portmore ezine: issue 5 - may 2015

Portmore eZineCREATING BEAUTIFUL SMILES FOR LIFE

ISSUE#5May

2015

N01932 855 011 [email protected] wportmoredental.co.uk

ROADWAY HOUSE, 35 MONUMENT HILL, WEYBRIDGE, SURREY KT13 8RN

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“So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly,

keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and

there’s so much to smile about.” MARILYN

MONROE



N01932 855 011 [email protected] wportmoredental.co.uk 1

2 NEWS & EVENTS

3 SPECIAL OFFER

4 TEAM Q&A: Meet Katie Frith

6 HYGIENE SPA: The Importance of Flouride & Prevention

8 ASK US ABOUT… Can you help if I’m nervous?

10 A 21ST CENTURY SOLUTION TO LOOSE DENTURES

Isn’t it great to experience some warmer weather? The temperatures seem to be rising a bit since the Easter break and with the clocks changing its wonderful to see longer days which means more time in the garden, long dog walks and generally enjoying life outdoors again, having finally shaken off the cobwebs of Winter.

Spring is usually a busy time at Portmore, everyone is suddenly thinking about

their Summer holidays or special events where they want to look & feel at their

very best. The Hygiene Spa is so busy – patients enjoying a Diamond Polish or

treating themselves to tooth whitening, we have also seen a huge interest in

Smile Makeovers, a real passion of ours at Portmore. The team is busy and that’s

just how we like it!!

If you are thinking about a smile makeover, why not come into the practice to see

Lorraine, our Treatment Coordinator? Lorraine is a very experienced member of

our team and will be able to talk you through all the options available to you, you

will be amazed at how some simple changes can make a huge difference to your

smile. The consultation is complimentary, so what are you waiting for?

Welcome

Nikki B BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE…



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2 N01932 855 011 [email protected] wportmoredental.co.uk

NEWSWe are passionate

about team training and

development at Portmore

and so are delighted to tell

you that Naomi, our Nurse

Manager and Lorraine, our

Clinic Manager have just

enrolled on the Institute of

Leadership & Management

Level 3 certificate

in Dental Practice

Management. Both Naomi

and Lorraine are very keen

to further their career in

dentistry by undertaking

professional development

& ongoing training. For

our patients, this means

that you have a highly

skilled clinical management

team who will constantly

be working towards

exceptional standards

of patient care. We wish

Naomi and Lorraine the

very best of luck!

I’m sure you all know

what a great team we

have at Portmore, but I

wonder if you know how

we communicate to make

sure we deliver consistent

patient care?

Every morning before

we start the day we have

a team ‘huddle’ – we talk

about all the patients that

have appointments that day

to ensure everything is in

place so that their visit to

the practice is as stress free

and enjoyable as possible.

It is without a doubt the

most valuable part of our

day – it makes sure that

any potential obstacles

are highlighted so that we

can deliver great customer

service, which is just as

important as the dentistry!

8–9 MAY – Dentists visit the 2 day

British Dental Association conference

in Manchester. World class speakers

and seminars.

19TH MAY - National Smile Month

Lots of events taking place at the practice

13TH JUNE – Dentist PRGF training event

at Portmore. Sponsored by BTI

21/22/23 JUNE – PRGF training in Spain

for Naomi, Lorraine and Katie. 2 day workshop

at BTI headquarters in Bilbao.

19TH JULY –Portmore ‘team day’

25TH SEPTEMBER – Macmillan coffee

morning – join us at Portmore for coffee &

home-made cake and help us to raise some

money for charity.

Events













SUMMER IS ON THE WAY!To help our patients feel fabulous for their summer event or

holiday we are offering all existing patients a massive £500 DISCOUNT on a Smile Makeover!!

On makeovers over £5k - subject to T&C’s

Thinking about straighter teeth? Whiter teeth? A ‘Hollywood’ smile? This offer is available to existing patients who

book a consultation in May – pick up the phone and book your

appointment now.




