Something to get your teeth into...

Just come back to work this week after 10 glorious days on a hot beach in Rhodes. I think I’ve broken my own record by managing to get through 11 books – and not one of them was a dental journal!
Everything seems to have run very smoothly in my absence – that’s the great advantage of having this team of staff! Emergency appointments have been seen by our Associate Dentist, Viraj, and with our hygienist Alison also away on her safari holiday in Africa it’s been a little bit quieter in the surgeries. This means that our dental nurses have been able to make sure everything has been restocked and our receptionsist have been catching up on all the admin duties!
It’s already getting busy again – feels like I’ve never been away!

We’ve been ‘electronic’ for two months – you will notice that your examinations and treatment plans are now recorded on a computer rather than on the old paper records. Our rather cumbersome appointment books have disappeared from the reception desk as your dentist and hygienist appointments can be co-ordinated much more easily with the software we have.

The whole team have been very quick in learning how to use the new system – I think the general consensus has been “Why didn’t we do this years ago?”.

It has also meant that incoming calls to the Practice are now diverted to an office at the back of the building, leaving our Receptionist free to make all our patients feel welcome and help with any enquiries rather than having to keep answering the phone.

We’re busy collecting e-mail addresses from all our patients over the next few months so that we can keep in touch with you more easily when it comes to reminding you about appointments or just letting you know what we’re up to! Please make sure that we have your correct address next time you call in.

Many thanks to everyone who sponsored me – and my wife, son and eldest daughter! – when we took part in the Great Manchester Run last month.

It was a great day out and we raised nearly £300 for the Children’s Burns Foundation.

And I’m very happy to report that I “won” the race by coming in first out of the four of us with a time of 45 minutes!

The Dental Team continues to support the work of this remarkable local charity for the rest of this year and we have a collecting tin at the reception desk, available for donations.

Many patients ask me to sign their application forms for documents such as new passports, which I’m always happy to do if they are regular patients. From now on I won’t be making a charge – instead I’ll be asking you to pop a donation into the collecting tin!

Apologies to those registered patients who may need to see us in an emergency today or tomorrow – we have arranged for any patients in pain or who need seeing urgently to have their dental treatment carried out by another local practice who we work closely with.

The reason we’re not carrying out any dental treatment is because we’re upgrading to the 21st Century! As from Friday our Practice is working hard to becoming a paperless business, which means that all the patient records and appointments will be done electronically. Ultimately we will be working towards a fully digital practice which means that the whole experience of being cared for and treated at The Dental Team will be even better for our lovely patients.

So for the next two days all our staff are being trained in using the new system, which we’re all really excited about. Apart from a few hours this morning (when Karen and Tracey will be working away at the Reception part of the system) you will still be able to call us to make an appointment!

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?