Practice Newsletter 

March 2022

Welcome to our Spring Newsletter. We hope this finds you well and thankful the lighter days are upon us! The team at Duddingston Dental Practice are excited for the year ahead and keeping you up to date with what's happening at the practice.

COVID 19 UPDATE

The practice continues to remain fully open for all your dental care needs. We are pleased to see so many of you attending for your dental examinations and visits with our hygienist team. This preventative care is invaluable to ensuring good oral health habits.

We will continue to have all our safety measures in place to keep you, your family and our team safe when attending for an appointment. We are COVID screening every person that attends the practice and the team are continuing to follow government guidance with regards to clinical safety.

We politely request that our patients continue to complete their online medical and COVID documentation prior to attending the practice and if you answer yes to the following questions, please contact the practice prior to travelling for your scheduled appointment.

• Have you/household member been diagnosed with COVID in the last 10 days?
• Have you/household member have suspected COVID or awating a PCR test result?
• Had contact with anyone confirmed as COVID positive in the last 10 days?

Or if you have any of the following symptoms:

• New high temperature or fever
• New continuous cough
• Loss or alteration to taste or smell
• Runny nose
• Sinus issues
• Sore throat
• Sneezing
• Coughing

Rest assured, when you visit us for examinations or for dental treatment, you are in a safe environment and receiving the highest level of care.

CLINICAL UPDATE

As the practice continues to invest in ways to better deliver the care we provide, we are pleased to announce we now have an iTero digital scanner. We can say farewell to the old impression techniques and propel the practice into the future of digital dentistry. This equipment uses optical and laser technology to achieve accurate scans of your teeth and soft tissues. This will empower our clinicians in providing restorative and teeth straightening treatments.

The iTero time lapse feature allows us to monitor dental conditions like never before. For cases such as tooth wear, tooth movements and gum recession. This will provide all the data we need to continue providing you the highest quality dentistry.

STAFF NEWS

You may notice a few new faces at the practice on your next visit as we have expanded our team with the addition of three new nurses over the last 6 months; Klara, Siobhan and Grace. They make up the clinical nursing team supporting our long standing nurses Eileen, Aimee, Lorna and Amy. All the nursing team are here to assist with your care at every opportunity.

Our Front Desk Team have also expanded and we welcome Sharon on board working alongside Vicki and Denise. They are your first point of contact at the practice and here to answer any of your queries. Please do not hesitate to get in touch via email or telephone.

Our dentist Dr Michaela Laverty is continuing her development in post graduate dentistry. Michaela has enjoyed travelling to London for her Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry course. This course is designed to deliver the best possible options and care for restorative cases such as full mouth rehabilitation, tooth surface loss as well as enhanced techniques for lab constructed crowns, onlays and fillings too.

Dr Stuart Banks has recently been appointed as one of the NHS Lothian Healthboard's Dental Practice Inspectors. Stuart is delighted to be appointed to the role and working alongside other dental practices to ensure the highest quality dental care is available throughout the Lothian area.

Stuart, as an Invisalign provider, has enjoyed seeing so many patients taking the step towards straighter teeth and welcoming so many patients back for dental care as the pandemic eases.

We are pleased to introduce our new Practice Manager, Darren Laidlaw to the practice. Darren joined the team in November 2021 and his primary role will be to support the team in delivering your ongoing care. He is looking forward to meeting you all in due course.

APPOINTMENT REMINDERS

Once you have made an appointment, we will send you an email or text with the appointment information and what to expect when you attend the practice. We ask that if you cannot attend your scheduled appointment, please contact our Front Desk Team on 0131 669-8829 providing at least 24 hours notice and we can rearrange your appointment to a more suitable time.

Within the reminder email, please follow the link to update your medical information and personal details prior to attending the practice. This is the safest and simplest way to manage this aspect of your visit to the practice.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our newsletter. We look forward to welcoming you to the practice again soon.

The Duddingston Dental Team