TEAM Q&A


Q1:

What is your role at

Portmore, what do you

do on a day to day basis?

I’m a Dental Nurse at

Portmore and I nurse

with John in his busy

surgery. We do all kinds

of dental treatment

from orthodontics to full

cosmetic treatment. My

role includes planning

ahead to make sure

that every day goes as

smoothly as possible.

Keeping the surgery

organised and making

patients feel comfortable.

Q2:

What is your favourite

aspect of your role?

My favourite part of my

job is doing Full mouth

reconstructions. We have

people come in with

NAME: Katie Frith

ROLE: Cosmetic Dental Nurse














missing teeth, broken

teeth or have just hated

their smile for years. Being

able to help people get the

smile they have always

wanted and just giving

them a better quality of life

is very rewarding. I spend

a lot of time at work with

John, so it’s a good job we

get along. Q3:

If I wasn’t working at

Portmore I would be…?

I most probably would be

somewhere HOT. I love

the sun. I’m desperate to

get back to Australia so

would love to travel more

of it and visit my friends

I have there. I would

definitely love to travel the

world. (If someone would

fund the trip).

Q4:

My guilty pleasure is…

I’m a bit obsessed with

Harry Potter- I went to

Florida last year and went

to Harry Potter World. I

know I embarrassed my

boyfriend because I was

acting like a crazy lady

running around Hogwarts.

I never wanted to leave.

Q5:

Outside of work I love…

…spending time with my

family and my Boyfriend. I

love taking my dog Rocky

out for walks (more like he

takes me for a walk/run)

and going to see my friends

and nights out with them.

Q6:

What are you looking

forward to in the coming

months, work and

pleasure?

I’m due to go on a PRGF

course in June so am

looking forward to going

on that. The staff summer

party will be exciting as it’s

a surprise and of course

I’m attending the wedding

of the year in September.

All very exciting!!!



Preventing a disease is much better than

having to treat a disease. There are many

ways to prevent Dental decay which I

am sure we would all like to do and help

prevent those fillings.

We all know a good diet and good brushing

habits help protect our teeth but there is a

little bit more to it. The tooth paste we use,

mouthwash we use and when and what

foods and drinks we consume can have a big

impact on helping to prevent dental decay.

Fluoride is very important in prevention.

Fluoride itself aids the tooth during the

remineralisation stage and helps prevent

the demineralisation cycle which causes

decay within the tooth structure. 1350-

1500 ppm F is the recommended amount

of Fluoride that should be in our toothpaste

here in the UK. It can be found on the back

of toothpaste packets and tubes. If your

dentist feels you are at a higher risk of dental

decay than others they may prescribe you

a higher fluoride concentration usually in

HYGIENESpaTHE IMPORTANCE OF FLUORIDE & PREVENTION

THE TOOTH PASTE WE USE, MOUTHWASH WE USE AND WHEN AND WHAT FOODS & DRINKS WE CONSUME CAN HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON HELPING TO PREVENT DENTAL DECAY.









the form of Duraphat toothpaste. With

all toothpaste, for the fluoride to have

any prevention benefit it is important to

not rinse after brushing, with water or

mouthwash- ‘Spit don’t rinse’ rule.

Non - fluoridated toothpaste is only

recommended for those with full dentures

and no teeth.

Many people like to use a mouthwash as it

leaves a nice ‘fresh’ feeling within the mouth.

Mouthwash is fine to use but is recommended

at a different time to brushing; this is due to

mouthwash having less fluoride content than

toothpaste. It is also recommended to use an

alcohol free mouthwash.

Diet is one of the biggest factors that can

aid in prevention and is controlled by you.

Anything we eat will usually contains sugar,

this sugar creates acids as it is broken down

in the mouth, these acids begin to attack

the tooth and cause it to demineralise- it

is this process that causes tooth decay.

Demineralisation continues until the pH of

the mouth has become more neutral and

allows the remineralisation process to begin.

