Temporary Closure for Scheduled Improvements

Longborough will temporarily close from Tuesday 30 August – Friday 2 September for scheduled building works. We will open as usual from Monday 5 September. Our answerphone will be manned each day so in the event of an emergency please call 01306 882494 and listen for instructions. We will get back to you within 1 working day. For enquiries other than emergencies please email: admin@longboroughdental.co.uk Telephones may be disrupted at times during the week. Further information can be found on our front door and website. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Please give us a recommendation If we make you smile please give us a short review on social media or recommend Longborough to a friend. It would be much appreciated.

Testimony

A Fabulous Testimony From One of Our Patients

This popped into my email this morning from one of our long term patients. How lovely! 

"My family and I have been coming to Longborough Dental Practice for over 12 years. We continue to be so impressed with it. The excellent care given to us by the Patient Advisors, the professionalism of the the dental nurses (and their lovely happy smiles) and the treatment given to us by the Hygienists and Dentists have continued year on year. My children feel so at ease with Dr Emma McFarlane as the dentist and I love her holistic approach and genuine concern that she has for us all. We all feel so secure in her care. Recently I have had to have some treatment from Mr Richard Snoad the Periodontist. What a life changing difference it has made to my life. I genuinely believe he has saved my teeth and I cannot thank him enough. I can highly recommend this dental surgery".

Thank you all for your on going care! We genuinely appreciate it and are so grateful for the way you all go 'above and beyond' in your jobs! Well done! I hope everyone tells you what a good job you all do!.. it's a rare and precious thing to find these days.

Meet the Team 

Today we want to introduce to you Camilla - one of our fabulous hygienists.

Camilla joined Longborough  in the summer of 2015 and very quickly became part of the team.

Camilla trained at King's College Hospital as a Hygienist Therapist which means she has a broader scope of practice than a traditional hygienist.Her calm professional approach to her work combined with an empathetic nature ensures that her patients receive the very best care when they come to Longborough.

In her spare time Camilla enjoys spending time with her two horses Sky and Sundance and her beautiful one-eyed cat Twiggy.

Meet The Team

We are going to run a series of blogs to let you get to know our team here at Longborough.

For our first team member we thought we's start with our youngest, Dental Nurse trainee, Sabine. Who also wrote our last blog in July.

Sabine or Bini as she is known to us, joined us in June 2015 as a trainee dental nurse. She is attending college in Haywards Heath studying for her National Diploma in  Dental Nursing. She is a local girl having been born and brought up in Brockham. Sabine is also a fully trained hairdresser (the third hairdresser to join our team). Her other interests include going to the gym and a particular fondness for bulldogs. She would love to own one in the future. Ambitions include travelling the world and doing a parachute jump.

Are you the left or right hand side? A blog post written by our student dental nurse Sabine.

Are you on the left hand side or the right hand side?

Left hand side:

This isn’t just staining.. This is gum disease.

Right hand side:   

This isn’t a Hollywood smile.. This is a healthy smile.

Top 10 most common mistakes we make when looking in our mouth.

I have no pain so I do not need to see a dentist..

Oral cancer can be pain free. Chronic infection can be pain free for a long time. Do your oral health a favour and visit your dentist on a regular basis- They are the doctors of our mouths!

I can’t floss anymore because it makes my gums bleed..

Bleeding gums are a sign of our gums crying! They are in pain from plaque! Gums bleed because they are inflamed. Once the inflammation has calmed down from cleaning in between those interdental spaces they will stop bleeding and become happy and pink again!

Choosing the right tool..

Its 2016 - why are you still using a manual toothbrush? Electric toothbrushes are easy to use, have timers so that you brush them for the recommend 2 minutes and they are better for hard to reach areas!

Over-brushing..

Do not scrub your teeth so hard! Over-brushing can cause gum recession and damage the surfaces of your teeth. The gum you lose due to recession will not grow back! Go easy!

Not using interdental brushes/floss..

Is like having a shower and not using any soap! Your toothbrush can’t get in-between your teeth so if you’re not getting into these areas you’re leaving plaque on around 40% of your teeth – these are the most common areas for decay and gum disease to start!
Would you remove this plaque daily if you knew it contained all these bacteria and substances?
Skin cells, food debris, toxins,  acids and more!

