Could your Sports Drink be causing Acid Erosion on your teeth? Advice from Absolute Dental

The consumption of sport and energy drinks is increasing. This is causing irreversible damage to teeth- specifically the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel.

Young adults are consuming these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are better for them than fizzy drinks. The facts are however that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid.

Recent tests carried out show that the damage caused by energy drinks is twice as great as the damage caused by sports drinks. However damage to enamel was apparent in all tests.

At Absolute Dental we try and advise our patients with the very best advice. Minimise your intake of these drinks. If you do have to have a sports or energy drinks then rinse your mouth with water afterwards or chew sugar free gum. Both of these tactics will increase your saliva flow which helps reduce the acidity levels in your mouth. Also you must wait an hour after the consumption of these drinks before brushing your teeth otherwise you are spreading the acids onto all the surfaces of your teeth, which increases the erosive action.

Inman Aligner Open Evening Success at Absolute Dental

Last week we held a very successful, well attended open evening to introduce our patients and new clients to a fantastic new way to have straighter teeth in just 12 weeks!

An Inman Aligner can help those who often wished they had  received orthodontic treatment as a child, or who have received treatment in the past only to see their teeth slip back into their original crooked position. Also it can be the ideal treatment for many who are generally unhappy with the alignment of their teeth and longing for a beautiful, straight smile.

Rhodri John, Clinical Director of Absolute Dental welcomed all of those who attended, and this was followed by a presentation by Ruth Page to give more details on the Inman Aligner treatment and benefits of such a fast, safe & great value treatment.

Guests were then invited to ask questions, view before and after photos and study models & hear patient testimonials to see the effects of the treatment for themselves. One of our nurses, Diane, was also present to give a first hand account of the Inman Aligner treatment as she has completed treatment on her upper teeth and is currently undergoing treatment on her lower teeth.

Any guests who were interested in the treatment were then offered complimentary initial consultations with both Rhod and Ruth to asses their suitability for the treatment.

The evening was a great success, many of those assessed were suitable for the treatment and are booked in for the next stage of the treatment!

If you were unable to make the open evening or would just like more information on the Inman Aligner, please pop into the practice or call us on 01548 852165 and speak to one of the team.

Memories from a patient on the building we now know as Absolute Dental

Here at Absolute Dental, we love to get to know our patients and appreciate them as individuals. What follows is an account, written by one of our lovely patients, who has seen Kingsbridge change considerably over the years. We feel privileged to have been offered this insight into the building we now call home, and wanted to share it with others too:

The story of two sisters living in Duke Street in the war years.



We were both school teachers and nursing members of St John and were asked to train in war emergency work and enrol in the first aid party.


The Iron Foundry (now in 2012, where Absolute Dental stands) was employed on war work.


At midday on Saturday 3rd January 1943, German bombers flying low, flew up the estuary to Kingsbridge and with a deafening roar and machine gun fire, dropped high explosives bombs on the town. One of these, dropped from a low altitude, went through a bedroom in our home, through the next door garage/store and exploded in the adjacent jewellers shop, killing the jeweller and his wife.


Fortunately, there was no fire, but almost; a man from the local gas works arrived to turn off the gas from the meters to prevent possible gas explosions.


All the shops and houses in Duke Street from number 3 on one side and all on the other side were very seriously damaged and had to be totally demolished.


Amazingly, 7 people came from the ruins of our home and a lady with her children from the flat above next doors garage, with nothing more than minor cuts grazes and bruises.


After a was at our aunts cottage we reported at the first post, then after some time it was apparent that all the injured and dying had been taken to the local hospital, we were told that we could go home, but we had no home to go to, we were then given a message to stay at a cousins home.


The next call would be to render first aid after the air raid on Aveton Gifford. One girl of 5 years was killed and 20 people injured.


P.S If one stands and looks out of the door and windows of the Absolute Dental rooms, one looks right into the area of the bomb explosion and damage.


LM, Kingsbridge, April 2012

Emma John from Absolute Dental gives her advice on effective team communication

As everyone knows I am usually on the case of the reception teams. I grill them, I make them uncomfortable in their current delivery of care and then I work with them to create more efficient, effective systems.

I make their life tough for a while, but they allow me to do so to make the rest of the dental teams lives better, and the practice more successful and profitable.

For the starting point of this blog, lets for a moment assume that your reception team has already received my Perfect Front Desk training.

They are, therefore, a group of exceptionally skilled individuals who not only supply you with a series of new patients, but also deliver exceptional care and service before and after a visit.

Now liken your reception team to air traffic control (takes me back to my RAF roots). Air traffic controllers manage aircraft through all aspects of their flight with the priority of safety, followed by other aspects such as ensuring arrivals and departures are on time. They use navigation and surveillance to communicate advice, information and instructions to pilots via radio.

Air traffic controllers are well known for working in control towers at airports, but the majority actually work in area control centres. They are responsible for the en-route stage of the aircraft, using radar to track its exact position, keeping it safe in the airspace and providing the most efficient route.

Now we all know air traffic control are in contact with those in charge of the aircraft - namely the pilots. In dentistry, if your front desk team are the air traffic controllers, the pilots are the dentists. How can air traffic control carry out their job if the pilots are not communicating with them?

So today I am not on the case of the reception team; instead I am asking our dentists (pilots) if they are constantly communicating with their air traffic controllers?

Do they know how long you want for the next appointment?

Do they know if you are experiencing difficulties and are going to be running late?

Do they know if you are planning to use your 1030 gap of 15 minutes to make a phone call?

And so the list continues……...

Frequently the customer care baton is being dropped because our air traffic controllers are trying to work alone and this hinders the efficiency of the practice and can compromise the overall “in flight” experience of our passengers.

Emma John