National Smile Month 20th May - 20th June

This month is the British Dental Health Foundation's National Smile Month which is set up to promote good oral health advice. They have 3 main messages to promote oral health:

1. Brush your teeth for 2 minutes twice a day 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.

If you would like to learn more about National Smile Month or read further oral health advice, you can visit the campaign website.

If you are concerned about any aspect of your oral health, please contact the practice. Our team will be happy to help as we like to keep you smiling!

Martin Anderson- President!

This year Martin Anderson was elected to be the president of the British Dental Association's (BDA) Northern Counties division.

The BDA is a national, professional body that looks after the interests of the dental profession and promotes oral health issues within the general public.

For the BDA to meet these aims, local committees are in place to discuss the issues that affect the local dental profession. This year, Martin Anderson now has the role of President of the Northern Counties Division.

It is a great honour for both Martin, and Wessington Way, to hold such a position.

Are you making the most of your practice membership?

If you are a private patient with Dr Martin Anderson or Dr Andy Robson, did you know that you are eligible for great savings on big name brands?

Offers are updated regularly, so make the most of your membership by logging on at https://practiceplan.corporateperks.com/login. You can register for this service using your patient membership number.

Latest offers are available at B+Q, Comet, John Lewis and ASDA so log on and make some savings!

Good news!

These are very exciting times for Wessington Way Team Members!

We are delighted to announce that Amanda and Karen are both expecting their first child at the end of September.

Also,

Lauren has been accepted to the University of Leeds to study dental technology from September.

And finally,

Jayne is taking the plunge and getting married at the end of May.

Many congratulations to all!

We have been experiencing problems with our telephone lines.

We apologise if you have been trying to contact us this morning. We experienced a problem with our telephone lines which was beyond our control. We are pleased to inform you that these problems have now been resolved and our telephones are back on. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Are we dissolving our teeth away with healthy drinks?

Erosion is an increasingly difficult problem for dentists and patients. This is where tooth material dissolves when acidic foods and drinks are consumed. (not decay!)

You may have seen recent news stories which have identified these problems. Acidic drinks, ie. all fruit juices, fizzy drinks and alcoholic drinks are acidic and will remove a small amount of tooth material from the outer surface every time they are drank.

A recent article has also proved that fruit smoothies can be as bad or even worse than pure orange juice. (Dental update, Nov 2011, Vol 38, No 9, p604)

Our best advice to avoid damage or at least reduce problems is to:

• Decrease consumption of these foods and drinks
• Consume acidic foods and drinks with meals and not as snacks.
• Drink acidic drinks through disposable straws
• Do not brush your teeth directly after consumption of acidic foods and drinks

If you are concerned about erosion, please feel free to ask your dentist.

www.facebook.com/wessingtonway and QR code

Well, we are feeling a bit pleased with ourselves as we have now updated our facebook page and got our own QR code,  hopefully making ourselves more accessible to our patients and friends.  We shall be building up the facebook page over the next few months so please visit it and let us have any suggestions for improving it - all feedback gratefully received!

www.facebook.com/wessingtonway