Happy New Year for 2007

from the team at

St.Mary's House Dental Practice

We hope you had an enjoyable holiday

and look forward to seeing you again

Richard Charon BDS - keeping you posted

SEASONS GREETINGS

Here's Chris

enjoying a Norwegian walk >

WISHING YOU A HAPPY CHRISTMAS

AND

A HEALTHY AND FRUITFUL NEW YEAR

Now here is something for us to make

a Song and Dance About ............

...Our Practice Refurbishment Nears Completion !

The carpets are laid, the practice has been painted and the new unisex loo is 95% finished. Chris's new desk graces the reception lounge and new tub-style chairs arrived today. The new hard flooring for most areas of the practice has been completed and few finishing touches will be made shortly after Christmas to see the job completed. Thanks for your patience during the transformation.


Our Team's Continued Training

Four-Handed Dentistry

In November I took the two dental nurses, Laura and our new trainee Emma, for a one day course on "Four-handed Dentistry". This is not a new concept but is worth updating to keep us on our toes and ensure we work ergonomically.
Close- support or "Four-handed Dentistry",ensures greater comfort and efficiency for both patient and dental team, which must be a good thing.

Resuscitation

All Dentists and their teams must keep up-to-date with the latest teaching in resuscitation and handling medical emergencies. These are thankfully rare and most often not connected to the dental treatment but may happen by chance on our premises. Although also rare these days, the most likely dentally related occurance is a simple faint brought about by anxiety and perhaps lack of food. However, we must be prepared for all eventualities. The team attended an Immediate Life Support at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and are now additionally trained in the use of defibrillators

As a result of this and in concert with the new guidelines from the General Dental Council, we will be investing in an automatic external defrillator (Heart start machine) to add to our normal resuscitaion equipment and medication.

Statistics show that defibrillation within 3 minutes of a heart attack, very greatly increase the chances of a victim 's survival.

So in the hope and likely expectation that we will never have to use it.
we expect to have one on the premises shortly. We are seeking funding for this. Watch this space.

New consent forms for sedation

Again, in line with current guidelines , we will be asking all patients who have sedation

(" Happy Air" or Intra-venous) to sign a newly worded consent form before each sedation visit.

Please ask for further details if this affects you.

Richard Continues to Teach

Updating from an early posting on this blog in 2004, I continue to run courses to teach other dentists how to use "Happy Air" for the benefit of their own patients and indeed themselves . A relaxed patient means a relaxed dentist too!

The courses are run all day on a Saturday and we attract dentists from all over the UK.

Last Saturday a team of four dentists from a practice in Farnham attended , including two dental specialists. They were joined by a dentist practicing in Aberdeen who originally hails from the Faroe Islands. Click this link for for Fascinating Faroe Facts

On the 2nd December we host 5 more dentists. From London and Leeds. These courses have put the practice on the map, nationally. Indeed earlier this year practice delegates travelled to Newbury from Wexford in the Irish Republic to attend one of my courses. So I am now internationally known !
This has resulted in an invitation for me to go over to Ireland to run a course there in 2007. I'll let you know what happens!

The way we were ..........

On a personal note,
Chris and I are proud to announce our
30th Wedding Anniversary
on Oct. 15th 2006
Which means we have been soul mates for 35 years !

2006 Aethetic Dentistry Conference

I have just returned from my annual retreat to a two day conference of the British Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry (BAAD) of which I am a active voting member. This year's event was entitled "Keys to Aesthetic Harmony" and was held at the Forest of Arden Marriott hotel in the midlands. I have attended these events annually since their inception 12 years ago following an invitation by two of the founder members.

The annual BAAD conference brings together the very best in the world of aesthetic dentistry to discuss the minutiae of this aspect of dental care. The remit is wide and ranges from complete facial rebuilds following accidents or disease to the holloywood smile makeover. From orthodontic possibilities to the fine detail of construction of a single ceramic crown, which is a minature work of art. From dental implantology to porcelain veeneers and cosmetic gum surgery.A trade show allows me to access to the latest technology to bring you the most appropriate options at St. Mary's House in Newbury.

However one of the the most imortant aspects of these meetings is the hot-house atmosphere and exhange of ideas between colleagues from all over the world (and indeed from Newbury too) in the hours before between and after lectures and presentations. A chance to meet, greet and discuss developments with the best in aesthetic dentistry. Oh yes, we have some fun too wth an opening cocktail reception before the event and a gala dinner after the first day. No time to enjoy the golf facilities though this year.

2003 enjoying the event with Chris






and in 2004 in discussion the the UK marketing director of Nobelbiocare



Nobelbiocare is one of the events top sponsors and one of the world leaders in dental implant reasearch, design, manufacture and supply, whose systems we use at our practice. I have in tha past few years been commissioned to write two course reports published for nobelbiocare in the dental press.

