On Saturday 28^th May our lovely dentist Sharmila set off very early to walk the Ultra Challenge, London to Brighton.  Starting in Richmond, West London on Saturday morning, she walked 100km of paths, trails, and roads  to get to the Brighton finish line – where an overwhelming sense of elation awaited her.

Sharmila completed the challenge in just over 25 hours …WOW! And no blisters and a huge smile on her face.

So far Sharmila has raised £1,350 for a fantastic charity – Dogs for Good – a UK based charity that “provides training assistance dogs to support adults and children with physical disabilities and children with autism”. Sharmila would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone that donated – you have been so generous and it is very much appreciated!!

It’s not too late to make a donation – anything is greatly appreciated! To find out more visit Sharmila’s just-giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/Sharmila-Bayliss

We’re all so proud of you Sharmila, not only are you are great dentist but you have raised loads of money for a great cause, and completed and mega challenge – Extremely well done from all of us at Fellows Dental Practice.

The Team at Fellows Dental Practice are so proud to have been nominated for the prestigious Dental Awards and we made it to the final of the Team of the Year.

We are one of three practices South of London and the only one in East Sussex to have made the final.  There were hundreds who entered, making this the biggest and best Dental Awards to date.

The Dental Awards is the UK’s premier annual awards scheme, developed to recognise and reward the very highest standards in UK dentistry & oral healthcare through outstanding individuals and teams whose commitment and drive continues to raise standards throughout UK dentistry.

Sponsored by market-leading businesses serving the dental profession and supported by key dental associations and all the leading dentistry magazines, the Dental Awards are the most coveted awards program serving the sector, being seen as the gold standard. Winning one represents a pinnacle in the career of any individual or practice.

Our nomination is a wonderful acknowledgement of our achievements.  At Fellows Dental Practice, our patients are at the center of everything we do.  We work together as a team to ensure everyone has a lovely journey through the practice and the quality of the dentistry we provide is not simply high but also how we would wish to be treated ourselves.

We are very proud of our team – they are dedicated and hard working, yet a fun bunch to work with! We were delighted to have made it to the final, we didn’t win but we did have a lot of fun up in Birmingham celebrating in style with other excellent dental practices.

Our team is Mark Fellows (Owner and Dentist); Sharmila Sarin (Associate Dentist); Catherine Fellows (Co-owner Practice Manager and Dental Nurse); Jennifer Kinnish (Hygienist); Kelly Hardy, Stephanie Mainstone, Melissa Ringsell and Amy McGowan (Dental Nurses and Reception Team).

Thank you for all your support.

Monkeys Family Visit the Dentist

The team at Fellows Dental are all very child friendly, we believe that children should come to the dentist and have a happy fun time. There is no need to fear the dentist like some people may have done in the past.  Children’s teeth need looking after from the moment they appear, so book your child in and let them discover how looking after your teeth can be fun!

Monkeys Family Visit the Dentist is a  20-page realistic, photographically-based children’s storybook to prepare children for visiting the dentist. In this story, Monkey and his sister have a check-up with their family dentist. It’s a great introduction to visiting the dentist, familiarising children with the dentist’s surgery, the equipment and the process of having their teeth checked.  If your child is frightened or cautious of the dentist ask us for one of our Monkey books, read it to them, discuss it with them.Feedback has told us that visits to the dentist have been made much easier following this.

The author, Helen Sadler, of the book writes books for various different medically related situations. Promoted by a feeling of bewilderment and fear when her daughter was admitted to hospital, Helen has written books to help children overcome and be prepared for different medical situations.

In our waiting room at Fellows Dental Practice we have plenty of toys and books for children to play with whilst they are waiting to see their Dentist, Mark or Sharmila.  The book Monkeys family visits the Dentist is also available to read in the waiting room and we have Monkey Dental Activity Packs available if you would like them.  We want to ensure that your families visit is a relaxing, calm and happy one.  In both our surgeries there are television screens on the ceiling, we have a large selection of DVDs available to choose from, or you can bring your own favourite with you.

We have stickers for everyone and fun toothbrushes available for purchase at reception.

With National Smile Month coming up why not have your picture taken with our big cheesy hold up smile and join our Facebook gallery!

Who’d have thought that going to the dentist was so much fun! 

Tooth decay has become the number one reason why children are admitted hospital in the UK and any solution will require parents, business and the authorities to play their part.

The British Dental Association (BDA) has commended the councils for their leadership on sugar as the Local Government Association (LGA) issued calls for transparent and child friendly labelling on fizzy drinks.

Russ Ladwa, Chair of the BDA’s Health and Science Committee said: “Local councils are now offering the kind of leadership on the sugar crisis we expect to see from national government.”

The BDA has called on the government to put prevention at the heart of its approach to the crisis on child tooth decay, as new figures showed over 14,000 children aged 5 and under had been admitted to hospital for tooth extraction in 2014/15.  Analysis of data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has also revealed a 10% increase in children requiring tooth extraction in the last 4 years.

News comes as the government has supposedly abandoned plans for a sugar tax as part of its long delayed obesity strategy.  The BDA has led calls for action to improve children’s oral health and championed action on sugar.

