General Dentistry

How do you find a busy dentist?

September 25, 2010 By Andrew Leave a Comment

We have just posted a description of the kind (of) dentist that we are seeking to join us at the Winning Smiles dental practice. More detail over here…

The dentist vacancy has been created by a steady increase in patient numbers over the last couple of years. And the only way we can continue being able to serve more people whilst still giving patients the time they deserve, is to find some help. We’re nothing if not logical around here.

So if anyone reading this knows someone special in the field of dentistry, if you would be kind enough to point this job out to them, then we would be very grateful. We feel we should ask because we know that special people are always busy and aren’t always looking for a new role at exactly the time the perfect opportunity comes up!

We’ll update you on our search when we have some news.

The Winning Smiles Team.

Filed Under: General Dentistry

The top three reasons why I like Damon System braces, by Almarie Odendaal

September 9, 2010 By Matt Leave a Comment

Almarie Odendaal is the new orthodontist at Winning Smiles and is an expert in fitting braces using the new Damon System.

Almarie Odendaal, new Winning Smiles Orthodontist

Here are the top three reasons why Almarie thinks Damon braces are a great treatment to choose if you need a full brace:

1. Damon braces typically provide excellent results in a shorter treatment time than conventional braces, and patients have to make less appointments.

2. Using the Damon System means that it’s very rare that a patient will need to have any teeth extracted, and they won’t have to wear any headgear during treatment.

3. Patients are a lot more comfortable during treatment.

Damon braces use a new passive slide mechanism to maintain the shape of the archwires within the bracket.
This allows the wires to move freely and reduces friction and binding, so your teeth can move quickly and comfortably. Other types of braces use elastic ties or active clips that bind archwires in place, this results in friction, making treatment slower and less comfortable. Elastics ties also attract a lot of plaque and so Damon System braces are also a lot easier to keep clean.

Almarie Odendaal, joined our team in June. Almarie qualified as a dentist from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 1993. She is a member of the British Orthodontic Society, the Faculty of General Dental Practice and the British Dental Association.

You can book a consultation with her by dropping us a note via the form on the web site, or call us on 08000 90 10 60. Consultations are currently FREE!

Filed Under: Damon Braces, General Dentistry, Orthodontics

Why quality dentistry will save you in the long run

December 18, 2009 By Andrew Leave a Comment

Can you spot the grotty ‘white’ filling in the middle of the picture? Believe it or not this filling was not done at the turn of the century but completed a couple of years ago!

bad-filling

If you look at the tooth to the left of the one with the grotty ‘white’ filling you may be surprised to know that 15 mins previous to this photo it looked exactly like the grotty one. We are replacing this chap’s ugly white fillings with nice shiny new ones that look their age (ie well into the 21st century)…

People often ask if we enjoy dentistry. But who wouldn’t like being able to take out that grotty old filling and replace it with a nice shiny new one. We can get this invisible effect using our beautiful italian white filling materials, and a little bit of technique to go with it!!

Ok here’s the rub:

Grotty white filling in the middle of the picture
Estimated cost £20
Estimated time involved 5 mins
No guarantees
Replace every 2 years?

Shiny new Italian composite filling on the left
Time involved 15 mins
Cost £70
Cost of filling material: at least double that of the cheap stuff
5 year guarantee.

Quality dentistry costs less over time and makes you feel good.

Filed Under: General Dentistry, White Fillings

Perfect smile not required

February 17, 2009 By Andrew Leave a Comment

Someone came to the surgery the other day, and this happens a fair bit, they apologised for their teeth.

It reminded me that I should put ‘something on the website’ about this, as we’re really not here to judge anyone and people should not feel the need to be embarrassed (even if it is human nature).

You see, its only when people really need us that we get to make the most difference.

And if its not too selfish of us, we’d be delighted to see you.

Filed Under: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Implants, General Dentistry, Orthodontics, Painless Dentistry Tagged With: dentist, perfect smile

Dental Patients being charged twice?

December 18, 2008 By Andrew Leave a Comment

Time to read exactly 2mins and 16 seconds

I heard on the radio today, (BBC dentist article) that ‘some NHS dentists’ are playing the system and charging patients twice for the same treatment.

It is a highly emotional subject for many, and it pains me that the some parts of our media take advantage and sensationalise aspects of this very difficult subject. A number of news reports have even neglected to point out that this situation is only relevant if you are an NHS patient.

