Author Archives: Brightside Dental

NHS Inspection At Brightside Dental

As discussed in a blog post a few weeks ago, the number one priority at Brightside Dental is the safety of our patients and team members. We have recently been awarded to service an NHS contract for complex oral surgery (extractions) throughout Haringey. Prior to this, we had to complete a complex application and process to ensure we meet the NHS requirements for the service.

Click to view video:  https://youtu.be/N5ZiFLVMS8w

As part of being awarded the contract, we have had 2 inspections at the practice by the NHS. The most recent in October was specifically regarding Infection Control and Prevention. We were only given 2 days notice and the inspector assessed various aspects of the practice and had a 174 point checklist to complete. On the day the inspector made many positive comments about the practice, our equipment and how we work.

We are very proud to say that on receiving the report, we have scored 98% across all the areas measured, which is well over the required standards and also with the 2% areas of recommendations for improvement, we have already implemented changes within the practice.

There have been various studies and surveys carried out about what are the most important factors to them when choosing a dental practice and cleanliness is among the top choices. This is why we take this area of our practice very seriously and do our best to ensure we meet and exceed required standards as much as possible

Are You Wearing Your Teeth Away While You Sleep?

The 9th Annual Bruxism Awareness Week runs from 22nd to 28th October 2018.     

Clenching or grinding of the teeth (bruxism to use the medical term), is thought to affect around 80% of adults.

Unfortunately, most people are unaware of grinding their teeth as it happens whilst sleeping and for many, there is no associated pain or symptoms. It can be noticed by a partner if they are not a heavy sleeper can be similar to the grating sound of nails on a chalkboard. Evidence of bruxism can often be seen by a dentist when examining the mouth. 

Click to watch for advice on bruxism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3heQSnaO_Y

Read more here:

For those who do have symptoms from bruxism, the most common ones are:

 – Headaches and migraines

– Ear ache

– A stiff neck or jaw

– Tinnitus

– Damage to teeth

 However many people do not associate this with a potential issue in the mouth and would often fail to mention these issues to a dentist. As a result, it is thought that bruxism is one of the most overlooked and underdiagnosed conditions.

 Causes of bruxism

Unfortunately, often the cause of bruxism is not clear, which can also have an impact on people not seeking treatment.  Some people suffer from bruxism every night and for others, it can be on and off.

 Some of the more common know causes are:

– Stress and Anxiety – this is believed the be the single most common cause. People who have stress at work or home and often students who are under pressure with exams are more prone to bruxism

– Sleep disorders such as snoring and sleep apnoea, as well as those who suffer from regular disturbed sleep

– Lifestyle – smoking, alcohol and caffeine – possibly because of the effect they have on sleep

 Treatment

If you notice yourself clenching during the day, especially when concentrating, it is very likely you are grinding the teeth at night.

 You dentist may suggest an occlusal splint, which is custom made and designed to be worn when sleeping.  There are various options available and your dentist will discuss what may be best for you.

 There are a number of alternative treatment options such as muscle relaxation, cognitive behavioural therapy and botox.

 What to do next

If you feel that you (or your partner) may be a bruxer, book in with your dentist for an assessment and advice on treatment.  During October and November, at Brightside Dental we are offering 20% off all private nightguards.

Refurbishment At Brightside Dental

The practice has been running for over 35 years, with us being very fortunate that many of our patients have been visiting us since the beginning or soon after that time. Dentistry is an ever changing profession and since taking over the practice 8 years ago, one of my aims has been to keep us up to date with the equipment and materials we use and to also improve the look of the practice.

Our longer standing patients have seen the changes we have been making over the past few years and we have had a lot of positive feedback with what we have done. As part of the continual improvement, we recently had some extensive work carried out by fully refurbishing one of our treatment rooms; converting our practice managers office into a new X ray room; refurbishing one of our bathrooms to allow wheelchair access; creating a new office and extending our staff room. It was quite a disruptive couple of months, however we are really happy with the results and it means our patients have a more comfortable environment to have their treatment and with the new x ray machine in addition to what we already have in place, we no longer need to refer elsewhere for full mouth x rays.   