When is the correct time to brush?
A lot of us think that the morning is the most important time to brush our teeth. Dental care professionals advise to brush twice daily because:
Once in the morning: To protect the teeth for the day and remove the bacteria created overnight.
Once before bedtime: This is critical. The teeth have had at least 12 hours of bacteria having a party in your mouth during the day. It takes 12 hours to effectively create decay and harden plaque. That’s one day and night for dental problems to occur!

Using fluoride toothpaste..
It is clinically proven that fluoride protects our teeth and minimises decay. It is important to supervise your children while using toothpaste and to use as directed. Spit out the toothpaste and do not rinse it off.
Well you wouldn’t want a filling would you?

Whitening toothpaste’s..
Tooth whitening products are becoming ever popular, this is because we all want that ‘Hollywood’ white smile. Whitening paste can be highly abrasive so be careful when using them, they may remove staining but cannot change the colour of teeth. Ask your dentist for tooth whitening! They are the experts!

Brushing teeth after food and drink!
We all want fresh breath! But please wait at least 45 minutes before brushing your teeth after lunch or coffee! Your teeth have just become soft and fragile from the food that you have eaten, brushing straight away damages your enamel! Enamel is very important for protecting your teeth.

Let go of your toothbrush every 3 months!
           Let it go! Let it go!
We clean our teeth to remove bacteria. Bacteria can multiply on your toothbrush. Most of us do not change our toothbrushes often enough. Your toothbrush becomes worn out and starts to harbour bacteria on the bristles and handle. Treat yourself to a new one once in while!

•                

Teeth Whitening Summer Special

In addition to tooth decay, tartar and fillings, smoking and drinking tea, coffee or alcohol are all reasons Why teeth can discolour. So for summer, Longborough Dental are reducing the price on teeth whitening treatments to help brighten your smile.

For a limited period only we are offering £50 off our 'In-house Whitening' treatment and £30 off our 'Home Whitening' treatment.

Just quote IHW2016 or HW2016 when you book at reception.

*New Patients requiring whitening treatment will need a consultation first.

Offer ends 30 September 2016

Here's a wonderful testimonial we received last week

This wonderful testimonial we received from a patient last week is about treatment received from William Scott our endodontist (who carries out our root treatments here at Longborough) and his lovely nurse Michelle.

"At the age of 68 I’m ashamed to admit my fears of dental treatment led me to neglect my teeth for many years. Recognising I need my teeth for at least another 15 years (!) has forced me to attend regular dental appointments at Longborough where I have always been made to feel at ease.

I suffer from bleeding gums and six weeks ago an x-ray showed I had a severe abscess in a top tooth and would need root canal treatment.

I was terrified at the thought of three hour long appointments to treat it.

However – I was introduced to Dr William Scott and his assistant Michelle and would like to reassure everyone how amazingly calm and reassuring they both are during the long appointments. Dr Scott gently encourages confidence. After the initial numbing injection I felt no pain at all, during and after the treatments and no sense of panic or fear.

I have no hesitation in recommending them and reassuring other nervous patients that they are in great hands."

Mr N W June 2016

Cosmetic Dentistry and Teeth Whitening

If staining and discolouration of your teeth are draining your self confidence when it comes to smiling, cosmetic dentistry can give your smile a boost. Teeth whitening can remove much of the day-to-day staining acquired from coffee, tea, wine and smoking.

This can be done quickly and without discomfort. In one study, results showed that the darker the teeth, the greater the whitening effect. Modern whitening techniques are so successful that the demand for this treatment has increased by over 300% in the last 5 years!

At Longborough we can offer both ‘at home’ and ‘in house’ whitening techniques. Our dentists are  qualified to carry out this procedure. It is important to be aware that it is illegal for anyone other than a registered dental professional to carry out whitening procedures as they can damage your teeth and gums if not administered correctly.

More info at: www.gdc-uk.org/membersofpublic/illegalpractice/pages/tooth-whitening.aspx

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

We are now a Certified Clinic for the Megagen Implant System

We have been placing implants at Longborough since 2007 with great results and we are delighted to announce that we are now a Certified Clinic for the Megagen Implant System, one of the best Dental Implant systems on the market.