This usually takes 20mins from when the

product was consumed. Therefore it is clear

to see that the frequency at which these

foods are consumed has a great effect on

how long the demineralisation process is

able to continue and therefore the likelihood

of decay developing.





NAME: John Brazier

POSITION: General dental practitioner

CAN YOU HELP IF I’M NERVOUS?

Ask us about…How do you treat nervous

patients at Portmore?

A large part of helping nervous

patients overcoming their

fears of dental care is about

listening to their worries

in a relaxed environment.

The key is to help people to

regain their confidence and

to understand that they have

nothing to fear, a simple way

to do this is to make it clear

to patients that they are in

control. The first appointment

is usually a massive hurdle

for most phobic patients to

get over. We have a great

website that patients

can familiarise

themselves

with and

also our

receptionists will help smooth

this essential first step.

Do you find that most

patients are nervous?

Not many people actually

look forward to coming to

the dentist! But fortunately,

modern techniques and

training mean that both

simple and complex

procedures can be delivered

in a calm environment. At

Portmore we are keen to

promote prevention for our

young patients and make their

visits fun.

What do you do if you think

someone is getting anxious

during treatment?

We would take a break from

what we are doing and allow

the patient to have a rest.

When the patient is ready, we

would continue if possible, but

otherwise we could always

rebook the appointment.

We usually find, that if we

can complete a session or

treatment from start to finish

the patient finds this quite

empowering, they realise they

CAN undergo treatment and

this gives them the confidence

to come back. Sometimes,

we may need to manage

the patient’s anxiety with

medication given either by

mouth or intravenously.

Do you offer any medication

to help patients deal with

anxiety? How does it work?

Yes, we do offer medication.

This can either be taken orally









before your appointment

or we use IV administered

by a sedationist at the time

of your appointment. Both

options have a calming effect

and significantly reduce

anxiety. The drug we use is call

Midazolam, which is from the

same family as Valium, it is not

designed to ‘knock you out’

but rather make patients feel

very sleepy and woozy. The

drug also produces an amnesia

effect. We recommend that all

our patients are accompanied

if they are having sedative

medication.

How do we prevent our

children from becoming

nervous patients?

We strongly encourage

registering children at the

practice from an early age, say

18 months. This helps them to

get used to the practice. They

will usually be happy to have

their teeth counted when they

are 3 years old. We have three

excellent therapists who have

a special interest in running

our children’s preventative

dental care programme.

I’m really nervous and

haven’t been to the dentist

for a long time. I’m so

embarrassed by my teeth,

can you help?

Definitely! This is very much

my passion, helping patients

to regain their confidence and

self- esteem. Please don’t feel

embarrassed, we see patients

like this quite often, and usually

they are amazed as their smile

can be fixed fairly simply. More

often than not we can help

them to overcome their fears.

What happens if I’m so

nervous on the day that I

refuse treatment?

At your first appointment

we wouldn’t be doing any

treatment unless you

were in pain and you were

happy to proceed. The first

appointment is about gaining

your trust and confidence,

when this happens, very

few patients go on to refuse

treatment at subsequent visits.

However, if this does happen,

then we simply rebook and

maybe discuss some anti-

anxiety medication.

Can I

bring my partner or friend

into the surgery with me

when I have my treatment?

We are very happy to bring

a chaperone with you, as we

understand this can be very

comforting for some people.

Is it possible to get my

treatment over with in just

one session?

Depending on what

treatment you need and

decide to go ahead with, then

this can often be delivered in

one visit. We do encourage

our anxious patients to

break their treatment into

small manageable sessions,

during these sessions we are

careful to help you with any

concerns. However, if you

are being sedated it would

be a good idea to complete

as much treatment in one

session as possible.

Did you know?A LARGE PART OF HELPING

NERVOUS PATIENTS OVERCOMING THEIR FEARS

IS ABOUT LISTENING TO THEIR WORRIES IN A RELAXED

ENVIRONMENT



We find that most patients struggle with

loose dentures, especially if they have

been wearing dentures for many years.

