Surgery two is open for business!

Well, it’s been about 9 years in the making but we finally have our second surgery open and working, and it’s gone from the finalised design back in 2005:

To this, (where the picture is looking right through where the new surgery is now)

To this, where the stud-work is up: and plaster is on: (not sure what that bath is doing there?)

To our beautiful new treatment room, where we are happily treating patients!

It’s been a long hard road and when the fitting took place during the middle of April we had a few issues to overcome, like in all projects but we are all delighted with the final outcome and hope that you will be too!

Suffer the little children..

Latest survey on our children’s dental health makes for depressing reading..

The latest large scale children’s dental health survey’s report into the dental health of children in England Wales and Northern Ireland were released last week and despite some modest improvements in some areas of children’s oral health the overwhelming picture is still pretty bleak. These results pertain to 2013 with the previous data being gathered in 2003, so they are a little behind but it’s extremely disappointing to see that around 33% of 12-year-olds and 46% of 15-year-olds have tooth decay.

The survey is data collection only it does not suggest any reasons or suggest any remedies to the problems, but it is widely believed that the amount of added sugar taken through diet is a significant factor.

There are lots ways in which to combat tooth decay in children and in adults for that matter, and some of those advocating them give powerful and persuasive arguments,  Steven Hancocks writing in the British dental journal argues strongly the case for fluoride in the water supply consistently, and I can understand that perspective, (more on our view on fluoride later) but ultimately for me I think that the danger of this approach alone is that it can remove the responsibility of the individual.  No one is born with tooth decay, and I think the way to change these depressing numbers of tooth decay in our children has to be firstly through education.  In the long term it is only in this way that the real goal of individuals managing their own oral health will be achieved, after all even if we conquered our recent addiction to sugar, there will always be some other threat to our oral health and only through good education is an individual equipped with the necessary skills to deal with whatever the ‘new sugar ‘is.

But I guess that even the most optimistic side of me can’t believe that this will be enough by itself, indeed this isn’t just a problem for us in the UK,  a recent health study showed the number one reason why children visited a hospital in New Zealand in 2014 was to get their teeth removed under general anaesthetic. Whilst I think that ultimately education is the best long term solution I think we may also need the additional help provided by water fluoridisation.

For more information on the survey please have a look here. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/03March/Pages/are-half-of-childrens-teeth-rotten.aspx

To have a look at the case for water fluoridisation mentioned above  have a look here http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v218/n5/full/sj.bdj.2015.149.html

And to read more depressing news on the state of children’s teeth in New Zealand have a read here http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/67402054/rise-in-bad-baby-teeth-concerns-dentists

Residents Parking the latest..

Just a quick update on the residents parking scheme,

you can see the original comments on the residents parking along with the maps of the areas by clicking here

So far it seems from the feedback we have had that the new system is working without too many problems.  Staff and patients seem to have been able to park reasonably well. We have had one indecent that I am aware of where a parking ticket has been issued, and its worth flagging it up, parking out the front of the surgery is only allowed between the hours of 10 and 4:30 pm, its an automatic ticket if you park outside of these Times.  The free car parks around the back of the surgery are still to this day free, although they have been experiencing quite heavy usage.  I am awaiting more information from the council on the long term future of the car parks but for the moment it seems that they will remain free.

The Parking meter has been removed from the road behind the surgery, (Charles Place) and I would think that that would be reasonable grounds for  not being able to pay for the ticket, although the usual caveats apply, to this statement in that I have no evidence that then council will accept lack of payment machine as a valid reason not to get a ticket!   The most disappointing aspect to the whole saga is that I see no evidence that this process has reduced congestion on the roads  around us, or in general in Bristol. As always any feedback on the residents parking scheme will be greatly received and I will ensure that it gets channelled back to the council.

There will be further Residents parking updates as we go along!

The Cactus toothpaste – Natural Dental Products at the Natural Smile

Are we really selling cactus toothpaste?  Not quite but the the team here at the Natural Smile are really excited about the range of new  oral hygiene products that we are now selling because they contain all sorts of natural products, including Aloe Vera, which looks like a cacti (but is actually a member of the Lilly family, but the ‘Lilly toothpaste’ just doesn’t sound the same!!).

The new members of the range are a toothpaste, a mouthwash and a lip balm and they contain extracts from natural products, such as (among other things)  tea tree oil, xylitol,  Aloe Vera.  Aloe Vera has been used for a long time as an anti inflammatory agent, so in this case could help sooth gums, xylitol is a plaque inhibitor, which is beneficial in a toothpaste and tea tree oil has been used as an antimicrobial and anti inflammatory agent.

But as good as it is to have these great natural products in the new range, it is just as exciting to not have one ingredient in the new range, that is Soduim Lauryl Sulphate or SLS as its known.

SLS is a surfactant and lathering agent, and there is some evidence to show that it is an irritant to skin, can cause a recurrence of mouth ulcers and possibly reduce the effect of the fluoride in the toothpaste.

Our new range uses a different lathering agent, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate which despite sounding the same, is a completely different compound.  It does not have a sulphate group instead it has the amino acid ‘sarcosinic acid’ (also known as sarcosine – a derivative of glycine metabolism) found naturally in the body, this results in a far milder ingredient that is not known to cause any irritation.

So why not come in and try the Alodent range of toothpastes, mouth washes and lip balms! Not a cacti  in sight!