This particular version originated with the Tory party, so I can only assume there are political points to be scored with the release of this latest ‘report’…

I do feel the need to stick up for the vast majority of dentists, because I know many who still work within the NHS system, and without exception they are honest hard working professionals providing the best service they can, within, what has to be said is a very narrow framework afforded by their NHS contracts (managed by the local Primary Care Trusts).

I know those of you who know me will have heard this before, but I think that the problems of providing government regulated (tax funded) ‘dentistry for all’ are once again shown up in sharp relief.

The main points as I see them are threefold

Dentistry is now not only about stemming pain, it is about the long term benefits of the work carried out. In our opinion, it is better to spend more time and money on something that lasts longer. There is a whole other conversation about how the work looks (aesthetic or cosmetic) and self esteem, but in this context we should also see it from the society’s point of view (government).
Where does the line get drawn between stemming pain, and providing long lasting quality work? The vast majority of us pay taxes. How much should we spend on medical ‘non-essentials’ that don’t save lives – of which dentistry is one.
The above issues mean that the government is forced to ‘ring-fence’ nhs dentistry to prevent dental costs spiralling out of control at the expense of those essential bits of medicine which save lives….

‘Ring-fencing’
in this instance means capping fees (forcing dentists to use cheap materials and work faster than they should) and limiting what treatments can be used and when (ie only ‘low cost’ treatments approved). The results are disgruntled dentists, disgruntled patients and a subject which recurs every time the media has a ‘slow news’ day!

Now I’m just waiting for the obvious response to this email which is, ‘Fine, you think you can do any better?

What’s your solution, Einstein!?’

A subject for another day (soon)

Filed Under: General Dentistry Tagged With: dentists contracts

Why we don’t take teeth out unless we have to (orthodontics)

October 4, 2008 By Michael Leave a Comment

Crooked teeth need space!

If you were lucky enough to grow up with a perfect set of straight teeth it means that they had just the right amount of space in your mouth, right from the start. We’re not all so fortunate these days though.

Our ancestors usually had bigger mouths than we have, and so crooked teeth were much less common than they are today, perhaps we’ll debate ‘why that is’ another time.

For the moment, lets keep it simple and look at 3 ways of getting more space for those teeth.

Take some teeth out, the traditional way for the past 80 years or so. Not so very long ago in the UK it was the norm, probably 80 to 85% of the time. In very crowded mouths it’s still necessary. BUT, If there is less crowding, then taking teeth out could give you too much space, which then causes its own problems, see below. Most people hate the idea in any case, especially for their children. So do we.
Widen the jaws. Used to be popular 80 plus years ago but fell completely out of favour. Now, with the swing of the orthodontic pendulum, its slowly coming back and we now use it frequently. Narrow jaws are very common and the method can work well for them – the extra width also looks attractive, reducing those dark corners of the mouth when you smile.
Make some teeth slimmer. “Slenderising” by filing between selected teeth. In mild to moderate crowding, especially when combined with jaw widening, it’s a very useful technique and really does make non-extraction a reality for many more people.

Remember, there is no going back if you extract teeth when you don’t need to.

Too much space could mean that

The arch can become smaller and too narrow, for a less attractive appearance.
Loss of lip support
Exacerbation of jaw joint/muscle problems.
Excess space can be difficult to keep closed and can tend to open up again, which is obviously going to affect the appearance.

The point of this isn’t to worry anyone, but we try to make sure people have all the information they need to make decisions during our consultations, and we believe extractions should be a last resort instead of routine.

Hopefully posting information in a forum like this is useful for our prospective patients! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Filed Under: General Dentistry, Orthodontics Tagged With: crooked teeth, extractions, Orthodontics, Teeth Straightening

If you don’t visit your dentist, dot dot dot

September 29, 2008 By Andrew 1 Comment

There’s a great article linked here, entitled “How your dentist can save your life“.

I wouldn’t normally point these things out, but it was pretty good, even if the ‘cautionary tale’ is a bit dramatic. There’s a lot of useful ‘motivation’ in there and well worth the read if you’ve put off your dentist visit for a while.

And whilst we’re on the subject, if you don’t live too far away, why not contact us for a dental appointment? We serve patients from Essex, Kent, London and Herts and some even fly in to see us.

