Stand Up To The Big C

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Stand Up To The Big C

Hello again, I hope you are well.  Another busy month on the onward quest for better.  Been to Manchester, Cambridge University and Birmingham this month looking at updates on a myriad of subjects from osseo-densification to 3D imaging.  Knowledge is King and every little bit of extra can make a big difference at times.  That’s why it never stops.  Making a difference is the buzz.

Standing Up To The Big C Then

Now, by the Big C I don’t mean Christmas.  Even with some of the over commercialisation that is a bit Ba Humbug. No, by the Big C, I mean Cancer.  As I write we are in the middle of Mouth Cancer Action Month.  There has been a new, up to date survey done and it is a bit concerning to say the least.  In the last 10 years moth cancer has increased almost 50%!!!

So What Causes It Then?

Most cases of mouth cancer are linked to tobacco and alcohol. Cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking are the main forms of tobacco use in the UK. However, the traditional ethnic habits of chewing tobacco, betel quid, gutkha and paan are particularly dangerous.

Alcohol increases the risk of mouth cancer, and if tobacco and alcohol are consumed together the risk is even greater. Over-exposure to sunlight can also increase the risk of cancer of the lips.                                                               
HPV

Many recent reports have linked mouth cancer to the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is the major cause of cervical cancer and affects the skin that lines the moist areas of the body. HPV can be spread through oral sex, and research now suggests that it could soon rival smoking and drinking as one of the main causes of mouth cancer. Practicing safe sex and limiting the number of partners you have may help reduce your chances of contracting HPV.

What Should We Be Looking Out For?

Mouth cancer can appear in different forms and can affect all parts of the mouth, tongue and lips. Mouth cancer can appear as a painless mouth ulcer that does not heal normally. A white or red patch in the mouth can also develop into a cancer, as can any unusual lumps or swellings. It is important to visit your dentist if these areas do not heal within three weeks.

How Can Mouth Cancer Be Detected Early?

Mouth cancer can often be spotted in its early stages by your dentist during a thorough mouth examination. If mouth cancer is recognised early, then the chances of a cure are good.  Remember, your dentist is able to see parts of your mouth that you cannot see easily yourself.  If mouth cancer is spotted early, the chances of a complete cure are good.

How Can I Keep My Mouth Healthy?

It is important to visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend, even if you wear dentures. This is especially important if you smoke and drink alcohol.

When brushing your teeth, look out for any changes in your mouth, and report any red or white patches, or ulcers, that have not cleared up within three weeks.  A good diet, rich in vitamins A, C and E and folic acid provides protection against the development of mouth cancer.  Plenty of fruit and vegetables help the body to protect itself, in general, from most cancers.  Cut down on your smoking and drinking, of course.

We Need To Look After Ourselves

Until next time. 

Take care and be good. 

Have a great Christmas!


Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 23 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s charity work go here now www.castlepark

A Splash Of Humanisation

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

A Splash Of Humanisation

Hello again. I hope that you are well.  Yet another busy month, as per usual.  My book has now been published and we had a little book launch party type of thing to say thank you to people and celebrate with family, friends and colleagues.   

The book is ultimately aimed to help people and give a little hope.  It was quite therapeutic and emotional to do as I reflected on the last 25 years or so of learning and always looking for better.  Also reflecting on the success stories, many of them life changing and reflecting my team’s core values.  

We have all the fancy stuff with implants, teeth straightening, lasers, 3D scanning, CADCAM, computer controlled, pain free anaesthetic delivery and so much more but probably as important or more so is a BIG SPLASH of humanisation. 

Making A Difference In Morocco

Last week I was back in Northern Morocco  with my charity, Dental Mavericks.  5 days of really hard work but really fulfilling and worth it.  This year I went with Gillian my practice manager (her 5th trip) and Nadene our lead nurse (who was on her first trip and plans to return). We saw over 1200 children in total and took hundreds of abscessed teeth out to get rid of pain and infection.  Every child we saw was taught about the importance of a good diet and how to brush their teeth as well as receiving fluoride treatment to strengthen teeth.  Every child got a toothbrush and toothpaste.  In addition, we did something new for us.  We did SDF therapy, loads of it. 

Pictured above: children waiting and goody bags at the ready.  Also pictured right the Castle Park Team with knitting for needy, young children and families. 

SDF,  What Is SDF?

Well, SDF stands for Silver Diamine Fluoride.  It a liquid that is applied to tooth decay to stop it in it’s tracks. Apparently it has been used in Japan for about 80 years but I only came across it this year and I’m a bit of an anorak.   