Click to see more of what we have had done in the practice https://youtu.be/9ycrvAwtQUc

If you have any suggestions for how we can make further improvements to the practice, please do let us know and we can consider them for the future.

 

What’s The Number One Priority At Brightside Dental?

The safety of our patients and team members is the single most important area of focus on a day to day basis. In order to ensure we are working in the safest manner, we ensure all our equipment and materials are of a high quality and regularly maintained and serviced where necessary.  

Click to see more: https://youtu.be/mGq0l9wnHdg

We also have specific drugs and equipment to deal with medical emergencies. In order to ensure, all our team members are up to date with their knowledge, we have a trainer come to the practice annually for us to become aware of any changes to guidelines and update our knowledge. As well as the annual updates, we have regular team meetings where updates are carried out on working to best practice and dealing with medical emergencies.

As I’m writing this, we have just had an NHS inspection carried out at the practice, with the main focus being on our infection control and decontamination procedures and I am proud to say the inspector was highly impressed with Brightside Dental, our protocols and equipment we use.

 

How Our Patients Have Rated Brightside’s Customer Service

As all our regular patients know, we ask for their feedback at the end of each appointment by completing four questions.

Click to see our results for the month of August  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0iWpa8_hRU

Why do we do this? We want to provide the best level of service we can. We understand not many people enjoy visiting the dentist and for many, it can be a stressful experience so the more we can relieve that, the better. Also, by having feedback it’s the best way we can improve, so as nice as it is to hear how great we are, it’s just as good for us to know what we can do better.

What happens with the forms? At the end of each day, all feedback forms are collected by our receptionists. They will check for any comments and anything relevant will then be discussed in our morning meeting the following day. As well as this, the ratings by patients on all forms are analysed on a weekly and monthly basis, both for the practice and for individual clinicians. We review our performance at our monthly meetings and if there are areas that a specific for a clinician, they will be discussed individually.

We firmly believe in the saying “what get’s measured, gets managed”. We have had this process in place for over 4 years and definitely find it beneficial to our patients and for us.

Should Mouthguards Be Worn For Sports?

Mouthguards, sportguards, gum shields or whatever you choose to call them, have one sole purpose and that’s to protect your teeth and mouth from damage. Monday 3rd September marked the first International Mouthguard Day, to coincide with children returning to school for the new year.

My son Kyle ready with his mouthguard for the first day of school

We recommend wearing a mouthguard for any type of contact sports.

31% of dental emergency trauma cases are admitted to hospital for sports injuries*

Watch for advice on why a mouthguard should be worn and advice on choosing the right one for you and your family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAakFSierQw&feature=youtu.be

You have the option of buying a simple standard fitting guard in a chemist or sports shop or to have a custom-made guard by a dentist, which costs more but has a number of benefits compared with over the counter ones.

Give us a call on 020 88884401 quoting offer code “MOUTHGUARD” and book in before 30th September 2018 for 25% off a custom made guard.

*(Cranio-maxillofacial trauma: a 10 year review of 9,543 cases with 21,067 injuries: Robert Gassner 1, 2, Tarkan Tuli1, Oliver Hächl1, Ansgar Rudisch3 and Hanno Ulmer4)

Should I Use Charcoal Toothpaste To Whiten My Teeth?

Charcoal toothpastes, mouthwashes and other products have been around for a few years and are becoming more popular with people wanting a simple and quick fix to whiten their teeth.

Watch this weeks episode, where Ketan our practice principal discusses potential issues that may be caused by charcoal toothpastes and will hopefully help you make a balanced decision as to whether to use these products.

Charcoal toothpastes contain “activated charcoal” which is different to what you would use for a barbeque. There have not been enough long term and comprehensive studies carried out on charcoal products and how effective, or damaging to the teeth they are.

