Vote for the practice with the P-factor

The Preventive Practice of the Year 2010 is designed to recognise the UK practice with the strongest, best established and well thought out preventive ethos, whether it be NHS, private or mixed.

As a team, it will successfully communicate the oral health message to their patients, and will work together to raise oral health standards and regard prevention as its number one priority.

The judging
An independent panel of judges has chosen Confident Dental Care in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and London’s Weymouth Street Paediatric Dentistry as the two finalists.

Every year we receive countless entries from exceptional practices and Preventive Dentistry would like to thank all the entries submitted, but the judges felt the two chosen finalists had the edge on all the rest with regards to their preventive ethos.  

How to vote
All readers need to do to vote is email their preferred practice to [email protected]. The winner will be announced in the next issue of Preventive Dentistry.

Votes need to be submitted by 9 February. Please add your name and the name of your practice.

The prize
The practice lucky enough to win, will be exposed as an example of excellence to dental practitioners across the UK. The practice will also win £500 to spend as it wishes and this award will help get the practice the recognition it deserves.

Thanks to our sponsor
Thank you to our official sponsor, Oral-B. Without this support, the award would not be possible.

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Confident Dental Care

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Facts
Confident Dental Care on London Road, Stroud in Gloucestershire, works with patients to create healthy, confident smiles using the best materials and the latest techniques. The team promises to work hard to provide patients with the very best routine and cosmetic dentistry in a comfortable, relaxed environment.

The team is made up of joint principal dentists Ewa Rozwadowska and Colin Neil, practice manager Natalie Wooldridge, dental hygienists Jane Milsom and Jocelyn Harding, senior nurse/treatment co-ordinator Rowan Braddick, senior patient advisor Lesley Reed, patient advisor Sue Purchase, and dental nurses Cheryl Goodenough, Kelly Richards, Sue Hayden and Hannah Barrett.

Profile
The team’s latest challenge in prevention of disease was to work together to devise a patient-centered preventive periodontal care programme. Brainstorming helped to put all the frustrations of the team and objections by the patients onto paper, and a concept was born – a series of steps which would achieve gum health based on BPE scores examination in dental practice – the Confident Steps to Health Programme.

All team members were keen to determine exactly what the steps meant, and how they could convey this to each other – and the patients. The team says it was a real eye-opener for everyone to appreciate the extensive range of treatments hygienists provide, and members began to understand the real value patients were being given.

The practice then considered the professional detail of each step – whether the disease was active or stable, evidence-based treatment, and the expected outcomes. This gave the team clarity for clinical consistency in treatment planning, ensuring that any team member could immediately assess the current status of each patient.

And then there was the creative part – how to the bring it all together in a fun way! The practice’s ‘talented artistic and techie’ team members brought together all the information into a PowerPoint presentation that could be shown on surgery or consulting room screens by any one of the Confident team.

Hygiensts’ role
The enthusiasm for periodontal care by the practice and patients has been phenomenal. In 18 months, the team has categorised 989 patients and has seen significant improvement in periodontal health. Patients know where they are on their journey to preventing periodontal disease – which has increased treatment acceptance and measurably improved oral hygiene.

Clinicians can consistently monitor progress and effectively communicate the next step in treatment and prevention. Hygienists use evidence-based treatments and have improved clinical skills. Receptionists can clearly identify appointments needed to give the correct time for care and ongoing maintenance. Patients are now seeking out the practice for periodontal care.

Innovative steps
The whole team gives consistent, progressive and appropriate messages.
The three steps are:
1. Patient centred – Examination, diagnosis and engagement of the patient in understanding how healthy their gums are. Explaining the ideal outcome from their current position. Treatment plans. Making the information clear and progressive. Leaflets to follow through the advice at home
2. Clinician centred – Clear guidelines for each BPE score. Clinical aspects of diagnosis. Treatment protocols. Information to be communicated to the patient including expected outcomes
3. Recall centred – Appointment protocols for treatment, review and maintenance to achieve ideal outcomes. Clear flowcharts for receptionists.

Weymouth Street Paediatric Dentistry

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Facts
The Weymouth Street Paediatric Dentistry is a private practice dedicated to children and adolescents. It was established in 1973, in the centre of London, and its main emphasis is on total oral care within a happy and friendly environment. The team is made up of Dr John F Roberts, Dr Noushin Attari, who qualified as a specialist in paediatric dentistry in 2001, and hygienists Sophie Guenin, Victoria Jones, Elizabeth Kotsoumbus, Carolina Carrera and Louise Winder. Plus, receptionist Sharon Fitzsimmons and practice manager Claire Fitzsimmons.

Profile
The practice philosophy at Weymouth Street Paediatric Dentistry is based on three principles:
• Providing customised prevention instructions – from birth to 18 years, according to the patient’s age
• Encouraging the patients to take pride in their smiles, and to be responsible for their own oral hygiene from an early age
• Aiming to provide the highest possible standard of clinical care and expertise
The practice welcomes healthy, medically compromised and anxious children.

Hygienists’ role
The five hygienists currently employed at the practice provide oral hygiene instructions and hygiene care. The practice feels it is important that every patient develops trust with different members of the dental team, and that the patient is allowed to become accustomed to the dental setting before any restorative treatment commences.

Following the initial consultation with one of the specialist paediatric dentists, the patient has a 45-minute hygiene appointment, in which the patient (with or without the parent/guardian present) is given oral hygiene instructions and diet advice in an oral hygiene room, away from the dental chairs, which can cause anxiety with younger patients. This has been designed to create a relaxing environment for the children.

Innovative play
The oral hygiene appointment has been structured to include the following information and instructions, with the use of pictures, games and models:
•  The aetiology of periodontal disease and caries is discussed with the aid of picture cards
•  Fluoride information – optimum doses, available topical and systemic applications, and the benefits of fluoride
• Dental erosion advice – food and drink containing acid, and ways to prevent erosion
• Evaluating the patients current brushing technique and interdental cleaning habits
• Disclosing and showing the patient where the bacterial plaque remains
• Instructions on correct brushing and interdental cleaning techniques
• Creating a bag of oral health aids for the patient to take home, including: mouth mirror, toothbrushes, toothpaste, timers, interdental cleaning aids, brush charts and fluoride mouthwash (if required)
• Diet advice – Cariogenic and acidic foods/drinks are discussed (with the use of picture cards and games for smaller children). Diet analysis and recommendations to limit the acid attacks to five per day is included. The patient is also informed that the consistency of food is important to consider, as well as the amount of sugar        
• Motivating the patient
• Full mouth prophy polish, where the patient may choose from a range of flavours, and scaling, if required. This is followed by an application of topical sodium fluoride to reduce the risk of cavities occurring
• The patient is followed up again at their in six monthly visits, to ensure they are using oral hygiene procedures, and also to advise the children and parents on lifestyle changes.

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