It is a quick and easy technique to try and stop and is very good at preventing decay, probably even better than traditional fluoride varnish or gel.  The draw back is that it stains decay and even early decay black.   

We are collecting data and working with Kings College London and Harvard University on the use of SDF.  Now, if we do not remove the decay we cannot place conventional fillings to restore form and function.  What SDF does is allow us to see many people in an attempt to stop disease and prevent further disease, pain and infection. 

A Massive Thank You

A big thank you to everybody who has donated and supported Dental Mavericks over the last 8 years.  It’s been incredible.  Above is some knitting done by our patients and a local Knit and Natter group who are very prolific.  All this stuff goes directly to where there is need. 

Everybody who goes on the missions is self-funded, so it is 100% charity with no idle men with fat salaries.  Proper grass roots humanitarianism.  I’m really proud to be part of it.

We know all too well that what we do is but a mere drop in the ocean.  However, without that missing drop the ocean would not be the same…. Mother Teresa

Until next time.  Take care and be good. 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

The Stem Cell Revolution

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”
By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

The Stem Cell Revolution

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Another busy month. I was at Sheffield University Dental School giving a talk to students at a careers evening.

I tried to inspire them to keep working on themselves and looking for better and stick to their core values. Doing the right things for the right reasons is important and should see you right for the most part.

One thing I did emphasise is “ If you don’t know WHY you are doing something, STOP because you probably shouldn’t be doing it”. The Dental Students Society have chosen Dental Mavericks as one of their charities to support this year which is fantastic.

Heal Thyself

More and more stem cells are being used to treat medical problems and promote healing. Stem cells are cells produced in the bone marrow with the potential to become different kinds of cells because they have not differentiated yet or in other haven’t made their minds up what they want to be when they grow up.

They can be used to repair damaged and lost tissue and promote healing. Dentistry is no different and we are taking advantage of this and using stem cells to help grow bone and gum, particularly in combination with dental implants. We use it in combination with other cells and fibrin.

Exciting Stuff

At Castle Park we’ve invested in a special machine that can centrifuge blood at specific speeds and duration to separate out the stuff we need to speed up healing and reduce inflammation.

This combined with laser therapy means that there is no better way of doing advanced treatment for dental implants and regenerative procedures e.g. developing bone and gum after gum disease or combined with implants. 

Lasers by themselves have been shown to stimulate stem cells within teeth to help the tooth repair itself after removing tooth decay. We use lasers routinely now. I love all this stuff.

Another Mission In Morocco

In just short of 3 weeks time I will be off to Northern Morocco with Gill and Nadene from work with Dental Mavericks to get poor children out of pain. 

We have a collaboration with Kings College Dental Institute, London and Harvard University. More on that next time along with other advantages of the PRF machine.

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Heart Of Glass

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Heart Of Glass

Hello again. I hope that you are well and have a great summer. We’ve had some really good weather this year. We did another French adventure towing a caravan down to Vendee.

It got to 40 degrees in the shade and start to melt at about 23 degrees. Lots of time in some water was needed! We have just been to Tribfest again at Sledmere House.

It’s a really good tribute band music festival and is loads of fun. Music, comedy and even fancy-dress themes.

There was a pirate themed day so I had a go at Captain Jack Sparrow. I once wore this to a party and somebody thought that I was Adam Ant!

Why Heart Of Glass?

To be honest this a really poor link but bear with me. At the festival there are some really diverse acts from Bruno Mars and Little Mix to Led Zeppelin and Elvis.

One act that I have seen every year since going is a Blondie tribute called Heart Of Glass. They are always brilliant and put on a good show.

Well, this may now sound a bit random but I’m going to go on a bit about Bio-Glass. Apologies. I got there in the end.

Bio-Glass To Strengthen Teeth

A while ago I was asked to do a TV advert for Sensodyne. I liked the repair and protect toothpaste by sensodyne because it had a bio-glass that sticks to surface like a protective layer to help stop tooth sensitivity.

There is another toothpaste called Biomin. BioMin™ is a technology developed by scientists at Queen Mary University London and Imperial College, London, for over the past decade.

Traditionally, to try and strengthen teeth and protect against decay with a toothpaste, fluoride is used in quite high concentrations. Most adult toothpastes have 1400 parts per million (ppm). One that has to be prescribed has 5000ppm. That’s a lot of fluoride.

