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Something to smile about Dread going to the dentist? Stamford’s Saima Rennie dispels all such fears with a clear dedication to client care and commitment to her own Continuing Professional Development
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orn in Glasgow and raised in Edinburgh, Saima Rennie comes from a large, careerminded family - among her siblings there are lawyers, dentists, accountants, a teacher, pharmacist, oncology consultant and an MSP. “Being the child of immigrants – my father was a tailor and my mother joined him in Glasgow in 1969; she went from having two factory jobs to running her own post office/ shop – it was expected of my siblings and I to do better for ourselves,” she explains. “My parents and my guidance teacher, the former Scottish Green Party Leader and first UK Green Party parliamentarian, Robin Harper, wanted me to do medicine. To their disappointment I chose dentistry – it took my mother years to get over my decision, she was so nervous of dentists!” Saima combined her studies at Glasgow University with working every weekend and holiday in her parents’ business. Despite being offered a Masters place to study Endodontics (root canal treatments) and then Orthodontics, she chose General Practice and started her first job in Sleaford just three days after graduating in 1998. A move to St Neots and locum work back in Scotland followed, before a return to Sleaford in 2002. It was while working there secondtime-round that Saima visited Stamford on a day out, eventually buying a house here in 2004. Since then she’s invested heavily in more training. “In 2007 I gained a Certificate in Cosmetic and Aesthetic Restorative Dentistry with Advanced Dental Seminars, a Postgraduate Certificate in Contemporary Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry with Professor Dominic Hassall , a Certificate in Implantology with Nobel Biocare and most recently I completed a six-part Periodontal Disease Diagnosis and Management course with the President of the British Society of Periodontology, Phil Ower,” she explains. After eight years of practice in Peterborough Saima had just started working in Oundle last October when a position closer to home, with Raymond Richardson and Paul Williams at the St Mary’s Street Dental Practice, came up. “I absolutely love it here, Raymond and Paul are just great guys to work with,” she enthuses. Saima adores the variety of work that general dental practice offers. She says: “I love dentistry and I’m passionate about my profession. There’s the satisfaction of creating and maintaining beautiful smiles, interacting with patients and being able to practice a skill that I love daily. Dentists
are becoming one of the few healthcare professionals where clients see the same face every time they visit, which is invaluable for building a trusting relationship.” Constant advances in science and technology mean all dentists are expected to keep extending their knowledge, with an average of 50 hours a year of Continuing Professional Development the industry norm. “It’s amazing the developments and progress in dentistry over the last 18 years alone,” Saima says. “We’ve gone from looking at the mouth, to the head and neck, to now the bigger picture. We are asked to do a general health screen as that has a huge impact on oral health. The ‘sugar tax’ on fizzy drinks is an important first step – not only does sugar cause tooth decay, but it has such damaging effects on the entire body. Diabetes type II is making headlines and although we are restoring and keeping teeth for longer and then implanting if necessary, the inflammatory effects of sugar are contributing to the failure of the supporting structures of our teeth. With this and the rise of childhood caries and tooth loss, educating parents and taking the time to discuss their concerns is vitally important. “And who would have thought 15 years ago that you could have a tooth bank, where a child’s deciduous and wisdom teeth are stored so that, if something serious should happen to them later, stem calls can be harvested?” So what’s ‘the next big thing’ in her profession? Saima says: “We are trying to save natural teeth more than ever, rather than opting for implants straight away; the
10-year implant survival rates are a lot less than the 98 per cent that is quoted for five years. Having completed the first level in implant training I can tell whether a client is suitable, and explain the personalised pros and cons. “If you want the perfect smile, why not? We not only offer Smile Makeovers with crowns, veneers and onlays in the latest in very strong pressed ceramics, but we’re also very excited to be able to offer Invisalign – an orthodontic alternative that uses clear retainers with ‘smart force’ technology to move teeth. It has the power of tilting, rotating and bodily moving teeth into alignment, with the beauty of being nearly invisible. It is a worldwide system that has been around since 1998 and I’m now an accredited Invisalign Provider.”
St Mary’s Street Dental Practice is at 34a St Mary’s Street, Stamford PE9 2DS Tel: 01780 755005. A full range of treatment is offered privately for adult patients, either under the Denplan Care or Essentials scheme or independently on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis, and private treatment is also offered for children, as well as a Denplan Children’s scheme for more one-to-one care. www.st-marys-dental.co.uk
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19/04/2016 15:57