Reception Staff Smiling

SMILE  -In a nutshell, National Smile Month is the UK’s largest and longest-running campaign to promote good oral health and is run by the Oral Health Foundation.

Together, with thousands of individuals and organisations, National Smile Month highlights three key messages, all of which go a long way in helping us develop and maintain a healthy mouth. They are:

1. Brush your teeth last thing at night and on at least one other occasion with a fluoride toothpaste.
2. Cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks.
3. Visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.

Here at the Bride Dental Clinic on this last day of Nation Smile Month we have, smiled our way through the last 4 weeks.

1. We took lots of photographs of our team smiling and posted them on Facebook.
2. We ran a promotion on teeth whitening to help anyone who wanted to their smile brighter.
3. Our like and share competition, saw one lucky winner receive £100 of dental treatment.
4. Finally our most fun and proactive event, was a visit to Vale school.  Dr Ushita Shah held an assembly for the infants to talk about their key dental hygiene.  It was a lovely opportunity to help the children learn a bit more about dental hygiene and the importance of cleaning their teeth.  Dr Shah enjoyed her time with the children and said “it was good to spend time with the children and interact with them away from the dental surgery”.  At the end of the assembly all the children received a pack containing a toothbrush, timer and teeth cleaning chart, which we are sure will help the children understand how long and how often they should clean.  It is certainly something we would like to do again, during National Smile month next year.

We hope that next year, we can have more fun smiling and thank you to all those that helped us promote it.

Dr Ushita Shah

Ushi qualified in 2008 from the University of Bristol and then completed her DF1 in 2009 and her Maxio Facial year in 2010. She has experience working in both mixed and fully private practices. Ushi worked on the Isle of Man between 2011-2014 and has been working in Jersey for the past 18 months so she is well accustomed to island life. She has a Masters in Implantology

She enjoys traveling and exploring the culture and lifestyle of different places. She has travelled around India and South America, where she hiked the Inca Trail in Peru. She was a member of the Isle of Man Taekwondo Team. She also enjoys voluntary work and is currently raising funds and overseeing a challenging orphanage project in Kenya.

Toothbrushes, do your old ones go straight in the bin or do you find another use for them?  What brought this to mind was cupboard cleaning..  There was a few at the back of our stationary cupboard and I asked the receptionist why?  She replied.  “They are too hard and not recommended for teeth cleaning but they are brilliant at cleaning in corners and keyboards”  This got me thinking about uses for my old toothbrush, then I found this article on-line.

The Oral Health Foundation – Old Toothbrushes.

“How many toothbrushes do you think you have thrown away during your life? We are advised to change our toothbrush every three months.  So, in theory by the time somebody is 30 they will have already binned around 120 bristled friends.

There are estimated to be more than 64 million people in the UK which could mean more than 256 million toothbrushes are discarded every year. That’s a very big pile of plastic but have you ever thought what happens to them? Here at the Oral Health Foundation we have taken a look at the potential uses for your toothbrush after it has finished its primary job of cleaning your teeth. What we have found is that we are remarkably creative when it comes to prolonging the usefulness of our little bristled friends.

Encouragingly, our research shows that 80% of us choose to repurpose our toothbrushes, so here are 10 best life hacks which could save you valuable time and money and your environment.
1. Nail brush magic – Admit it, removing that stubborn dirt from beneath our nails can be difficult and even tedious. Use your old toothbrush to remove it in seconds! One person even told us they keep one in their handbag just in case they need to brush up on the go.

To continue reading click on the link….  https://www.dentalhealth.org/blog/blogdetails/192

Old toothbrushes

Our practice has a safety culture which means that patient safety is at the forefront of everyone’s minds not only when delivering healthcare but also when setting objectives, developing procedures, purchasing new products and equipment. It is also a culture that is open and fair, where team members can discuss the challenges they face at work for the best interests of our patients. For patient safety we

1. Follow the latest infection prevention guidelines including those from NHS England.
2. Use dental instruments that are single use or are sterilised after use
3. Decontaminate work areas including the dental chair, hand held equipment and cupboard handles, in between patients
4. Maintain a high standard of personal hygiene including clinical clothing and the restricted wearing of jewellery
5. Monitor practice water for quality. Dental unit waterlines are disinfected and kept clear
6. Handle waste according to current regulations and dispose of it with appropriate carriers
7. Take expert advice if a team member may have a blood borne infection. The team member will have an occupational health examination and follow the advice on their role in treating patients

All our team members are trained in safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and follow the practice safeguarding procedures, which are regularly monitored and reviewed.

As a member of CODE [iComply], I am kept up to date with the latest changes to regulations and guidelines. [For continual improvements in care, service and safety to our patients we operate a good governance system called iComply.]

As the Practice Manager, I have overall responsibility at the practice. I lead and support the team through regular meetings, staff training, personal development and regular appraisals. We always welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. Please contact me if we can help you in any way or if you have any questions about patient safety at the practice.

Having attended last week TEDx StPeterPort, whose aim was to inspire, engage and catalyse us,  I can certainly say they hit the spot.  The event held at Beau Sejour for almost 400 people was the most amazing day.  Speakers from Guernsey, the UK, US and Denmark, gave talks on positive and  innovative steps to improving quality of life on the island. People spoke about how they had overcome personal issues and managed to get their lives back on track, they spoke about how to make their own island sustainable and, the opportunity to become more democratic in our countries by use of the internet to name a few topics.

One of things that I loved was the Guernsey people who attended, people who care about their island, its future and how we can make it better.  It was a thought provoking inspirational day and I enjoyed every moment of it.  If we are lucky enough to have it run again on Guernsey I would definitely go and take our team from the Bridge Dental Clinic.  In our busy working lives we get to bogged down with keeping on top of everything and keeping up to date with relevant CPD.  To open our eyes and see other ways of improving our working lives and our island lives was just amazing.  Anne

Tedx St peter Port

During the Christmas holiday period when we are closed there is an all island duty dental service provided.  In an emergency call the hospital on 01481 725241 and say you have a dental problem.  The hospital will take your details and contact the duty dentist, who in turn will contact you.  Please bear in mind that that there may be call out charges over and above the cost of any treatment required.  We are closed from 12.30 on Christmas eve, until 8.30am on Monday 4th January.  Merry Christmas everybody.

Christmas Opening Hours