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Hello, I’m Siri, the editor of Dental Scribe and fellow Plymouth local. We are thrilled to be launching the first edition of Dental Scribe in the city where I was born. Alongside Shaun, who has more than 10 years experience as a dentist, we hope to equip you with new and exciting oral health knowledge.
Editor’s Note
At Dental Scribe Media, our editorial team has a combined 15 years experience in journalism and clinical dentistry. We’re passionate about providing entertaining and informative content about your oral health, as well as carefully curated local recommendations.
If you want to continue reading at home, or share with family and friends, simply scan the QR code on the front cover to access the online version.
Dental Scribe is printed and published by Print Options, an independent family-run publisher based in Millbrook, South East Cornwall. They have been running for more than thirty years and we are thrilled to be working with them.
Dental Scribe Media delivers hundreds of magazines to dental practices across the country, where they become waiting room reading material for thousands of patients. If you would like to advertise in front of a captive audience, please don’t hesitate to contact our sales team at info@dentalscribemedia.co.uk.
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The dark side of online teeth straightening...
...and why DIY dentistry isn’t worth it.
The desire for straight teeth is skyrocketing in the UK, with online ‘solutions’ growing in popularity. But what is the reality of DIY orthodontics?
Clear aligners are a popular and discreet way to achieve straight teeth, and when delivered by a trained professional they are highly effective. But as the demand for straight teeth increases, so does the desire for a quick, cheap fix. More and more people are now turning to cheaper options - including online DIY dentistry solutions.
DIY orthodontics typically involves purchasing aligners online without the oversight of a dental professional. After completing an online form and paying, you can receive a “do it yourself kit” within a few days, instructing you to create a dental impression or undergo a digital scan at a local store. These impressions or scans serve as the basis for crafting a customised set of aligners, which are then shipped directly to your doorstep along with a treatment plan. Alarmingly, this entire process often occurs without any consultation with a qualified dentist or orthodontist.
Major dental bodies such as the British Orthodontic Society and the General Dental Council strongly advise against DIY orthodontics. Although marketed as a simple and risk-free treatment which can be carried out by anyone, this is far from the truth. It is important to see a dental professional for orthodontic treatment.
Before undergoing orthodontic treatment, a full clinical examination is required to ensure the procedure will be safe and suitable. Any work carried out on unhealthy teeth can have serious consequences, including tooth loss. The only way to be sure you are suitable is to be assessed in person by a dental professional before beginning treatment.
There are a range of possible orthodontic options for different types of problems. With DIY orthodontics, there is only one treatment choice and it may not be suitable for everyone.
The General Dental Council, the UK regulator for dentistry professionals, said, “there is no effective substitute for a physical, clinical examination”.
In a full statement, released in 2021, they said:
“In line with current authoritative clinical guidance, and orthodontic training, clinical judgements about the suitability of a proposed course of orthodontic treatment must be based on a full assessment of the patient’s oral health.”
If you are considering orthodontic treatment, ask at reception to find out if your dentist offers such services. If they don’t, they will likely refer you to a trusted professional elsewhere in Plymouth.
Take a look at...
“There is no effective substitute for a physical, clinical examination.”
our guide to plymouth page 34
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Tripping or skipping ?
Choosing your movements in maturity...
Dr Jess Laidlaw GP registrar and qualified gym instructor.
How many hours a day do you spend sitting down?
How often do you intentionally move to increase your pulse and breathing rate?
A quarter of all adults are considered ‘physically inactive’, based on the Government definition (30 minutes per week of moderate intensity activity – i.e. increased breathing but able to talk). If you’re over the age of 75, there is about a 50% chance that you will fall into this category, and if you’re over the age of 85, this increases to 70% (based on Sport England Active Lives survey data).
Physical inactivity is well known to increase with age, but can be detrimental to strength, posture and balance. This can have knock-on effects for physical, mental and social wellbeing. For example, higher inactivity levels can increase the risk of falls and broken bones, weaker muscles, low mood, and social isolation. This negative impact on an older person’s quality of life can subsequently affect the confidence and motivation needed to boost activity levels.
