WIGHT AND BRIGHT
Mark Cronshaw is the principal of Amery House dental practice in Cowes. Mark arrived on the Island 10 years ago and aside from running his busy practice he is currently the UK’s leading laser dentistry instructor. In the first of a new series for Style of Wight Mark writes about his views on NHS and private dentistry
Many patients prefer to be treated within the NHS, and I am very supportive of those practices which still offer the NHS as an option. I am acutely conscious of the financial difficulty many in the community face as with rising taxes and the rise in the general cost of living I can understand that the ability to pay for a private dentist is difficult for some, and impossible for others.
I do feel however that there is a fundamental difference between what can be achieved clinically as an NHS patient compared to the private alternative.
The difference is not only one of equipment and materials. One of the major factors that led me to leave the NHS was to do with the amount of time available to properly assess and treat my patients.
Lots of patients are understandably apprehensive when it comes to the prospect of undergoing treatment, and it takes time to explain the nature of any problems. Time is also needed to ‘walk’ patients through the procedures on the day of treatment. Many people find dentistry a source of major anxiety, and the key to a happy outcome involves having the time as a clinician to be able to allay any unnecessary fears.
In my practice we explain what if any problems there are, using state of the art intraoral cameras, digital radiographs and patient education materials. Before committing to treatment we provide a detailed breakdown of anticipated costs and agree a schedule of works to match clinical needs to a programme of affordable care.
Most of my more anxious patients are fine once they see that they are in a caring environment and that every effort is made to be as gentle as possible. For the more seriously phobic patients who perhaps have a history of trauma, Amery
House is probably unique in the UK in having a visiting specialist clinical psychologist, Dr Melanie Stevens, who has specialist training in over eight different therapies, including EMDR and CBT. Dr Stevens can help both patients with issues related to needle phobia, a prior history of dental trauma (previous bad experiences) as well as the more complex non dental traumas (physical assault, rape etc).
Amery is one of the best equipped practices in the UK and we have all manner of sophisticated equipment which helps my patients as well as making the job easier. For instance I use CAD- CAM to make very strong and highly natural looking ceramic work to permanently repair badly damaged teeth. This involves taking a set of photographs of the tooth with a special camera and then we are able to design and manufacture the ceramic work, all on the same day. I also use lasers in my practice and amongst the many benefits are an ability to treat otherwise very difficult to manage gum and bone disease.
My practice is shortly to take part in a ground breaking clinical trial organised by Guys Hospital to evaluate scientifically the clinical outcome. I can report that in the two years I have been providing this highly innovative treatment we have seen some wonderful clinical results.
Another important point is the use of magnification in our work: I routinely use 4.6 times magnification which means I can see everything enlarged 4.6 times compared to the unaided eye. Hopefully this means I can do work which is 4.6 times better! I have just ordered a state of the art surgical microscope system (the first on the Island) which will permit even higher magnification, and also will be a boon to me as it will help me build up a bank of video footage I can use in my teaching. Aside from the technology the other big difference to NHS practice is one of the
underlying philosophy that prevention is undoubtedly better than cure! All patients in my practice undergo a risk assessment in five categories, and with this information we look ahead to what sort of problems may occur in future. This type of forward planning can very much reduce future treatment needs and on principle I believe in providing all the necessary explanation so people can understand what if any problems there are and what needs to be done to correct them, and avoid future trouble.
As a means of improving access to the most up to date equipment treatments and philosophy of care I have introduced an inexpensive monthly subscription plan which covers the costs of routine examinations, radiographs (X-rays) and hygiene appointments. The scheme includes a Worldwide insurance scheme to cover accidents and dental emergencies whilst away, as well as a healthy 10% discount against the cost of treatment. As a bonus we are giving away a free home tooth whitening kit with custom-made trays to every new member of the scheme. Places on this scheme are limited and are being taken up fast.
Dr Melanie Stevens, visiting specialist clinical psychologist. Dr Stevens can help both patients with needle phobia, dental trauma and non dental traumas
Advertising Call (01983) 861 007
AMERY HOUSE DENTAL PRACTICE, 4 TERMINUS ROAD, COWES. TEL. 01983 291863 May / June 2012 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96