This is extremely debilitating for people

as it has a huge effect on their day to day

lives in terms of eating, health, confidence,

relationships, self- esteem and speech.

The ability to eat or chew effectively

is often lost which is usually due to the

instability of the dentures which move or

rock in the patient’s mouth when eating.

Patients often find they cannot enjoy

foods they once loved, most commonly

apples, vegetables and steaks or any foods

that are slightly sticky or ‘doughy’ such

as sandwiches or pasta. In fact, a broad

range of foods may need to be eliminated

from a patient’s diet if they have dentures.

Of course, the psychological effects of

this can be very upsetting – imagine not

being able to enjoy your favourite foods

anymore? Also, removing certain food

groups from your diet can have harming

effects to your overall health, as you may

not be getting the essential nutrients

you need to stay fit and healthy, this is

especially important as you reach old age.

Patient’s biggest complaints about

dentures are undoubtedly the

embarrassment it can cause them in

social situations. Altered speech, and

loose dentures that move around whilst

talking are very common and can be

distressing. Some patients suddenly find

social situations very stressful and begin

to avoid them altogether.

The great news is that there is now a

long-term, permanent and cost effective

A 21ST CENTURY SOLUTION TO LOOSE DENTURESWearing dentures can be a challenge for many of our patients for lots of reasons.









solution to these problems. Denture

stabilisation, using dental implants to

secures dentures firmly in place, giving

denture wearers confidence in knowing

their dentures won’t move around whilst

eating or talking.

The treatment process itself is fairly

straightforward in most cases. A dental

implant is a small titanium screw that is

placed into your jaw bone, via a minor

surgical procedure, to which your

denture is attached. For lower dentures,

we usually place two dental implants

at the front of the lower jaw; fewer

people struggle with an upper denture

that moves, but if this is the case then

we generally place three to four dental

implants. Each implant is connected

securely to your denture using a series of

specially designed connections.

After initial implant placement, there is

a healing period of approximately 3-4

months, this is to allow the dentures to

‘fuse’ to your own bone and become

part of you (a process known as

osseointegration), during this period, your

usual dentures are worn as a ‘temporary’

measure. The final stages of treatment

comprise of 4-6 short appointments to

construct the new dentures with the

secure attachments.

Patients are still able to remove dentures

for cleaning, but can be confident that

when the denture is attached in place it

will remain secure and will not suddenly

dislodge. By ensuring dentures are secure,

patients smile and speak more easily,

clearly and confidently knowing that their

dentures won’t slip out unexpectedly.

A LONG-TERM, PERMANENT &

COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION





• Do your dentures move around

when eating or chewing?

• Do you avoid social situations

because of your dentures?

• Have your dentures ever fallen

out in front of others?

• Do you feel self- conscious when

you smile?

• Do you find yourself avoiding

certain foods because you can’t

chew properly?

• Have you found that you have

drastically altered your diet to

accommodate your dentures?

• Has your speech been affected

by wearing dentures?

If you have answered ‘YES’ to 1 or more

of the questions above, you may be a

good candidate for denture stabilisation.

Our patients that have undertaken this

procedure have reported a new lease

of life, they feel more confident, are

able to really enjoy food again and often

regain their social lives. Why don’t you

contact the practice to schedule your

complimentary implant consultation? It

really could be the start of a new life.

OUR PATIENTS THAT HAVE UNDERTAKEN

THIS PROCEDURE HAVE REPORTED A NEW LEASE OF LIFE, THEY FEEL MORE CONFIDENT, ARE ABLE TO

REALLY ENJOY FOOD AGAIN AND OFTEN REGAIN THEIR

SOCIAL LIVES.

SO, HOW DO YOU KNOW IF DENTURE STABILISATION

WOULD BE BENEFICIAL?













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portmore ezine: issue 5 - may 2015

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