The thing is that this is soluble fluoride so it washes away quite quickly. Also it has to be used correctly and not swallowed. Research has shown that you more benefit from low doses of fluoride with a sustained release than a high dose that washes away. That’s where the biomin F comes in with a low dose fluoride release over 12 hours. It also releases calcium and phosphate that are needed for tooth repair.

By using the F version the tooth repair after an acid attack is stronger when fluoride is present by making a tighter Fluorapatite crystal. There is a non-fluoride option that slowly releases calcium and phosphate called Biomin C.

More Economical

Prior to Biomin you could get an extra source of calcium and phosphate with a product called Tooth Mousse and then use it with a high concentration fluoride tooth paste as well. This is in more extreme cases like excessive acid erosion or dry mouth syndrome.

This all starts to get a bit pricey, (the tooth mousse is particularly expensive) so a single toothpaste that gives the benefit of both sounds really good. Oh, and it’s good for sensitivity as well.

I’m off to Morocco with dental Mavericks in early October. The charity has really moved on and this will be the largest group and we are working with the local health authority

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Snoring vs Grinding

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Snoring vs Grinding

Hello again. I hope that you are well.  Phew, it’s been hot for a good while.  So glad have the air conditioning at work as mines a South-facing window.  It’s nice to stay cool and confortable.  Looks like it’s going we hot a while longer as I write.

Snoring vs Grinding?

So what the heck has snoring got to do with grinding and vice versa?  Well, first of all we see lots of people who clench and grind.  This causes symptoms like jaw ache, earache, teeth sensitivity, migraine-like and even neck and shoulder pain as well as breaking teeth and fillings etc.  About 40% of the adult population snore.

Snoring is caused by a collapse of the airway causing vibration of the tongue against the soft palate.  This means that the further back the tongue is the greater the chance of snoring.  The tongue is attached to the jaw, so if the jaw drops back so does the tongue. With me so far??  Good.  Well, the most common way we treat clenching and grinding is to make an appliance that helps relax the muscles that make the jaw clench.  

However this always leads to the jaw moving backwards  o a more retruded position we call it.  So you can see the predicament.  If we help with the clenching and grinding then we can sometimes make the snoring worse.           
              
What’s The Solution Then?

A good way of trying to tackle both problems in one go is with a Sleepwell appliance.  It is a mandibular (lower jaw) advancement device.  So by definition, almost, it moves the lower jaw forwards.  

This brings the tongue forwards and helps open up the airway to help with snoring.  It also prevents grinding and clenching as the back teeth are separated (which is key with clenching).  

 Sleepwell Appliance

moves lower jaw forwards

Believe It Or Not

Well believe it or not I have a book coming out soon.  I felt it time to do it and, through a lifetime of searching for better and learning, try to give some hope to people who struggle with dentistry and related issues. Heart on my sleeve.  Here’s a sneaky preview of the cover.

A Return By Popular Request

Oh, I’m really pleased to get another invitation to speak to dental students at Sheffield University at a careers event.  Several of the students asked for me back after I gave a talk on dental mavericks in April.  

It’s so nice to make a connection and possibly make a difference for the better if even in a small way.  Anyway, I’m giving up a bit of time in September to do it.

I here Hull City have a made a few new signings gearing up for the new season.  Are we going up?  Hope so.  Come on the Tigers!!

Until next time.   

Have a great summer. Take care and be good.

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Knitting With Purpose

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Knitting With Purpose

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Oh, what a month. My first time giving a speech at an International Medical Laser Congress.

Really exciting, if a bit daunting. It was OK once I got going with some great feedback, which was nice. My colleague and gum expert here at the practice, Ilay, was keynote speaker and started the dental part of congress.

Everybody seemed to know Ilay as he had trained many of them all over the world. There were other parallel sessions going on for other specialities including dermatology, gynaecology, aesthetics and male gento-urinary medicine. 

Ilay Maden

Some of the topics shown the timetable on the big screen in reception for some of these subjects made me wince. I made new, interesting friends from all over the world. I was sat next to Johnny Wong from Hong Kong. What a nice guy. In fact everybody I met was, really positive and enthusiastic.

Yours Truly

I made friends with people from India, Australia, Romania, Canada, USA, Israel, Slovenia, Italy, Hong Kong, England and Singapore. Mostly dental but also with other specialities. I spoke on the Saturday morning and there was a party the night before so there were less people than the day before. I was sensible and got a relatively early night!

Knitting?...Purpose?

Here we go, Branfield off on one again. Just stick with me this is really good. I have mentioned before that two lovely patients knit some fantastic clothes for children that we take to Morocco and send to Syrian refugees in camps and orphanages in Lebanon and Greece. 

