Are you thinking of quitting smoking in the new year?  If so, well done on making a good decision that will bring you many health benefits and probably some financial ones as well.  All of us here at Woodcock Lane Dental Care would like to offer you our support.

To encourage and support your success in stopping smoking we would highly recommend accessing a cessation service, https://hlsglos.org/our-services/stop-smoking/.  This service can provide nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), in different formats, not just the well known patch, but gum, lozenges, inhalers and sprays, as well as lots of tips and advice.  Make 2022 the year you go smoke-free.

This is the time to plan your smoke-free journey for 2022.  November is Mouth Cancer Awareness Month.  Two out of every three mouth cancers are linked directly to smoking.  Be Mouthaware – check out the helpful information and advice on: https://www.dentalhealth.org/mouthcancer.

If you have any concerns about any red or white areas in your mouth, tongue, cheeks or lips, or any lumps/bumps, or any ulcers that aren’t healing please do contact us.  Please be assured that we routinely check for any signs of oral cancer for every patient attending a routine or new patient examination/check up.  Mouth cancers can occur even if you don’t have any teeth, or wear false teeth/dentures.  If in doubt, get it checked out.

With social life returning more to some sort of normality everyone is thinking about their appearance and their smiles.  With so many options available to improve your smile; orthodontics (or aligners/braces), implants, veneers, whitening and facial aesthetics it can be hard to know where to go to get sensible advice, value for money and good quality treatment.  There are an increasing number of advertisements online, social media, magazines and television for these treatments.  Some of these even encourage you to go abroad to have the treatment done.

We would always advise you, if you are thinking about any of these types of treatment, to come along and visit us first.  We will provide unbiased advice about what treatments would be suitable for you.  We will be honest and open about our fees.  We will provide high quality treatment in a hygienic, friendly and caring atmosphere, and can provide ongoing and/or follow-up care.

If you still aren’t convinced that your first step should be to consult us please see this link from the Oral Health Foundation:  https://www.dentalhealth.org/safesmiles 

November is Mouth Cancer Action Month and today is Blue Wednesday.  The Oral Health Foundation are encouraging everyone to carry out a mouth cancer self check today.  You may find the following link a useful guide how to go about doing this:  https://youtu.be/_6csIJAWj_s

Should you find anything you are concerned about please do not hesitate to contact us, even during the current lockdown.  We are here, open and working for dental emergencies at the same time as catching up on the backlog of routine appointments from the first lockdown.

In view of the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation it was with great sadness, after much discussion, that we have had to follow official guidance and reduce our services, as from today.

In order to keep our patients, staff and all visitors to our practice safe, we are now following advice from the British Dental Association and cancel all routine appointments.  We will be contacting all patients who have appointments booked to explain this.

We hope by doing this that we will be able to maintain an emergency service through out the current climate, adhering to government advice.  If you have a genuine dental emergency please contact the practice to either speak to a member of staff or listen to the recorded message informing you how to access advice.

We look forward to seeing everyone again as soon as possible.

The health of our patients is very important to us and we are working hard to ensure we follow all advice and guidance given to us regarding Covid-19 and prevention and spread of infection.

Cleanliness and cross infection control have always been a priority here at Woodcock Lane Dental Care ensuring the safety of our patients, staff and visitors even before we knew about the coronavirus!

We have always had a hand sanitiser in our hall and now we encourage all visitors to the practice to use it on entry and exit.  We would always advocate hand washing whenever possible.

We have always provided our team with personal protective equipment such as masks and visors and although shortages are reported we still have an acceptable level of stock currently and are monitoring the situation.

All our clinicians, including our hygienists, are supported and assisted by a nurse who helps to maintain excellent standards of hygiene.  We use high volume aspirators during procedures to reduce aerosols. Our nurses follow thorough decontamination processes between each patient and undergo regular training in this field. So, as always, we will continue to provide the best and safest care for our patients.

If we could ask of you that if you have travelled recently, or been in contact with someone who has contracted the virus please ensure you follow the government guidance and seek advice from NHS 111 if you have any symptoms or concerns before visiting Woodcock Lane Dental Care.  Our reception staff will also ask you this on arrival.

If you are not at risk then it is business as usual and we look forward to welcoming you to Woodcock Lane Dental Care.

Congratulations to Sarah Buckley:   her dedication to dentistry has resulted in passing her Masters with Distinction.

Sarah started working on her Masters nearly 3 years ago when she joined our team.  Since then she has worked tirelessly, taking only a very short break to get married!  As well as doing her own studies she also took time to supervise and mentor Jackie and Josie through their Sedation Dental Nursing course and exam.  Her on-going support of Bethanie, who is currently doing her Apprenticeship Dental Nursing course, is also greatly appreciated.  Sarah doesn’t limit her dentistry to just working hours either – she is also a very active member of the Bristol branch of the British Dental Association and organises and attends evening lectures.

Lastly, but by no means least, grateful thanks must go to all our patients, especially those who gave their consent for Sarah to use their anonymised details for her case studies.

Well done Sarah, we are all very proud of you.

Recently some members of our dental team attended a lecture by Dr Gaston King, a specialist in periodontics (looking after the health of gums and areas of the mouth supporting the teeth). He was passionate about following new guidance from the British Periodontal Society about how to classify gum/periodontal disease and formulating treatment plans to manage or improve patients’ gum health.
Hygienists are a vital part of his and our teams and it is clear that hygienists can provide much more care for patients than a “simple clean” or a scale and polish.

Our dentists and hygienists are keen to keep to up to date with this modern approach so if you have some form of gum disease (gingivitis or periodontal disease, to use the technical terminology) you may notice that we are spending more time monitoring and recording your gum health and the hygienists may require longer appointments, not just to do some scaling, but also to provide advice and support in the management of your gum disease.

If you have any concerns about the health of your gums (and the supporting jaw bone) please do not hesitate to ask any of our dentists or hygienists for advice.

Courtesy of Colgate, we are very pleased to announce that we are able to recycle your old plastic toothbrush and other oral care products and packaging.

Just drop your old toothbrush, toothpaste tube and packaging into the recycling box located in our porch.  When this box is full Colgate will arrange for everything to be recycled.

Don’t forget – you may wish to replace your old plastic toothbrush with one of our bamboo toothbrushes.

It’s very exciting here at Woodcock Lane Dental Care.  After many years of it being talked about the long awaited extension is finally happening.

The extension will allow us to have a toilet on the ground floor, suitable for our less able patients, as well as some more admin space.  The first floor will accommodate 2 more surgeries and sterilising facilities as well as another waiting area.

The work is expected to be finished in Spring 2019 and we are looking forward to using our new facilities.  In the meantime we apologise to all our patients, who may be inconvenienced in the short term, while this work is carried out.