Mick Armstrong, Chair of the BDA said: “these new figures should offer a wake up call to government on its failure to get to grips with prevention.  Under fives are ending up in hospital for tooth extractions because successive governments have treated oral health as an afterthought.  An entirely preventable disease has been left to emerge as the leading cause of hospital admissions among children.  That means paying a premium for general anaesthesia, when we should be saving pain and money by aiming to keep healthy teeth in healthy mouths in the first place.

At Fellows Dental Practice we really believe in preventative dental care and encourage our patients to bring their children to the practice from an early age. Regular check-ups from a young age will ensure children won’t suffer from untreated dental decay with devastating effects to their growing dentition. We will be able to give you advise on diet and snacking to try and reduce the risks of dental decay. There are a number of preventative treatments that our team can provide for children.

• Fluoride applications are a safe and effective way to safeguard your growing child’s teeth from developing decay. The fluoride is painted onto the surface of the child’s teeth and this helps to mineralise the teeth and make them stronger.
• Fissure sealants are tooth coloured and where clinically needed, these are applied to the biting surfaces of children’s teeth to prevent decay.

https://www.fellowsdental.co.uk/dental-hygiene-eastbourne.html

How to clean your teeth?
The best way to have clean teeth is to visit a dentist for professional cleaning and follow a regular oral health routine of twice-daily toothbrushing and daily flossing. Read on for more tips from Fellows Dental Practice on the best way to clean teeth.

How to clean your teeth properly….

You can achieve and maintain clean teeth easily if you have the right tools and technique for brushing your teeth. We recommend using an electric toothbrush; a flouride toothpaste with at least 1450ppm flouride; Dental floss or tape and tepe brushes for cleaning between your teeth. We sell all of the above items and can guide you through how best to use them to clean your
teeth to maintain a sparkly set of nashers!

We recommend using an electric toothbrush if possible – rechargeable Oral B or Sonicare brushes are our favourites. Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle and slowly move it over all surfaces of your teeth, using a systematic process so each area  of your mouth gets a proper clean. If you prefer to use a manual toothbrush, hold it at approximately a 45-degree angle to the teeth you are brushing. Use small strokes and brush your teeth in sections. Don’t forget to go all the way behind your last tooth on each side. Do not brush too hard, but ensure you use a suitable firmness of bristles for your teeth and gums.

Floss between your teeth ensuring that you clean the edge of each tooth. Brushing cleans the top, front and back surfaces of the teeth but flossing is needed to clean between each tooth. This is best achieved using dental tape or Tepe brushes. The size of Tepe brush you need will vary depending upon the amount of space there is between your teeth.

Rinse away teeth stains: if you can’t brush your teeth after consuming food or beverages that may stain your teeth, preserve clean teeth by rinsing your mouth with water or a dental rinse.

Quit smoking: Smoking is one of the top factors that undermines clean teeth – ask us how we can help you.

For further information please call us to arrange an appointment with one of our lovely dentists or our great hygienist. 

We can help you to keep your teeth clean more easily.   

Easier to have a healthy mouth  – visit the Hygienist!

We now have a new hygienist to help with maintaining your mouth in a lovely sparkly healthy condition.

According to new regulations you can now see the hygienist without having to see the dentist first. We have a new Hygienist – Jennifer.  You can book in with Jennifer currently every Friday. She comes highly recommended to us, and has a fabulous reputation of being so gentle, kind and a lovely person – you will definitely enjoy your visit to the hygienist with Jennifer!

Most importantly though, Hygienists are fantastic at keeping your gum health in tip top condition. There are also many other health benefits for your whole body of having heathy gums.

Jennifer will gently clean and polish your teeth and help you return and maintain your gums in a super healthy condition. Dietary advice will be given and you will be shown which toothbrush is right for YOU. She will also advise and show you how to use  dental floss and interdental brushes – some of the most important tools for keeping a healthy mouth. If Jennifer has any queries she will refer you to your dentist – Mark or Sharmila.

With our new hygienist we can help make achieving good oral health easier and more affordable for everyone. We have reduced the cost for you of having your teeth professionally cleaned helping to keep a fresh healthy mouth.

Another barrier to a healthy mouth –  gone!

There have been lots of terrible stories in the media lately about the state of children’s teeth. Children in the UK have a very high level of tooth decay, which as well as being painful for the child can lead to further problems later in life. Many studies have shown that children who have visited a dentist from an early age have better dental health as adults. Fellows Dental Practice prides itself on being a family practice, offering the highest quality dental care to patients of all ages. We recommend bringing children to visit the dentist from an early age. Children can come along with their parents as soon as their first teeth start to appear. By watching their parents or older siblings having a check-up, young children can copy what they see and will get used to sitting in the chair and opening their mouth for the dentist to look inside. The aim is to learn that the dentist is a friendly face, and that visits are nothing to be scared of – in fact, they can even be fun! There’s even a TV in the ceiling above the dentist’s chair, so little ones can enjoy their favourite cartoon or movie while the dentist checks their teeth. To strengthen teeth and help prevent decay, we offer treatment with fluoride varnish and fissure sealants. Visiting the dentist from an early age also makes it easier to spot orthodontic issues such as underbites, overbites or crossbites developing. We firmly believe that prevention is better than cure, and the sooner these issues are spotted, the quicker they can be fixed.