Well, a Knit And Natter group in the area got inspired by this and they have been really prolific in knitting clothes and blankets for these needy people. I think that this is so great, people getting inspired to get involved doing good for people they don’t know who have nothing for nothing. That is what our Dental Mavericks Charity is all about.

Having A Catch Up Over Tea And Cake 

So, we finally met one sunny evening just recently as I wanted to say a personal thank you and show them what Dental Mavericks was about with pictures and tell the story of how it happened and illustrate with a few case study stories.

My colleague made the cakes that went down a storm (thanks Gail for all your hard work and organising). 

So, once again, a MASSIVE THANK YOU to the Knit And Natter group for your support and our anonymous patients for all that you do. I’ll be off to Morocco in October for a big project in the Rif Mountains. 

Becoming A Bigger Player

In the Lebanon Dental Mavericks have now a reputation for being very much people and caring based and making things as fun as possible in such awful circumstances. Now working with other NGO’s and even involved with research with King’s College, London and Harvard University, Boston, USA. Well done Cally Gedge for driving this and your energy and love. Well proud!

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Here’s to a good night sleep

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

More To It Than Just Snoring…Hmm

The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” BRANFIELD

More To It Than Just Snoring…Hmm

Hello again. I hope that you are well.  Well some weather at last!! About time eh, May was good generally and May bank Holiday was superb. We caught the Tour de Yorkshire in Filey.

So, What’s More To It Than Snoring?         

  
               

In the last few articles I’ve been going on about snoring and how we can help with non-invasive measures using lasers and Mandibular Advancement Devices (more to follow on this).  Snoring has obvious problems associated with it as it causes a right row and can be anti-social and cause problems with sleeping partners. 

We have also touched on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea when breathing actually stops and then there are great gasps for air.  This is really not healthy and can put strain on the heart.  In this case a sleep study is needed and possibly CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) at bedtime.  However, the compliance with these things is generally poor even though it is the gold standard treatment for OSA.                                            

The Less Obvious Stuff

Sleep medicine and airway medicine is the up and coming thing.  It was highlighted on the TV just this week about how many more people are experiencing poor sleep and are constantly tired during the day.  I was horrified to see that loads of school kids had to have caffeine before school, as they were so tired.  Now this is a different thing to do with mobile phones taken to bed and blue light.


There is a condition called Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. This is when the upper airway collapses causing resistance to airflow.  OSA is the extreme,  snoring we all know about, but it can be less obvious and affect many of us.  Some snorers sleep great.  Lucky so and so.  This is thought to be because the sensors at the back of the throat have been beaten up that much by vibration that they no longer fire and wake you up with a snore.  Now for people that do not snore or only really snore after alcohol these sensors can be stimulated when you get close to a snore and airway is about to collapse and you wake up for no apparent reason. 

This is a so-called arousal from sleep.  It can interrupt the normal cycle of sleep and disturb hormone balance.  This can cause tiredness as well a load of other stuff that will list in a bit.  When the airway collapses a bit it can create a negative pressure that can suck up fine droplets of acid from the stomach that can reach the throat and nose and even the sinus. 

This is different to heartburn or GastroEsophogeal Reflux Disease (GERD).  It is called Laryngo Pharyngeal Reflux Disease (LPRD) and can lead to symptoms of post-nasal drip, sore throat, cough, and even chronic sinusitis.  This can go hand in hand with a poor night’s sleep. If you are interested a great book is Sleep Interrupted by Steven Y. Park, M.D. (an ENT specialist who came across this paradigm shift in thinking how we treat some common ailments by getting to the cause, i.e. the airway). 

According to Dr. Park this is a list of some of the ailments/symptoms that UARS can be associated with but limited to: the nasal stuff mentioned above, hoarseness, throat clearing, teeth grinding/clenching and Tempero-Mandibular Dysfunction (TMD), heartburn (GERD), cold hands, postural hypotension (dizzy when stand up quickly), depression and anxiety, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, and weight gain (which compounds the situation.  He even feels that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder) is associated with UARS.  It’s all interesting stuff. Or is it just me?  Some top tips next time as run out of space today. I was on a role, eh?

Well Done

Hull City stayed up.  Onwards and upwards lads.

Final preparations this weekend for my presentation at an international laser medicine conference in Slovenia.  My colleague at the practice and gum expert, Ilay, is the first speaker at the Dental Programme.  Wish us luck.

Until next time.   Take care and be good. 