The good news is that people who are physically inactive gain the biggest health benefits from moving more. Whilst the prospect of exercise may seem daunting, even introducing 10 minutes of additional movement each day can lead to significant improvements to health and wellbeing. Regular activity reduces your risk of many health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis. It also boosts your energy levels.
Not sure where to start?
Finding an activity that brings you joy is key to making sustainable changes. Consider encouraging friends or family to join you, or using exercise as an opportunity to meet new people in the community.
Increasing movement can be easily achieved in your own home, at seniors’ exercise classes or at your local community or leisure centres, or even through personal training sessions at your nearest gym.
Be sure to exercise within safe limits. Start gradually, and listen to your body. Slow down when you need to and stop if you feel unwell. If your symptoms don’t resolve quickly with rest, seek urgent medical advice.
Ideas to start your journey on the move ...
Standing up regularly to avoid prolonged periods of sitting – such as during TV advert breaks
Taking the stairs rather than a lift
Carrying groceries
Dancing whilst doing housework
When you feel ready, try adding in something new ...
Try chair-based exercises –YouTube is a good place to start!
Gardening
Swimming
Jogging
Other options include toe tapping to music, walking to the shops, or getting off the bus a few stops earlier.
Want to find out more ?
Age UK, the British Heart Foundation, and NHS website have lots of ideas and resources to help you find the right movement for you. Alternatively, speak to your GP or staff at your local leisure centre.
Other options include, walking football, dance class, Tai Chi, Pilates, yoga and wheelchair workouts.
Advicefrom dentiststoyou
Destination
What you should know ... DENTISTRY
Dr Shaun Hodge
Whilst combining a week in the sun with a smile makeover may seem tempting, Dr Shaun Hodge warns that dentistry and holidays may not make such a perfect pairing after all.
In recent years there has been an increase in companies offering such packages, with more people opting to have dental work overseas, in places such as Turkey.
Destination dentistry has gained traction with influencers and celebrities opting to travel abroad for such treatment. However, there is a dark side to dental tourism. In this article we will take a look at some important factors to consider when thinking about treatment - whether locally or abroad.
In the UK, all dental professionals have to be registered with the General Dental Council, the body who hold clinicians to an extremely high set of standards of safety and skill. Because of this, you can be assured your dentist is suitably qualified to do the job. Unfortunately, not all countries have a comparable governing body. This means there is no guarantee that the care you
receive will be subject to the same level of safety regulation that exists in the UK. Complex treatments such as smile makeovers, composite bonding, and veneers often take more than one or two appointments to perfect. They also require a high degree of planning, and follow up appointments are often needed to ensure you get the result you expect. When these follow-up appointments are carried out overseas, the financial and time costs can quickly add up, reducing any initial savings made from choosing to have your dental treatment abroad. Similarly, no matter how much care and planning is put into dental treatment, complications can occasionally occur.
Return visits to an overseas clinic are likely to be costly and time consuming, and trying to diagnose and discuss any issues over email or phone calls can be very difficult and frustrating. On top of this, it can be technically challenging for your local dentist to try and correct any issues with another dentist’s work, as they may not know the materials or techniques used.
Again, any initial financial savings may be rapidly outweighed with such corrective work. It is a huge step to decide to undergo life-changing dental treatment. Whether it be dental implants or a smile makeover, it’s important that you can be confident in the clinical work provided. Although seeking treatment overseas can at first seem like a money saving option, as explained above, costs can quickly stack up.
If you are considering life-changing dental treatment, make sure you speak to your dental professional or enquire at reception.
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Gum disease is one of the most common diseases on the planet, often going unnoticed in its early stages. If left untreated, it can have huge consequences on your quality of life, potentially leading to bad breath, wobbly teeth, difficulty eating and chewing, loss of confidence and even tooth loss. Thankfully, in most cases, gum disease can be successfully diagnosed and treated.
