Clock Tower Dental Care

Donald receiving the "Dentist of the Year" at the Dental Awards 2011

 Donald is over the moon following being named “Dentist of the Year” at the prestigious National Dental Awards 2011. The judges described him as “a very worthy winner” and praised him for his professionalism and dedication to patient care. ” Donald was one of nine finalists out of all the dentists in the UK. He was presented with the award at a gala dinned in London attended by over 300 of the UK’s most respected dentists. “When I decided to be a dentist I set out to change the way dentistry was perceived and delivered in the UK. This award is a great honour and proves that I am on the right track. There is no reason why people should fear visiting dentists or why they should not have the smile of their dreams.”

“I certainly could not have done it without the back-up of the superb team at Clock Tower Dental Care.”

We would like to thank all our younger patients who took part in the “Draw Your Dentist” competition which took place in the practice over the half term holiday. The winning artists were Anouska Pearson in the 5 years and under age group, Kia Richardson in the 6 to 8 years age group, Lottie Robinson in the 9 to 13 years age group and Chloe McGowan was awarded a special prize for her dental poster. The winning pictures will be featured on the blog tomorrow. Congratulations to all the winners and your cinema tickets will be with you shortly. We hope you enjoy them.

We would like to wish all our patients a “Happy Easter” with a gentle reminder to all those patients, especially the younger ones, who may be indulging in chocolate eggs over the holidays. Please remember to brush your teeth well morning and night with a fluoride toothpaste and try to limit your chocolate eating to after meals. Or why not try painting hens eggs or hard boiling them and finding a hill to roll them down on Sunday morning- much better for your teeth!

Happy Easter from all the team at Clock Tower Dental Care.

Once again some of Clock Tower’s dentists were back at school again. This time Donald and Hamish were talking to pupils at Ripon Grammar School about choosing dentistry as a profession as part of the school’s Career Evening. “It was great to see so many young people interested in dentistry and to be able to explain to them what diversity there can be in dentistry. There is the capacity for dentists to work as a general dentist or for them to develop an interest in particular areas of dentistry like cosmetic dentistry, endodontics or dental implants for example”, Donald said afterwards.  Hamish was also keen to point out that there are many different environments for dentists to work in as well, from a local dental practice to a hospital setting or serving as a dentist with the armed forces, something which both Donald and Hamish have done. Hamish was also able to give students up to date advice on applying for university as he is involved with Leeds University.

Donald and Hamish talking to parents and pupils at the recent Ripon Grammar School careers evening.

The evening went well and Donald and Hamish both look forward to attending next year’s event.

We are all excitedly waiting to hear this weekend how Donald gets on in the national Smile Awards 2010. He has been shortlisted in the “Patient’s Award” category which he describes as “particularly rewarding as it is like a double award. In this category dentists are  nominated by their patients which is extra special because it shows that the patient is delighted with their smile. The nominees are then shortlisted by the judges , a panel of highly qualifed and regarded dentists, who appreciate the technical aspects of the smile. ”

The Smile Awards recognise and reward aesthetic and clinical excellence in dentistry nationwide so to be shortlisted among the nation’s premier dentists is already a considerable achievement. Donald, who was a runner up in last year’s awards, views the nomination as a reflection of the quality of the care and expertise we offer to all our patients at Clock Tower Dental Care . “Knowing that patients are so delighted with the smiles we create for them is really the best award, ” said Donald ” and knowing that the judges appreciate the technical aspects of the smile is the icing on the cake ”

Good luck on Saturday, Donald, from all the team.

Donald, far right, with some of the team members.

The team at Clock Tower Dental Care is delighted to welcome the Changing Faces Denture Clinic and dental technician Chris Egan to the practice. Clinical Director Donald Sloss says “The arrival of the Clinic at the practice means that those patient who require new or replacement dentures can discuss their needs directly with Chris who will be making the dentures for them. Chris is a highly regarded technician with a wealth of experience which will complement our clinical team. ”  The Clinic is available to everyone , whether patients of the practice or not, and Chris is keen to ensure that all denture patients have realistic,  well fitting dentures that reflect the patient’s identity and give the patient a naturally beautiful smile. Donald and Chris are particularly looking forward to working closely together on implant retained dentures- where the patient has a small number of dental implants placed in the mouth and the dentures are then fixed to these implants ensuring a fantastic fitting denture that doesn’t need to be removed for cleaning, gives a beautiful smile and enables the patient to eat virtually any food they choose to.

If you would like an appointment at the Clinic and are not a patient of the practice simply phone the reception team on 01765 602161 to arrange one. If you are already a patient of the practice then arrange to see your dentist to discuss your denture needs.

If you have had an appointment with us in the last two weeks or so then maybe you’ve experienced the new system that we are trialling- reminder messages by text.  The system sends reminders to those patients whose mobile number is in our records and is an easy way for patients to remember their appointments. If you would like to use this system please ensure that we have your current mobile phone number when you attend for your next appointment. If you have already had a text reminder from us please tell us how useful you found it to help us decide whether to keep the system running after this initial trial period.

Vikki

We are sad to announce that nurse Vikki Grindle is leaving the practice to go to Australia. Vikki, who has been with the practice for 5 years, ia a valued member of the team and will be missed by all of us. However we are looking forward to regular updates on all things dental in Australia and maybe even organising nursing exchanges when Vikki is settled. Since joining the practice Vikki gained both her NVQ in dental nursing and her nurses radiography qualification. Of her time at the practice Vikki said “I’ve really enjoyed it and I feel I’ve made friends for life here. I’ll miss all the team and the patients. I’m sure it’ll be exciting in Australia but it will be hard to find another practice like this.”

The team presented Vikki with a camera already loaded with photos of team members and the practice so that she would remember them as well as being able to take photos of Australia to send back to the team here.