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!

Wessington Way Dental Practice supports the British Dental Health Foundation

For several years Wessington Way Dental Practice has been a supporter of the British Dental Health Foundation and we have regularly taken part in the Foundation’s annual campaigns – Mouth Cancer Awareness Week and National Smile Month – in fact, we are in the middle of National Smile Month right now, which anyone who has visited us recently couldn't fail to have noticed!

The British Dental Health Foundation is an independent charity dedicated to improving oral health – in the UK and around the world.

How does it do this?

• Free Dental Helpline for the public which offers free and confidential advice by phone or email (nearly 50,000 calls)
• Provides educational material for use by the public, health and dental professionals
• Raises awareness of the importance of oral health through campaigns such as Mouth Cancer Awareness Week and National Smile Month
• Magazine “Word of Mouth” and a blog which can be accessed along with other information, tips and contact details on the website www.dentalhealth.org

Wessington Way in the community

As part of National Smile month, Richard, Jayne, Emelia and Ashleigh visited Southwick Community School to take part in a school assembly on healthy teeth.

The children had a great time playing healthy eating games, learning how to brush their teeth and even dressing up like dentists! Click here to read the full article in the Sunderland Echo.

National Smile Month :D

Today sees the start of National Smile Month! This is a campaign run by the the British Dental Health Foundation and aims to promote key oral health messages, in a fun way. These messages are:

1. Brush your teeth for two minutes, twice a day using a fluoride toothpaste.
2. Cut down on how often your have sugary drinks and snacks.
3. Visit the dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.

At Wessington Way, we are getting into the Smile Month spirit. As you can see by the big smiles on our faces! If you come in to the practice this month, we have loads of free samples to give away and you will have the chance to enter our great competitions!

We are also going to taking part in a Smile Month assembly at Southwick Community School, taking our oral health messages out in to the community.

Click here to learn more about the Smile Month campaign.

Please rate us!

We have just received a very kind testimonial from a new patient that, in her own words, wishes she had joined the practice years ago! To read this, and other testimonials from our patients, please click here.

Our practice grows primarily through word of mouth and it is always a pleasure when a new patient attends based on a recommendation from one of our own. If you have any family, friends or colleagues that you think would benefit from our services, please feel free to pass on our contact details, or refer them to our website.

In recent years there has been a surge in the popularity of consumer review websites. This now also extends to the dental industry. We would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to visit the link below, to rate and leave a comment about the practice. Your kind words could help a potential patient in need, make the right choice!

http://www.dentist-finder.co.uk/city-Sunderland/1845991-dentist-Wessington-Way-Dental-Practice.html

If you would like to add a testimonial to our website, please email Jayne at Jayne@wessingtonway.com

Campaign against illegal tooth whitening

Over recent years, the popularity of chemical tooth whitening has escalated. It is a safe, simple and cost effective way to improve the whiteness of your smile without the removal of tooth enamel when carried out within a dental environment. Not everyone however, is a good candidate for the tooth whitening procedure. It is not effective if you have crowns, bridges or fillings at the front of your mouth and you should be declared dentally healthy prior to treatment commencing.

As the law currently stands, only a General Dental Council (GDC) registered dentist, or dental hygienist/therapist (with a prescription from a dentist) can carry out tooth whitening as it is considered to be an act of dentistry in accordance with The Dentists Act 1984.

The chemical of choice for tooth whitening is hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. In October 2012, EU legislation was amended to allow up to 6% hydrogen peroxide (or products breaking down to 6%) to be used for tooth whitening within the confines of the dental profession.

Here is where the problem lies. In 2007, the House of Lords agreed tooth whitening products were to be licensed as a cosmetic. No changes to the laws surrounding the procedure were considered. This was grossly misinterpreted by the cosmetic and beauty industry and the unregulated "tooth whitening technician" was born.

A multi million pound illegal tooth whitening industry has evolved which permits anyone from the street to attend a one day course and become "certified". This unregulated and illegal practice has become a risk to public safety with incidences of people attending dental practices with chemical burns becoming a common occurrence across the country.

Many tooth whitening technicians claim they are working within the law as they are using a chemical called sodium perborate. This chemical breaks down to up to 35% hydrogen peroxide and has been linked to fertility problems. The EU are currently working on legislation to ban this product in the beauty industry.

The dental profession has united to raise awareness of illegal tooth whitening through a Facebook page https://en-gb.facebook.com/StampOutIllegalToothWhitening?group_id=0&filter=1 Here people can discuss concerns, receive advice and find out how to report illegal tooth whitening in their area.

If you are concerned that there is an illegal tooth whitening technician practising near you, we encourage you to report your concerns to the illegal practice department at the General Dental Council and your local trading standards office.

http://www.gdc-uk.org/Membersofpublic/Illegalpractice/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2263/contents/made

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/24

If you would like to find out more about the tooth whitening treatment at Wessington Way, please click here or the reception team will happily answer any of your queries. Remember, if you are a Wessington Way Dental Practice member, you will benefit from a 20% discount on this treatment.

Members' only special offer now on until 30th April 2013: Book in for tooth whitening with Richard, Maxine or Kay and receive an additional £30 off! Please contact reception to make an appointment.

Book now for whiter teeth in time for the summer months!

Practice Plan Perks

We would like to take this opportunity to remind all of our membership patients that their membership entitles them to more than just outstanding service and dental care! Your membership also includes access to the fantastic discount website, Practice Plan Perks.

If you haven't registered with Practice Plan Perks already, you can do so by clicking on this link https://practiceplan.corporateperks.com/login All you need is your Wessington Way Dental Practice membership number. If you are unable to find this, please contact the practice who will be happy to help.

The offers on the site change regularly. At the moment you will find discounts of up to 35% on holidays, 5% at major electrical stores and 5% at big supermarkets. The more you use the site, the more reward points you can save for better deals and even cash back.

Happy shopping!