With a team of highly trained and talented hygienists, your dental professionals are well equipped to provide you with first-class periodontal care. This guide is designed to answer some questions you may have about gum disease. If you would like
to discuss anything further with a member of our team, book a consultation or speak to a member of staff at reception.
What is Gum Disease?
Gum disease is an inflammatory condition. When plaque builds up around your teeth, the gum becomes inflamed. This may appear as red, swollen and sore gums, which bleed when brushed. If left untreated, this inflammation can cause the bone which holds our teeth in place to shrink away. Over time this may lead to teeth becoming increasingly wobbly, and in the worst cases teeth may even fall out. One of the challenges
of managing gum disease is that the early symptoms can be very subtle, and can be easily missed. It is often a painless condition and there is a common misconception that bleeding gums are completely normal. However, if not diagnosed and treated early, gum disease can begin to impact negatively on our quality of life. Bad breath, receding gums, difficulty eating and chewing and tooth loss can all have a big impact on our lives.
Gum disease can impact on your general health. It makes sense that the health of our mouth can impact on the rest of the body. In recent years, there has been a significant amount of research into
Advicefrom dentiststo you
al milecleaning
the associations between gum disease and a range of other conditions. In particular, gum disease has been linked to diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Gum disease has also been linked to complications during pregnancy.
However, in the majority of cases, gum disease is possible to treat and stabilise. This is especially true when diagnosed early, therefore it’s a great idea to visit the dentist for regular check-ups, and the hygienist for regular gum care. Although bone loss due to the disease cannot easily be ‘re-grown’, it is often possible to stabilise the disease, reducing inflammation, making your gums feel much healthier.
Gum disease treatment often comes in three stages:
Diagnosis and oral hygiene advice
Gum disease cannot be treated without the patient being fully committed to improving their oral health. It is vital that you have a good understanding of the condition, and do what you can at home to help keep your mouth as healthy as possible.
Professional mechanical plaque removal
This involves thorough cleaning above and below the gum line, in an effort to remove or disturb the plaque build up responsible for the inflammation of your gums. This is often done with the aid of local anaesthetic, to make sure you are comfortable. In the weeks following treatment, your gums heal and tighten up around your teeth. In some cases, certain sites may require some advanced treatments, such as surgical therapy.
1 2 3
Supportive care
Once the disease has been stabilised, it is important to continue to regularly visit the hygienist for what is called ‘supportive care’. This is a simple clean, ensuring that your plaque and inflammation levels are kept low.
Patients often ask ...
“If I have gum disease, can I have dental implants?”
It is not advisable to have dental implants if you have unstable, untreated gum disease. This is because you can get a disease around implants which is similar to gum disease, and can lead to the failure of any implant treatment. The good news is that in successfully treated gum disease patients, whose disease is ‘stable’, dental implants can be placed successfully — albeit with higher risk of failure in the long term.
If you would like to arrange a consultation, please ask at reception.
Advicefrom professional s
Implants : our guide
Tooth loss can have a significant impact on your health and quality of life. As well as affecting your smile, it can also limit your ability to eat the foods you love and can have a negative impact on your self-esteem.
The development of dental implants has enabled dentists to provide a life-changing and effective treatment to patients suffering from tooth loss.
A dental implant is a titanium screw which is inserted into the jaw bone to replace a missing tooth or teeth. The implant acts as support for a false tooth or a denture. Implants offer a ‘fixed’ replacement for missing teeth which, if well cared for, can last for decades.
Although the modern dental implant was developed in the 1960s, humans have been experimenting with methods of replacing teeth for thousands of years. Evidence of dental implants made of shells, stone or precious gems have been discovered in Mayan excavations reaching back as far as 600AD - almost 1,500
years ago.
Before you undergo dental implant treatment, your dentist will check the amount of bone present. If there is not enough bone, often further procedures such as bone grafting can be carried out to make implant placement possible.
