What our New Dental Therapist means for you

Introducing Laura Woosey - Dental Therapist (B.Sc. Hons.)

We are delighted to announce that Laura Woosey will join us at Newbury Smilemakers in July 2010 , on a part-time basis, as a valuable member of our patient care team. Because of this we thought we would explain what a Dental Therapist does and why it is important that you see her at our practice.

What does a Therapist do?
As with all Dental Therapists, Laura will work under the dentist’s written prescription.
This means that your personal, tailored treatment plan will be developed, after consultation with the dentist. Once we have decided together what that plan might be, we offer you any options or choices in a written and costed treatment plan. Here we look at how best to utilize our team for your benefit and in the most cost effective way, to ensure that you receive an excellent standard of care, based on your needs and preferences.

At the other end of the scale, Dental Therapists have detailed and intensive training in providing, for example simple filling work, all forms of preventive dentistry and all aspects of non-surgical gum treatment and prevention of gum disease. The sort of thing that many people need to keep their teeth in good order. She will be able to tailor a program to your needs.

Laura says this about being a Dental Therapist “By assisting the dentist in providing this level of treatment, the dentist’s time is freed to focus on the more complex, demanding and time consuming treatments that may require hours of planning.”

So what treatments do Dental Therapists carry out?

After your examination and initial consultation, Richard might refer you to the Dental Therapist or Dental Hygienist for one or more of the following:

•  Panoramic digital x-ray imaging
• Initial study model impressions and measurements to help assess your bite or plan your treatment.
• These impressions can also be used to make soft vinyl tooth whitening trays, if that is part of the plan.
• Photographs to assist the technician and as a record , if smile design, is being considered. Laura would then explain why the method we have chosen is appropriate for you and of course how it all works and how to use the gel and trays, how to care for them and many other aspects of tooth whitening and answer all of your questions.
• Either our Hygienist (Nicky) or our Laura our Dental Therapist may undertake dental cleaning, a tailored home care plan, non-surgical treatment of gum disease, dietary advice and fissure sealing for prevention.
• Some teeth that I have identified may be checked with the Diagnodent laser tooth decay detector and the results recorded by one of our dental nurses. This means that only teeth that definitely need filling will receive them.
• If a tooth has early enamel softening but not an actual cavity, then this may be treated by the Therapist, using a resin seal, after skimming off any stained enamel to prevent a full blown filling being needed.
• If there are fillings that are chipped , or new cavities , then then I may refer that part of the treatment to the Laura to be completed before going on to any more complex treatment such as crowns, bridges, veneers, root fillings, or dental implants.
• ·Once any complex work is completed by me, more photographs may be taken, by whichever of the team is available on the day and further follow up or maintenance visits may be advised with either the Laura or Nicky, perhaps to monitor progress of gum health improvement.

Why is it important to have a Dental Therapist at the practice?

This way of providing comprehensive care for you, we believe makes the best use of our team for your benefit and indeed will have the overall effect of keeping dental costs down for you. So you get the best treatment, from the best person at the best price… sounds like a perfect choice!

More about Laura

Laura qualified as a Dental Therapist, after studying at the Portsmouth School of Dental Therapy for 3 years and passing her BSc degree with Honours in Dental Therapy. The examination is a detailed and intensive test of her knowledge and capabilities. She is registered with the General Dental Council who regulate all Dental Care Professionals.

So a Laura’s training has lead to her being able to provide general dental care. It is equivalent to about half of a full dental degree. So everything a dentist learns for day to day patient care, except the more advanced treatment such as orthodontics, crowns and bridges, root canal treatment or oral surgery.

Laura’s interests include

Yacht and dinghy sailing.
Surfing and wake-boarding.
Various outdoor and physical activities.
Travelling.

We look forward to introducing Laura Woosey to you when the time comes.

Richard Charon at Newbury Smile Makers