worn away or damaged the layer underneath known as dentine is exposed. Dentine is made up of lots of tubules, which join the nerve, so if you drink something hot the nerve expands, if you drink something cold the nerve shrinks causing a short sharp pain.
What causes enamel to become damaged or dentine to be exposed?
Enamel can be damaged by aggressive tooth brushing (abrasion) or acidic foods and drinks, which can cause erosion. Gum disease also causes recession.
How to prevent enamel damage:
Changing brushing technique; either slow down brushing with a manual toothbrush (visit the hygienist or oral health educator for advice and a brushing demonstration) or change to an electric toothbrush – I would recommend a rechargeable Oral B 550 @ £39.99.
Avoid fizzy, acidic drinks and food. Drink lots of water. Always wait at least 1 hour before brushing your teeth.
How to treat sensitive teeth:
Sensitive teeth need special care. Use a de-sensitising toothpaste, a fluoride mouthwash and avoid very hot and cold drinks etc.
How does sensitive toothpaste work?
The sensitive toothpaste creates a protective layer over the dentine surface and works by blocking the tubules that make up the dentine (a bit like a cork!) Blocking the tubules creates a barrier, which prevents the nerve from being stimulated and triggering pain.

Written by Nicola Adams - Hygienist