This link will answer some common questions about dental implants NOBELBIOCARE

Next years event in London looks to be every bit as inspirational as these last few days have been.

more to come on this topic ...........

A New Look for St. Mary's House Dental Practice

NEW, NEW, NEW ..........

The coming weeks will see a flurry of activity at St.Mary's House Dental Practice.

A New Team Member

Firstly, we welcome a new trainee dental nurse, Emma. She will spend several weeks of induction training and observation before beginining work assisting Nicky, our dental hygienist. As time goes on she will begin assisting me also as part of her training. Laura will take on the role of senior dental nurse, assisting in her training and ensuring that all the background tasks are completed to allow everything to runs smoothly. Emma then has a 2 year training path leading to what has, this year, become a newly upgraded professional qualification as a Registered Dental Nurse.

A New Dental Chair

After 16 years loyal service, the ergonomic "Spaceline" Dental Chair which is currently used by Nicky Smith, our Dental hygienist but which was formerly used by me for about 13 years, is being retired. On Monday 14th August a new dental chair of Italian design, essentially the same as the one I use is being installed. Unimaginatively called "Eurodent" it nevertheless incorporates many features for you comfort and safety. We hope you will appreciate it. I am sure that Nicky and her dental nurse will as well as the additional comfort of their new working seats.

New Reception Desk

Chris has waited patiently for many years whilst technical items took precedent over the development of St. Mary's House Dental Practice. Well she has finally been shopping for a new desk which will add a touch of class to the reception area and greatly needed storage space.

We hope to see it delivered by mid November.

The old NHS filing cabinet which is essentially defunct has now disappeared to provide more office room printer/computer etc. We are obliged to keep all paper records for 11 years but these will be kept off-site in our secure lock-up store.

New Reception Chairs

We have ordered five new reception chairs. Again the present ones are past their sell-by date. We hope you like the new tub-style chairs which add a little comfort and style in the space we have available . We would have loved large opulent seating but would only have been able to fit in two or three seats of this kind, which is simply not enough.

New Carpet and Hard Flooring

Again the carpeting throughout the practice has done stirling work but again after almost 17 years, whilst not threadbare, is due for replacement. Work is now completed. Thanks to Down's of Newbury. Hard flooring in some areas is due to be laid in Mid November.

New Lighting

New recessed lighting can now be found in the reception area. and in the hallway which will be appreciated by our taller patients ! New light fittings, somewhat overdue , will be found in the hygienist treatment.

A New Lick of Paint

This year, Chris and I celebrate 30 years of marriage ! So we went mad and had a week off in late September. We had a lovely time in Ithaca ( a short ferry ride from Kefallonia on the Greek Eastern coast) We took the opportunity of starting the practice redecorating at that time too, which is now completed.

Hooray - More room in the the Loo !

We have been painfully aware of the "bijou" nature of our patient's "facilities". We have now knocked through the dividing wall and created a larger unisex facility. It now seems big enough to party in! The finishing touches will be applied soon.

There will be some additional finishing touches to the rest of the practice, which will more properly reflect the level of comfort and surroundings which you should rightly expect and which we feel will complement the level of service we strive to provide.

Recommendations

We trust you will appreciate the changes at your next visit and that they will encourage you to recommend us to others. Our future success depends on a regular flow of new patients. If you are reading this then you are likely to be sufficiently happy with our serve to recommend equally discerning friends, colleagues and family.

Richard and Chris Charon

Are you anxious - a really useful site

This user-friendly site answers questions you might have regarding many aspects of Dentistry, especially ( but not only) if you are worried or anxious about your visit.

Please ask us if there is anything you found interesting or wish to know more about.

Click on this link >>>>>> DENTALFEARCENTRAL

Dental Health Matters No.8

Mouth Cancer Awareness Week

12th - 18th November 2006

A difficult subject to discuss BUT early detection saves lives

Find out more here

http://www.dentalhealth.org.uk/mouth/index.php?w=public

Hello and welcome to my on-line newsletter (or "e-zine" if you prefer) from me, Richard Charon and the dental team at St.Mary's House Dental Practice, Newbury

I would love to receive some feedback from you about this new idea.

Do you like it?
Is it worthwhile?
What would you like to hear more about ?
Would you add this site to your favorites or your desktop and log on monthly to "check-up" on what's new?

just click here to e-mail me Dr.Richard Charon BDS

Please take a little time to read on by scrolling down. You can be more selective by clicking on a topic of interest in the right-hand column.

Thank you for getting this far.

Richard Charon

Latest news at St.Mary's House Dental Practice

For your comfort.....

New Look
New Website
New Branding

In January 198I I bought St.Mary's House Dental Practice. Soon afterwards we undertook a modernisation program with new equipment,waiting room chairs and carpeting . Much of this has served us well but is now becoming dated and tired. We are now in our 17th year in Newbury in 2006 and its time to invest in your comfort again.