Having explored the implant options that are available we have chosen AnyRidge from Megagen to ensure we can provide our patients with the very best outcome.

AnyRidge has a unique macro design that allows it to achieve maximum initial stability in any type of bone and facilitates beautiful, natural-looking results.

For more information visit: www.megagen.co.uk 
or for more information download the Megagen Implant System Brochure.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

The UltraDEX, performance, oral care range

First impressions count

We are fast approaching the final phase of our reception makeover.  Our new reception area will give our patients better access to our reception team in a modern, calm environment.

When the reception makeover is complete we will be launching the UltraDEX, performance, oral care range. Developed, used and recommended by dental care professionals and backed by extensive scientific research the UltraDEX range bridges the gap between professional and home care and delivers 12 hours of fresh breath confidence. 

UltraDEX protects teeth and gums, restores natural whiteness and eliminates bad breath, instantly.
 
Last, but by no means least, we are very proud to announce that we are now a Certified Clinic for the Megagen Implant System.

Dental implants look and feel so natural, you will forget you ever lost a tooth. We have been placing implants at Longborough since 2007 with great results. And for people with loose or ill fitting dentures we can offer a stable solution ‘implant retained dentures.’ Even steak will be back on the menu!

Dental implants could be for you if:
- you're embarrassed by the appearance of your teeth when you smile
- you have retained primary teeth or have teeth that have been missing since birth
- you are not satisfied with the condition of your teeth
- you experience discomfort or inconvenience due to partial or removable dentures
- removable dentures tend to make you want to gag
- you experience problems eating
- you suffer from pain related to your teeth
- you have teeth that appear to be loosening

Ask the team at about Longborough about Dental Implants
or for more information download the Megagen Implant System Brochure.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Cosmetic dentistry and implants can keep you smiling

The team at Longborough Dental Practice are committed to helping their patients retain their own teeth and can offer a wide range of preventative and restorative treatments to help keep everyone smiling.

People want to keep fitter for longer and retain a ‘youthful’ appearance and a healthy mouth will help contribute to this. There is now a well established link between periodontal disease (gum disease) and the risk of coronary heart disease. At Longborough, patients who understand the importance of maintaining healthy gums regularly see the dental hygienist.

There are also many ways of filling a ‘gap’ without resorting to a denture. Dental implants are one means of ensuring a confident smile. If replacing a molar tooth an implant will help to maintain a good biting surface which in itself is crucial to long term good health and well being.

However, if you are already living with a loose denture which causes you to miss out on life’s simple pleasures such as eating your favourite foods, laughing, smiling or talking in public, all is not lost!

At Longborough the dental team can offer you mini-implants for denture stabilisation. After a simple procedure to fit mini-implants our patients can find their lives transformed.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Visit our hygienist on a Saturday at Longborough

If you work from 9-5 during the week it can be difficult to schedule a visit to the hygienist. But this need no longer be a problem! Longborough now offers the convenience of Saturday dental hygiene appointments.

Our hygienist Janet is operating a Saturday clinic at Longborough and it is proving very popular with our busy commuting patients. Take advantage of convenient appointments and another fantastic benefit, SATURDAY FREE PARKING!

Call our patient advisors to book your Saturday hygiene appointment now, on 01306 882494 or email: admin@longboroughdental.co.uk

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Be Positive about Healthy Teeth and Gums

In the midst of all this horrible weather I thought I’d give you something else to think about; a check list that will give you a positive attitude to healthy teeth and gums.

And being positive can actually help you to achieve and maintain healthy teeth and gums! So learn our 8 point list and get your mind focused on doing everything needed to improve your oral health.

If you follow the principles of our list, consistently, you will become someone who takes perfect care of their teeth and gums, has great oral health habits and routines, and has a beautiful healthy smile to share with the world.

Read the list carefully, love your teeth, and don’t forget to smile.