Although there are some medical conditions which make implant placement more complicated, most patients are suitable for implants. When your implants are well cared for at home with excellent brushing, and with regular visits to the hygienist, they can last decades.
Implants are one of the most reliable treatment options available for replacing missing teeth.
What is dental implant treatment like?
You will be numb during the procedure, and many patients tell us that the implant placement is far easier than a tooth extraction. As with every surgical procedure, there may be some mild discomfort for a short time after the implant is placed.
Treatment time depends on the complexity of the case. In some cases an implant can be placed and then restored with a false tooth the very same day. Most of the time, the implant is left for several weeks to ‘fuse’ with the jaw
bone in a process called osseointegration before being restored.
Your dentist will be sure to discuss the expected time scales and your bespoke treatment plan at your implant consultation.
I have gum disease, can I still have dental implants?
Gum disease is a leading cause of tooth loss. Studies have shown patients who have gum disease to be more at risk of implant failure. However, if your gum disease is under control and you are looking after your teeth very well at home, dental implants can still be
placed with success.
If you have any questions about implants, ask your dental professional or enquire at reception.
Together for Childhood is an ambitious 10-year NSPCC initiative which aims to create community partnerships to help end child abuse.
The children’s charity has four place-based Together for Childhood partnerships in Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Grimsby and Govan.
Having now been established for five years the initiative aims to bring local partners and families together to make communities safer places for children. This involves delivering a programme of work that goes beyond developing services to support children and families and instead creates a widereaching programme that leads to sustainable systems change.
By engaging local people, Together for Childhood aims to get them involved in understanding and deciding how they can contribute to keeping children safe.
In Grimsby an awarenessraising and behaviour change campaign was launched to prevent peer-to-peer and partner domestic abuse. Together for Childhood led on abuse prevention campaigns in primary and secondary schools.
Each Together for Childhood location has a different area of focus:
• In Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent the focus is preventing sexual abuse.
• In Grimsby and Govan the focus is on families facing adversity.
During 2022-23 the NSPCC worked with and supported more than 30,000 children and adults with projects across the four areas covered by Together for Childhood.
Together for Childhood in Govan developed a six-week emotional resilience programme for primary school children in response to reports of social and emotional delays and difficulties post-Covid.
These are just some of the ways that Together for Childhood has been making a difference in local communities.
Together for Childhood is making strong progress towards reaching its ambitious goals of learning what works in preventing child abuse and making communities safer for children. There have already been noticeable changes in partnership working and increased understanding in local communities.
In Plymouth Together for Childhood focused on supporting children and young people to lead and develop child sexual abuse prevention models in schools. This resulted in initiatives including a whole school approach to prevent peer-on-peer harm; and a children and young people-led approach to Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE).
This was also an area of focus for Together for Childhood in Stoke-on-Trent with practitioners working with four local schools to create meaningful and carefully implemented Relationships Education for primary age children and Relationships and Sex Education for secondary aged students.
To find out more about Together for Childhood, visit nspcc.org.uk/ together-for-childhood
For more information about the NSPCC and details of how to support the charity, visit nspcc.org.uk
An a day keeps the doctor away ...
but does it keep the dentist away?
Rachel White, Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist
These days, whilst we know that one apple is probably not enough to keep up our general health, it certainly is a good start. But what effect could this have on our dental health?
As dietitians we often recommend our clients to follow a healthy balanced diet, but what does this actually mean? The NHS’ Eatwell Guide lists recommendations that I have included at the end of this article. Following these recommendations is likely to help you maintain good health, reducing the likelihood of developing long-term
When we think about healthy eating from a dental perspective, the recommendations do not always match up. Tooth decay happens when sugary and starchy foods stick to our teeth and are broken down by the natural bacteria in our mouth. When this happens, a small amount of acid is released, the pH in our mouth decreases, and this dissolves the tooth enamel. Over time, this causes damage and can lead to dental cavities. It takes around 20 minutes
The saying ‘an apple a day keeps
for the pH of the mouth to return to normal. So, if you are eating regularly across the day and having frequent snacks, then our mouth will not have the chance to recover before the next acidic attack.
