Do you suffer from jaw pain or headaches?

Tooth grinding or clenching (known as bruxism) is a very common problem that affects up to 80% of people at some point in their lives. Many people are unaware that they have a problem as it is often something that they do unconsciously or whilst sleeping. It is sometimes, but not always attributed to stress.

Bouts of bruxism can pass quickly for some, but for others it can be a chronic condition with many short and long term effects. These effects can include:

• Headaches and migraines
• Facial pain
• Ear ache
• Stiff neck and shoulders
• Sleep disturbance (For partners as well as sufferers!)
• Broken and/or mobile teeth
• Tooth wear
• Receding gums 
• Limited opening of the mouth
• Clicking or popping jaw joints

These symptoms can become quite serious and have a negative impact on a person's quality of life. Many people seek advise from their GP when they have these symptoms but usually the best person to speak to, is your dentist.

In the past, patients would have been given a soft splint to wear over all of the lower teeth overnight. Whilst this was effective in protecting your teeth from damage and wear, it does not provide relief to the over-worked facial muscles affected by clenching and grinding. 

Clinical studies have shown that a much more effective treatment is a new-generation of splint know as a NTI splint. This is worn over the front teeth only, making it more comfortable than traditional splints. It works be reducing the intensity of the force being used by the facial muscles when clenching and grinding, rather than simply acting acting as a barrier between teeth.

At Wessington Way, we have been making NTI splints for over two years, which have provided relief from symptoms for our patients. 

An NTI splint can be made in one visit to the practice, taking about 30 minutes to do so. If you think you may be a bruxism sufferer, please contact the practice to arrange an appointment to see a dentist.

To find out more about NTI splints, please visit www.headacheprevention.com

Farewell to Andy Robson

After 3 and a half years with Wessington Way Dental Practice, we are bidding a fond farewell to our associate dentist, Andy Robson. We will all miss Andy's wicked sense of humour and wish him all the best in his new career as a tandem skydiving instructor! (Only joking!)

As one door closes, another one opens, so we are delighted to introduce our new dentist, Terri Nugent who will be taking care of Andy's patients from later this month.

Terri is married to an Oral Surgeon and they have 3 young daughters. She is joining Wessington Way on a part time basis initially as she also works in the Community Dental Service.

As well as looking after Andy's patients, Terri is also taking on new patients. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining Wessington Way, Terri has new patient appointments available at our Friday and Saturday clinics. Please visit the book and visit section on the website.

Assessment time

We don't like to rest on our laurels here at Wessington Way so have applied for re-accreditation in two national awards: The British Dental Association's Good Practice award and Customer First.

We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the Good Practice standard for the 7th year running, meaning that we have now gained silver membership status. Our commitment to Good Practice
is outlined below, in what we like to call our ten commandments!

1.   We aim to provide dental care of a consistently good quality for all patients.
2.   We only provide care that meets your needs and wishes.
3.   We aim to make your treatment as comfortable and convenient as possible.
4.   We look after your general health and safety while receiving dental care.
5.   We follow current guidance on infection control.
6.   We check for mouth cancer and tell you what we find.
7.   We take part in continuing professional development to keep our skills and knowledge up-to-date.
8.  We train all staff in practice-wide work systems and review training plans once a year.
9.   We welcome feedback and deal promptly with any complaints.
10. Every member of the practice is aware of the need to work safely under General Dental Council             guidelines

Two years ago, we became the first dental practice in the country to be awarded the Customer First award. We want to hold on to that prestigious title so are being reassessed this week. We will keep you posted with the results.

The results are in

Thank you to all of our patients that have completed our Customer Sure survey in the Practice. At Wessington Way we like to make sure that you are satisfied with our service and we are pleased to say that the latest results are very positive.

If you have any comments or suggestions you would like to make about our service, please contact the practice or send an email to enquiries@wessingtonway.com

Cake!

We just wanted to share a photo of the wonderful gift that Martin Anderson received from one of his patients. We are sure you will agree that there is an uncanny resemblance to the man himself!

Smile Month Winners

A big congratulations goes out to our smile months winners: Richard Nelson and Ella Ho.

Richard correctly guessed how many tubes of toothpaste were in our vase throughout National Smile Month. For those who entered this competition, the correct answer was 178!

Ella had the team smiling with her lovely picture in the "draw your dentist" competition.

We hope Richard and Ella are both "buzzing" with their prizes of brand new electric toothbrushes!

Investing in our people

At Wessington Way Dental Practice, we are strong believers in investing in our team to get the best out of them and to help them grow.

The practice sets aside 2 hours every Thursday lunch time to allow for team training. This training is very diverse ranging from dealing with medical emergencies to customer service role plays.

We also encourage the team to tell us what they would like to do to help them develop their careers. Our nurse Kirsty has just begun an NVQ level 3 apprenticeship in Customer Service. We wish her all the best!