Our main dental concerns are as follows:

  • Such toothpastes can be very abrasive and can cause damage to enamel and wear down teeth as a result
  • Many do not contain fluoride, which most regular toothpastes do contain and is well know to help protect the teeth and help reduce the risk of dental decay
  • They do not whiten the teeth, but can help remove superficial staining which gives a brighter appearance

Our advice at Brightside Dental would be to use a fluoride containing toothpaste and possibly use a gentler whitening toothpaste for stain removal. Ensure you have regular dental assessments and hygienist visits to keep your mouth in the best condition. If you do want to improve your smile and the colour of your teeth, professional teeth whitening may be the best and safest long term solution.

For any help or advice, email us or call on 020 88884401.

Do I Need A Check Up Every 6 Months?

One of the most common questions we are asked in the practice, or assumed by patients is that they need to see us for a check up every six months.                    

Watch the video, where Ketan our practice principal advises on our recommendations of when you should come for a check up.

https://youtu.be/J-JD0Vniho4

For further information on national guidelines about this visit : https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg19/uptake

If you’re not sure when you last saw us or whether you are due a check up, email us or call on 020 88884401 and we can let you know when you need to book in.

Record Month For Brightside During The Record Hot Summer

As all our regular patients know, we ask for their feedback at each visit with us so we can assess our performance and work on ways we can improve our level of customer service.

Ketan, our practice principal share the feedback results for July in this video and also talks about online reviews that have been placed about us by our patients.    

We have found that aside from being directly recommended by someone who sees us, the main reason people choose our practice is due to the online reviews they read about us and from video testimonials from happy patients.

Just last week, we saw someone who was very nervous about visiting the dentist and having seen, she was forced to look elsewhere when her dentist of over 25 years retired. It took her over 9 months of searching and she chose Brightside because of our reviews and she felt we were the right practice for her and could help her, which has proved to be true.

Thanks very much to those who have taken the time to place a review about us to help us out, as well as prospective patients of our practice.

If you are happy with our services and can spare a moment to share how you feel about us please click http://reviews.toponepercent.co.uk/brightsidedental/

 

 

It’s Never Too Late To Follow Your Dreams

In this weeks episode, Ketan talks about a former patient of Brightside Dental who has gone from a job in marketing to become the lead singer in a Black Sabbath tribute band.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/c16sE8yWmIk

 

 

To see Rik share his experience after completing his dental treatment and before and after photos of his smile click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZKhIVSa7sM&t=1s

Here is a recommendation from Rik:

“When I first decided to invest money in my dental treatment, it was because I mixed with lots of moderately successful business people who all seemed to have good teeth. Plus, I had been very self-aware that my teeth did not look that great with stains and chips on them, I also had a couple of missing teeth that were obvious when I smiled. So my confidence was not that great.

My treatment with Ketan went like dream and it all happened in the time frame that he outlined. I was extremely happy with the end result and felt a new confidence with my vastly improved smile.

2 years after completing my treatment, I was asked to audition as the singer in a Black Sabbath tribute band, although I passed the audition with flying colours, I didn’t realise at the time what a significant part my new teeth would play in my new role.  Ozzy Osbourne is as famous for his perfect teeth (all implants) as he is for his wild on/off stage antics.

As part of my on stage performance I bear my teeth at the audience, partly in homage to Ozzy Osbourne and partly to scare the living daylights out of them.  It’s become a thing now and the audience do it back to me!

To say that my life has been transformed would an understatement. You never know what opportunities will open up to you further down the line in the future.  If anyone had told me that I would be the singer in Blakk Sabbath and completely own the stage when performing, I would have thought they were joking.  I am now on the journey with a new career and loving every moment of it!

For anyone contemplating the investment in significant dental treatment, look no further than Ketan Shah and Brightside Dental, because the future is full of unknown surprises.” – Rik (Ozzy Osbourne) Lambert

For more about Blakk Sabbath visit: https://www.facebook.com/blakksabbathband/

If you would like to learn how we can help improve your smile send us a message or call on 020 88884401.