The main culprits when it comes to acidic foods are fizzy drinks and fruit.
‘Fizziness’ is often a sign a drink is acidic. This includes fizzy drinks, pop and carbonated drinks. It is important to note that even ‘diet’ versions of these drinks are still harmful. Some alcoholic drinks are also acidic, including beer, cider, prosecco and white wine. Whilst it may not be possible to avoid these drinks all the time, try having them alongside a meal, using a straw or sipping quickly. These can all be ways to help minimise the damaging effects. Many fruits contain citric acid, which promotes dental erosion. The most acidic fruits are lemons, limes, plums, grapes, grapefruit, and blueberries. Pineapples, oranges, peaches
and tomatoes are also high in citric acid. Now, as a dietitian I am certainly not going to tell you not to eat fruit! But like with fizz, there are ways to minimise the effect on your dental health. Keep fruit to mealtimes, this way you get your apple a day with lower impact to your teeth. Then always try to eat
To help achieve a balanced diet, the dietary recommendations are as follows: 1
Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day
Base meals on higher fibre starchy foods, for example potato, bread, rice or pasta
4 5 6
Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and eat them in small amounts
Drink plenty of water or fluids
our guide to plymouth
By Tabitha Breare
Like many people who grew up in Pymouth and moved away after school, I’ve recently come home to my roots. Having been based here for nearly two decades, I moved away to study politics but made the decision to return as a twenty-something and reconnect with the city I know and love. Being drawn back to our hometown is common amongst us Janners and it’s easy to see why.
Nestled between Dartmoor and the sea, Plymouth is a verdant ocean city with plenty to offer in history and culture. Its seaside setting means there’s plenty of places for seafood lovers, whilst the city’s naval heritage and rich history of immigration means that even the more low-key spots can carry a sense of adventure.
Whether you’ve just landed in Britain’s Ocean City, or you’re an old-timer looking for some fresh ideas, here’s a list of Plymouth picks that you won’t want to miss out on.
SONNY’S
A new offering for people in Plymouth, situated at the top of Mutley Plain. Sonny’s Coffee Shop is dog friendly and hosts regular mum and baby meet ups. Open Weds-Sun.
Mutley Park
Plymouth Hoe
The Art Side
Conveniently located in the city centre, The Art Side is an independent art supplies and print shop. Perfect for the creative and craft lover!
Domea Favour Chocolate
Handmade chocolates and truffles by one-man-band based in Royal William Yard. They are delicious!
HonkyTonk Wine Library
As their website says; “Your ultimate destination for exceptional wines and memorable experiences all year round!” Well, we certainly agree. Find them on the water front at Plymouth’s Sutton Harbour. 5
A beautiful studio hosting classes in yoga, dance and meditation. A welcoming space for all. 4
Space to move
Drake circus
Prysten House
Sutton Wharf
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DID YOU KNOW...
Getting in shape is like brushing your teeth? You can’t just go to the gym once and expect to leave with your dream physique. Just like you can’t brush your teeth once and expect to have the healthiest or whitest teeth of them all.
And I know what you’re likely thinking... “why this guy?” and “it’s easy for him to say, he’s a bodybuilder!”
It’s true, but before I was a bodybuilder, I wasn’t one! I trained, dieted and worked hard for years in the gym before I ever considered competing.
The truth is, most of my clients are non-competitive, they simply want to feel better mentally and maybe fit into their favourite shirt a bit better. I help them to feel confident in whatever they choose to wear (or not wear) and gain self belief again!
My day job involves helping men and women build muscle, lose body fat and feel better about themselves without the gimmicks, fads and typical boring diets. I help real people get real results.
If you’re ready to get into shape and become a better version of you this 2025, contact me today to discuss how I can help you!