We have decided that we will also be creating a new look for our practice brochure, letterheads, appointment cards and information packs and not least our useful but antiquated website. www.newburydentist.co.uk

Reception Area

There will be more a comfortable lounge feel to the reception room with new chairs and a new desk/working area for the receptionist. Long overdue, some would say!

Hygienist room

We are investing in new dental chair and equipment, similar to the one in my surgery,for the dental hygienist's room. After 15 years of loyal service, the old one has had it's day!

Interior Decor
We plan to re-carpet the practice too as well as giving it a fresh lick of paint and some more contemporary light fittings.

Exterior
Also we will be looking at placing some tasteful external signage which is many years overdue. Even after 26 years of its existance,we still meet many peple who do not know there is a dental practice here at St.Mary's House !

For Your Convenience
We will produce two sizes of smarter carry bags to take away those important items which you have purchased from us. It will save all that juggling on the way home!

We are planning to have made many of these changes by the end of summer 2006. We also hope you like the results which we feel will better reflect our style of Dental Practice as it has developed over the last 16 years .

Richard Charon

Dental Health Matters No 7 - Smoking

SMOKING DAMAGES

YOUR HEALTH

INCLUDING YOUR GUMS

AND

PROBABLY YOUR TEETH

smoker v non-smoker teeth and gums

which would you prefer?

Which you prefer to kiss !

30-40 cigarettes per day on the left

17 year old non-smoker on the right

Smoking has a number of bad effects on gum health

• Gum pockets develop more rapidly and more extensivly in smokers
• Leading to loss of teeth at an earlier age
• Gum diseases are more difficult to put right in smokers.
• Smokers are much more likely to get infections after tooth extraction
• Smokers heal poorly after any form of oral surgery
• Smokers have a higher risk of dental implants failing
• Smokers are much more susceptable to cancer of the mouth and throat
• Smokers have drier mouths and often suck mints to cover bad breathe so they are more prone to tooth decay requiring more extensive dental treatment
• More obviously smokers have unpleasant halitosis and unsightly staining
• Then there are all the general health problems that are well known

IS IT REALLY WORTH IT ?

GIVE IT UP TODAY !

Patches, gum, hypnotherapy

&

will-power

There are many approaches or combinations

YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE

Happy New Year for 2006 & What's New

A belated Happy New Year for 2006

Here is an important announcement about a new investment for your benefit.

Cross-infection control - upgraded

This year we have introduced the latest upgrade to the most important aspect of our behind-the-scenes activities. Cross-infection control.

For a variety of fairly obvious reasons, it is critical for dentist to keep all instruments which are not disposable and are to be re-used, sterile and free from viruses, bacteria and other micro-organisms.

The method used which has been the standard of care recommended and required of us , was a 3-stage process.

STAGE ONE

All instuments which are not disposable were washed by hand with a variety of scrubbing brushes to remove all visible contamination.

STAGE TWO

Then the instruments were ultrasonically cleaned in an anti-microbial bath. This process both microscpically shakes off any debris invisible to the naked eye and begins the process of killing any remaining microorganisms.
STAGE THREE
Finally the instruments were placed in an autoclave. Using an autoclave to sterilise dental instruments has been the standard required of dentists for over 30 years and has served our patients well.

An autoclave is a glorified pressure cooker which super-heats water into steam at 134 degrees centigrade for 3 minutes under increased pressure . This process is automatically progammed and checked and has been clearly demonstrated to kill rapidly viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C , as well as all bacteria, spores and fungi (e.g candida which causes thrush).

Once the autoclave has cooled down the dental instruments are ascepticlly removed (not touched by hand) ans stored for later use. Instruments used for any form of surgery are placed in unsealed paper pouches designed for this purpose and go through the autoclave process a second time. The instruments in their pouches are removed and the pouches sealed for storage.

ADDITIONAL NEW STAGE

We have now introduced two major changes which are not yet legally required but which are heralded as a further improvments to this process.

Firstly we have now installed an industrial strength washer/disinfector which automates and is said to further improves the physical cleansing of the instruments. They are effectivly power washed and steam cleaned before being transferred to the autoclave.

Secondly the autoclave has been upgraded to a vacuum model which allows pre-bagged instruments to be sterilised as well as items such as cotton drapes etc. Each sterilisation cycle is timed , dated and monitored to audit (double-check ) the cycle has correctly functioned and this information is held on a removable memory card just like those used for digital cameras) for later downloading and storing on a computer database

You will of course notice no difference whatsoever but there is a little added peace of mind and the knowledge that we are bang up to date with the very latest research in this area even if it is not yet required of us.

If you really have the time and energy to learn more click on one of these links:
Our new autoclave
Cross-infection control
Our Washer/Disinfector