I will do everything possible to maintain healthy teeth and gums
I will brush my teeth every day
I will floss my teeth frequently
I will take great care of my teeth and gums
I will brush my gums every day to help blood circulation and keep them healthy
I will maintain good oral health habits
I love the feeling of a clean and healthy mouth
I know healthy teeth and gums are essential to my overall health

If you need our help and support to achieve these goals don’t hesitate to contact our patient advisers on 01306 882494 and take the first steps towards achieving a healthy and beautiful smile.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Five ways to help reduce teeth staining

Food and drink can stain your teeth. Sadly, some well-loved favourites top the list: coffee, tea, red wine, grape or cranberry juice, blueberries, soy sauce, tomato sauce and more.
 
No need to panic! You don’t have to avoid these foods altogether but it is a good idea to brush or rinse your mouth thoroughly after enjoying them. Here are some tips:

Drink through a straw
When you drink fizzy drinks, juice and iced coffee or tea, using a straw can help to keep the liquid away from the visible front surfaces of your teeth.
Brush, floss and rinse
Plaque makes your teeth sticky and can help give stains something to hold on to.
Brush twice a day
Flossing and using an antibacterial mouth rinse twice a day will help you fight plaque and therefore make your teeth less likely to stain.
Have your teeth professionally cleaned
At least twice a year, make an appointment with a dental hygienist for a thorough cleaning. Clean teeth look brighter.
Don’t smoke
Whether you chew it or smoke it, tobacco stains teeth.

Teeth staining can ruin a great smile and make you look older than your years. The truth is what you eat and drink has a big impact on the whiteness of your teeth. 

Longborough offers Professional Tooth Whitening.

If your teeth have become stained or if they have always been discoloured, whitening can transform their colour quickly, painlessly and with no damage to the enamel.

Remember, proper tooth care can help keep your teeth bright. So eat, drink, and be merry and brush your teeth regularly.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Janet’s advice on brushing your teeth

A toothbrush is used to remove bacteria (plaque) from our mouths, to maintain a healthy dentition. It is important to keep our teeth free from decay and also to keep the supporting tissue (gums) healthy. Our gums should create a tight collar around our teeth to help keep our teeth firm. Teeth can be lost because of gum disease and unfortunately, in my role as a Dental Hygienist, I  see many people losing healthy teeth because their gums have let them down.

Keeping your gums healthy depends on many factors but probably the most important is a good tooth brushing technique. I find the best results come from using a rechargeable electric toothbrush. You need to look for a brush that has the following features:

    •    A small head so you can reach all the awkward places
    •    A timer so you know you are spending long enough brushing
    •    A pressure indicator so you do not apply too much pressure

When using a toothbrush, you should brush the point where your tooth comes out of your gum. This is called the gum margin. An electric brush does the movement for you so you do not have to 'scrub' as many people do with a manual brush.
 
Brushing with an electric brush, on the gum margin, for the correct length of time will remove the plaque to keep your teeth clean and fresh and most importantly your gums tight and healthy. it should be efficient and systematic. Don't jump from place to place. Just move your brush carefully along all your teeth. Your gums need to be brushed, but remember they are soft tissue, treat them with respect or you will hurt yourself. Just think that you would not scrub your face with a scrubbing brush!

You should be able to brush your gums without them bleeding. Bleeding is normally a sign that your gums are a little inflamed and you may need to have a scale and polish. Scale (tartar) builds up if the soft plaque is not removed well enough and is able to harden on your teeth. If you have any hard build up on your teeth we need to remove it for you very gently in the surgery.

The main reason for using toothpaste when we clean our teeth is to put fluoride onto our teeth. Fluoride makes our teeth harder and therefore more resistant to decay. Fluoride has been the biggest boon to dentistry in my lifetime. Other reasons for using a paste is that they foam and they usually taste nice to create a nice fresh feeling after brushing.

You need only use a small amount of paste, brush for the required time and then just spit out the excess. Do not rinse after you have brushed and it is best not to swallow. Children should use a very small amount of a child's fluoride paste, which has a lower concentration of fluoride.

I hope this brief summary of brushing is useful. If there is anything else you want to know please come and see us. We are always pleased to talk to you at length in the practice.

Janet Scott    
Dental Hygiene Therapist
Longborough

How to brush your teeth in Space

Have you ever wondered how oral hygiene takes place in space? 
Well, wonder no more! Check out this video where Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield explains how to brush your teeth in space: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU9kffoAQ8U 

So there you have it. Your basic toothbrush and toothpaste can serve you just as well off the planet as they do on Earth. 

