Queensway News

From the 1^st May 2013, patients can book directly with a Dental Hygienist or Dental Therapist instead of having to see a dentist first.

At a meeting on 28th March 2013 the General Dental Council (GDC) voted to remove its barrier to direct access for some dental care professionals after considering the possible impact on patient safety.

In the past every member of the dental team had to work under the prescription of a dentist. This meant that patients had to be seen by a dentist before being treated by any other member of the dental team.

Following a detailed review of evidence, which had been gathered since 2011, and a full discussion, it was agreed this should change.

What does this mean for patients at Queensway?

The face of dental healthcare in the UK is changing; at Queensway we are proud to be able to embrace this new care model with a professional, well qualified, experienced and committed team.

Some of our existing NHS patients will be receiving letters in the post over the coming weeks informing them that their next check-up appointment will be with Dental Therapist Aimee Briggs. Aimee is trained and competent to carry out a routine dental check-up, meaning that they don’t having to see a dentist first. If she thinks that it is required for them to see a dentist because the treatment they need is something that is not in her scope of practice, she will refer them to see a dentist. In addition Aimee will be able to carry out preventative treatment and routine oral healthcare.

If you require any more information please call us on 01642 554667.

• 

Since 1998, Queensway Dental Clinic has offered an essential NHS conscious sedation referral service for the residents of Teesside, County Durham and Darlington, providing care and necessary dental treatment for a large group of highly anxious children and adults.

As a practice we are very proud of our hard work in developing this service and, over the 15 years, our highly experienced and well qualified team have treated over 100,000 patients under conscious sedation at our clinic in Billingham.  Around 45,000 of these patients were children, who otherwise would have had their treatment provided under a general anaesthetic in hospital.

In 2012, the contract to provide NHS sedation services for Teesside, County Durham and Darlington was put out to tender.  It was our initial intention to keep the existing service running; however, sadly it would have been impossible for us to maintain our high standards of care and quality of service for our patients with the resources available.

As a result, we had no option but to withdraw from the tender process and it is with deep regret that we are informing you that from June 2013 we will no longer be accepting NHS referrals for treatment under conscious sedation.

Between now and the end of June we are only seeing urgent referrals, providing treatment for patients who need emergency treatment.  For those patients requiring routine NHS dentistry with conscious sedation, your own practice will refer you to the new local providers in due course.

Moving forward, we still have a 15-year track record of delivering a safe, high quality and knowledgeable sedation service and will continue to offer treatment under conscious sedation to referral patients on a private basis only.

If you are a patient at another dental practice but would like to access Queensway’s sedation services privately, the cost of this will be £60 for a comprehensive assessment with a sedation-qualified dentist. Treatment with conscious sedation for routine dentistry* will be charged at a fixed cost of £335 for each sedation visit required. Each sedation appointment will last approximately 1 hour and we will endeavour to complete all treatment needed within this time, wherever possible. Any laboratory items required (e.g. dentures, crowns, bridges or gum shields) or cosmetic treatments will incur an additional charge and this will be discussed at the assessment visit. Please speak to your current dentist and they will be able to refer you to our practice.

If you do not currently have a dentist and would like join our practice as a private patient, please call our reception team on 01642 554667 or email reception@queensway.co.uk.

*Routine dentistry may include fillings, extractions, scaling and root canal treatment and the quoted fee is inclusive of the sedation.

• 

A patient from Queensway Dental Clinic who won a £2,500 holiday with oral health care brand TePe, has decided to kindly donate the prize to charity. 

Susan and James Williamson from Billingham entered the TePe competition to win a £2,500 holiday when attending their regular appointment at Queensway Dental Clinic, where they have both been patients for over 30 years. And while most people would be booking the first flight to somewhere hot and sunny, the couple have instead generously decided to donate the prize to a charity.

Susan discusses her excitement after discovering they had won the competition: “We were delighted to win the prize and it was quite a shock, but we’re not big travellers so it was lovely to be given the option to donate the prize to a charity. We’ve both been patients at Queensway for decades and my husband uses the TePe brushes, so just to be offered the chance to enter the competition as a thanks from the companies was lovely, but to actually win it was great.”

TePe brushes are one of the many oral hygiene aids that are recommended for NHS and private patients, by the hygienist team at Queensway Dental Clinic. The clinic also has a dedicated oral hygiene suite, which is routinely used to help improve the oral care of many children and adult patients.

• 

Queensway Dental Clinic is backing the British Heart Foundation’s No Smoking Day, which aims to help and encourage those who wish to quit smoking.

Smoking is the number one cause of avoidable premature death and is linked to a range of serious and often fatal conditions, as well as severe oral health implications. In the run up to No Smoking Day – 13^th March – Queensway will be actively promoting the campaign with leaflets and displays in patient waiting rooms and dentists will be on hand to answer any questions on the effect of smoking on oral health.

This year’s campaign ‘Swap Fags for Swag’, is all about what smokers will gain when they quit. There are many reason people want to quit smoking; as part of a larger lifestyle change, to be healthier, get fit or to save money. Queensway Dental Clinic is trying to raise awareness of the campaign, by highlighting the oral health implications in particular.

Will Carter, a dentist at Queensway Dental Clinic, commented: “No Smoking Day on the 13^th March is the perfect time to make the decision to quit.”

“Smoking can be extremely detrimental to your oral health, causing gum disease, tooth loss, diminished sense of taste, plaque and gum disease, sore throat, as well as cancer of lips, tongue, throat, larynx and oesophagus. It can also be damaging on an aesthetic level causing stained teeth and bad breath, which can affect your social life.”

“The best way to prevent any of these issues is obviously to cut down or quit and upkeep a good oral hygiene routine by cleaning your teeth for two minutes twice a day as well as flossing and rinsing with mouthwash. If you decide to give up and want to reverse some of the damage done to your teeth due to long-term smoking then we can certainly help you correct some of the damage by cleaning or whitening the teeth if needed, and addressing other issues. Quitting is certainly the first step to vastly improved oral health.”

For more information on No Smoking Day visit www.nosmokingday.org.uk.

• 

An Open Evening held at our Advanced Dentistry and Orthodontic Centre last night (28th February) has proven to be a huge success, with dozens of patients attending to find out more about the private treatments and services available to them.

The Open Evening was held in order to provide an informal environment for clients and potential clients to meet the members of the dental team and ask any questions they may have during one-on-one sessions about services such as Invisalign™, dental implants, All-on-4, veneers and much more.

•