Something to get your teeth into...

As many of you know, running has been a bit of a passion of mine for a few years now - I have quite a few 10k and half marathon races under my belt and I’m quite proud of the times I achieve.

However I now find that experience is going to be challenged by youth! This May I will be taking part in the Great Manchester Run, along with my wife, my 21 year old son and my 20 year old daughter. My son has never been what you might call ’sporty’ but decided in January that he was going to train hard for five months and prove that younger muscles will always win over experienced bones! Actually I’m very proud of both the kids - they have been following good training programmes and I think there is a real risk that one or both of them will already be at the finishing line when my wife and I sprint over it.

We’re all running this year to support the Children’s Burns Foundation - a local charity that does amazing work with burn-injured young people from across the Manchester region. If you would like to add your support there is

A warm welcome to our new team members, Helen and Vicki, who join our nursing staff. They have quickly settled in and play an invaluable role in helping the dentists have all the right equipment and materials at hand - as well as helping our patients feel comfortable and relaxed during any treatment.

With the Practice getting busier all the time, we need to kick off the year by recruiting more people to join our nursing team on a part-time basis.
Ideally they will be qualified dental nurses but we’re happy to train the right person if they are clearly interested in developing their career with us.
For an informal chat and further details please contact our Practice Manager, Rhona.

I was all set for coming back to work last week - until the day before when a rather nasty infection appeared around my finger wound. Many thanks to the fantastic Plastics Team at Wythenshawe Hospital who have been caring for me; after a week of very strong antibiotics I hope to be back at work next Monday….but wach this space!

Still, it may not have been such a bad time to be off work, what with the awful weather. Like every business in the country, last week we were affected by the snow - patients couldn’t make it to appointments and staff struggled to make it into work (and I want to thank those who did make it to Stretford!).

Our dilemma this week is whether or not to clear the snow in front of the Practice - honestly! We were all set yesterday to use a little elbow grease and clear the pavement to make it safer for everyone walking past, but then we read an article in the Press where Health & Safety experts were advising against it! Apparently if we clear it and then someone slips, we could be sued for not making the area safe correctly.

To all my lovely staff and our wonderful patients - may 2010 be a fantastic year for you and that you achieve everything you’ve been dreaming of!

Thank you to everyone who has sent their good wishes following my little bit of surgery on my finger - everything is healing well and I’m back at work on 4th January!

Interesting item in the news today - apparently researchers have discovered that drinking red wine is good for your teeth, whereas white wine appears to speed up tooth decay.
I wonder what effect my favourite tipple - Southern Comfort - has on the mouth?

Just a little apology to all our patients for the building work that’s been going on at the back of the Practice for the last week or so. We’re in the process of creating a purpose-built decontamination room, which sounds a bit more frightening than it is! Recent Government guidelines have highlighted the need for dental surgeries to have a separate area away from the surgeries where instruments can be properly scrubbed and washed before they are then autoclaved (steam sterilised) to ensure they are 100% safe for another patient. So The Dental Team are leading the way by being one of the first Practices in the area to create one of these rooms and for the past few days the kettle in the staff room has been working flat out for the endless cups of tea needed by our builders, electricians, plasterers and decorators!
It’s all coming together now and will be fully operational before Christmas - now all we need to do is get the tinsel and decorations up in the waiting room!

Another story in the news today about the state of children’s teeth in this region - something that every dentist in Trafford can easily confirm.
I wonder if part of the problem is that some parents don’t take their children to the dentist on a regular basis for check-ups? My heart sinks when I see a young person for their first visit to a dentist and it’s apparent that decay has taken a strong hold on their teeth, meaning that treatment options are - to be honest - quite drastic and uncomfortable for them.
It’s so much better to have regular dental examinations - next week is half term which means the Practice will be busy with younger patients. Hopefully most of them will be leaving with a smile and a sticker for looking after their teeth so well!

Yesterday’s local and national papers all ran with the story about the Wigan dentist who has got into trouble for parading in front of his staff in nothing but an animal-print thong. At The Dental Team we’ve made a real effort to ensure that our uniforms are comfortable to wear - but I think that this might be an example of becoming a little bit too informal!

Can you believe the summer is nearly over? I think this week the weather is predicted to give us one last burst of the sunny stuff and then we’ll all be putting our central heating back on! Yesterday I noticed that one of my local shops has actually started displaying Xmas cards - it’s only just back to school for our younger patients!