NOTE: The brushing technique (and swallowing toothpaste) didn’t impress our hygienist, Janet Scott, who said, "I’m amazed that guy has any teeth left!" 

You can read Janet’s advice on brushing your teeth in our next blog.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Another glowing testimonial!

 We just received this wonderful testimonial to our endodontist, William Scott. Furthermore this patient has offered to talk to any patients nervous about RCT and tell them how wonderful William is. When all the injections wore off she didn't feel a thing and couldn't even tell where the injections had been!

"I recently had root canal treatment for one of my teeth which was performed by William and I wanted to express my great thanks to him and his dental assistant Sarah. I wasn’t looking forward to the treatment but they very soon put me at ease and were very professional in their approach. 

William explained exactly what he was doing, showed me xrays at various stages of the procedure and I felt totally confident with my treatment.
William has a very nice personality and was very competent and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending him to friends and family.
I would be grateful if you could pass on my sincere thanks to him and his dental assistant.
 
Yours faithfully
Mrs S.S.
PS. I needed injections on both of my visits and they were the most pain free injections I have ever received. Thank you William."

And thank you very much Mrs S it's good to be appreciated.

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

 

A lovely email from a patient

Thank you very much to the patient who took the time to write this wonderful email and send it to us:

I just wanted to put on record how impressed I was with the service I received to date from Asad and his team.

If I am honest, I have never been a fan of going to the dentist which probably explains the state of my teeth! That said, whilst I don’t look forward to it, I do find the process much better and recently had a crown removed and replaced as I am getting married next month.

Asad and Andrea work very well together and make an excellent team.  Not only was I made to feels as comfortable as possible whilst the crown was replaced, but I was given some additional adhesive when I left just in case I encountered any problems. To top it off Assad rang me yesterday to check I was OK after the procedure which was a very nice personal touch.

In my industry people are quick to criticise but rare to praise, although it is nice when they do. I felt it important therefore to let you know how impressed I am with everything that you do at Longborough Dental Practice.

Thank you for making something that I don’t enjoy, comfortable and ensuring that I have a winning smile on my wedding day.

Yours sincerely Mr M.S.E

Alison
Practice Manager

Longborough Dental Practice

Root Canal Treatment: myths and misconceptions

Mr William Scott BDS MSc MClinDent

Almost every patient referred to me for root canal treatment has a friend/friends who told the most terribly tales (and were happy to tell them) of spine tingly, horrible, root canal experiences. It is time to lay to rest the misunderstandings, misconceptions, and myths surrounding endodontic (root canal) treatment once and for all.

1. ‘Root Canal Treatment is Painful’ – FALSE
Truth: Root canal treatment does not cause pain, it relieves pain. The belief that root canal work is painful was fostered many, many, decades ago when several aspects of dentistry were in their infancy. Today, with the latest techniques and anaesthetics, root canal treatment is no more uncomfortable than having a filling placed.

2. ‘Root Canal Treatment Does Not Work’ - FALSE
Truth: studies indicate success rates of 90% to 95% for root canal treatments done by endodontists. Of course, badly done root canal work will fail, just as any type of work done to a poor standard will not be a success.  

On the other hand, clinical excellence backed by the latest techniques, equipment, and materials lead to high levels of long-term success. A root canal treatment done to a high standard on a tooth carefully restored by your dentist and well looked after by the patient can last a lifetime.

3. ‘A Good Alternative to Root Canal Treatment is Extraction’ – False
Truth- Saving your natural teeth, if possible, is the very best option.
Nothing can completely replace your natural tooth. Keeping your own teeth is important not just cosmetically, but also functionally; allowing you to enjoy the wide variety of foods necessary to maintain a healthy balanced diet.
 
Endodontic treatment, if clinically possible, combined with an appropriate restoration placed by your dentist, is a cost effective way to treat teeth with root canal infections, and is usually less expensive than extraction and placement of a bridge or an implant.
Millions of healthy endodontically treated teeth serve patients all over the world, for years and years after treatment.  

These healthy teeth help patients chew efficiently; maintain their natural smiles and enhance their quality of life.

William Scott is our new Endodontist at

Longborough Dental Practice