No time like the present, and if you haven’t been for ages, don’t worry about it – it’ll be easier than you think.

Filed Under: Hygiene Appointments Tagged With: dental hygeine

Teeth Whitening Draw, no strings

July 17, 2008 By Andrew Leave a Comment

Teeth Whitening in Romford and Brentwood (Essex, UK) has grown hugely in popularity this year – if our diary is anything to go by, or perhaps our dental practice is just getting more of the share.

Whichever the case, when we thought of generating more publicity, because everyone deserves to know more about Winning Smiles, the thought of a prize draw popped into someone’s head.

So – here it is, the free teeth whitening draw. Enter online via the link.

Only. We’re not sure that people still go in for these things. Have the public grown cynical of offers? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

The main point is that it’s free to enter, no strings, no massive postal bumpf will arrive, and no spammy email every other day. So what’s to lose?

If you can think of anything, feel free to leave a comment, else perhaps just go ahead and enter. Vote with your feet….for your teeth.

Filed Under: Special Offers, Teeth Whitening Tagged With: special offer, teeth whitening

Saturday Emergency Dental clinic launches

July 5, 2008 By Andrew Leave a Comment

The real 4th Emergency Service?

This Saturday June 5th sees the inaugural opening of our Saturday emergency dental clinic. And we’re excited about the idea.

For a while now I have been wondering what a private dental emergency service would look like and maybe more importantly who would run it? After all if no dental professionals in Essex are willing to work weekends then the whole idea is a loser…

To my surprise the answer found me….I was discussing with Linda (one of our senior nurses at winning smiles) how I had this great idea to provide a quality dental emergency service at weekends but doubted that I would find anyone to work with us on it, and she said “I would prefer Saturdays to Fridays, and what’s more I know dental people just like me!”

So it was born.

May I introduce you to the Winning Smiles crack emergency dental team:

Dr Damien Reilly BDS

Damien is a dentist with a very special interest: he is also a trained sedationist and has a wealth of experience working with nervous patients, providing high quality, painless dentistry. He teaches both at the London Hospital and at Guys. Perhaps of equal importance is his chairside manner – calm, considerate and professional -he always puts his patients at ease. Don’t take my word for it, ask the nurses!

Linda Girling

Linda has been a dental-nurse for more years than she cares to remember. She is specially trained in Orthodontic nursing and has worked much of her life in Hospital dentistry providing Emergency and Special care. Linda and Damien have worked together for a while now and their approach to patient communication comes from the same place: empathy, enthusiasm and expertise.

Wendy Bartlett

Wendy is the Emergency Dental Team Appointment Coordinator. Her role is to ensure that the whole operation runs smoothly. Wendy knows all about this because she has managed a busy NHS emergency clinic for years. Wendy is efficient and experienced but above all approachable. She is the lady on the end of the phone when patients call in and ensures that they get the appointment and care that they need.

How it works

Filed Under: General Dentistry Tagged With: emergency dental, Painless Dentistry, sedation, toothache

Special offer: free teeth whitening with Invisalign

June 12, 2008 By Andrew Leave a Comment

I’m delighted to tell you that Winning Smiles Romford are now offering free teeth whitening to people taking up Invisalign treatment.

EDIT: If you don’t need invisalign, click here for our monthly prize draw to win teeth whitening.

(Sorry about the bold type and cartoon – always with the dramatic stuff this marketing department).

Hopefully, free teeth whitening will be a no-brainer for most people thinking of straightening their teeth, as both treatments are designed to improve the look of the smile. The idea works very well if only because the invisible trays used to straighten the teeth, also house the bleach for overnight whitening.

So, no separate visits and equipment to worry about, and it makes sense for us at Winning Smiles, because we’re not setting up twice, taking a bit off our costs.

Saving £395 on free whitening is a good offer, and we hope an attractive one to our Invisalign patients.

We haven’t yet agreed how long the offer will remain in place, (discussions continue), perhaps we’ll stop offering it when people stop asking for it.

Still, you never know, perhaps people should come in and have a free of charge dental assessment soon, just in case. Contact us here, and we’ll be in touch with some suggested dates.

Filed Under: Special Offers, Teeth Straightening, Teeth Whitening Tagged With: bleaching, cosmetic dentist, Invisalign, special offer, Teeth Straightening, teeth whitening