Here’s to a good night sleep

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room Or Bruised Ribs?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room Or Bruised Ribs?

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Well, as usual a busy time. Dental Mavericks were approached by Sheffield University Dental School. The Students have to do an elective whereby they spend time somewhere, home or abroad and write up their aims and objectives and what they found. This can be scientific or socially based but to do with dentistry. I was daft enough to say that I would give a presentation to them.

Don’t Give Up The Day Job

So, I took a day off work to go to Sheffield. There were other speakers, mainly corporate companies that specialise in these elective “holidays” for students. I was on last. Once I got going I quite enjoyed it. The students seemed to engage and I got great feedback. I was even approached to see if it was OK for the Sheffield University Dental Students Society to support Dental Mavericks. Wow, that was a result!!! If I could just inspire some youngsters to get involved and come with us that would be great. They are the future.

Back At The BBC

I was also asked to be on BBC Radio Humberside again. The sugar tax was introduced last month. Andy Comfort interviewed me over the phone. He was a really nice guy. There is far too much sugar in all sorts of stuff and there is an increase in child dental decay and teeth out as well as a worldwide general health problems associated with empty calories due to excessive sugar intake.

So, Back To Snoring, As Promised

Snoring affects 40% of us, and can have mild to devastating effects on our health, from general tiredness to increased risk of hypertension and subsequent cardiovascular problems.

Lasers Can Help

One way to improve the airway is with a GENTLE laser treatment, a process called Nightlase™. Sometimes surgery is offered but it is really painful, takes a long time to heal creates scarring that can effect swallowing and sometimes speech.

With the Dual wavelength Nightlase™ treatment the low laser energy creates a gentle heating of the tissue of the soft palate. There is no need for local anaesthetic or a recovery period, so no downtime afterwards. Just get on with your life. You need a full assessment first as usual. One assessment is called a Mallampati score. The idea is to get you to a low Mallampati score to open up the airway. It is usually 3-5 treatments about 30 minutes each 21 days apart.

The gentle heating is about 50-65 degrees. This equates to a cup of tea hot, so can feel a bit scratchy. The heat causes tissue changes with shrinkage from day one usually. There is a change in he collagen that helps with this. The effects can last a year or so with no tissue damage or scarring. Mallampati

An Interesting Fact

This science was first used in gynaecological and female genito-urinary medicine to reduce urinary incontinence and other stuff. It was some smart Argentinians that thought of applying the same principles to anti-snoring treatment. I have no pictures of any of this.

Guest Speakers

Hope you have a great couple of Bank Holidays. I will be in Slovenia at the end of May at an international laser conference. Both my colleague Ilay and myself are guest speakers at the event. Better start preparing, eh.

Until next time. Take care and be good.



Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

You’ve Lost That Numbing Feeling

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

        By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

     You’ve Lost That Numbing Feeling!

Hello again. I hope that you are well.  Another busy month at Castle Park Dental Care.  Life long learning is very close to my heart.  “If you’re not growing anywhere you’re not going anywhere”.  I think growing knowledge base is essential, even at my age.  My colleague Andrew and myself was at a 3 -day dental implant conference in London a couple of weeks ago.  It was the best one I’ve been to and I’ve been to loads.  It was a bit off topic but there was a presentation on face transplants.  Inspirational!  I’m just back from another 3 -day advanced course.  Some of it was outside my comfort zone as it involved computers for treatment planning.  I got on with it though and managed OK.  Surprised myself in fact.  As they say, “ outside the comfort zone is where the magic happens”

You’ve Lost That Numbing Feeling.  Is It A Sing Along?

A while ago I was asked to give an hour-long presentation at a small conference for dental practices.  Now, my slot was on the morning of day two.  The trouble is that there was a charity do the night before.  So, there would be plenty of tired people in the room and I didn’t want them falling asleep if I could help it!  Part of the presentation was be this topic (if I ever get onto it).  I had taken the song “You’ve lost that loving feeling” and over dubbed “numbing” over “feeling”.  Well, this did some doing for me, as I’m not a computer techy at all.  It was all trial and error but got there in the end.  It was a choice between The Righteous Brothers and Elvis Presley.  I opted for Elvis as I was brought up on “ The King” and my dad wouldn’t forgive me if I chose against him

Oh Get To The Point!

Have you ever had a local anaesthetic?  Sometimes you can feel like you about to fall over your face.  Local anaesthetic is great.  It allows us to have a load of stuff done in the medical field in a comfortable way.  The only real drawback is that you can feel numb for quite a while sometimes.  If you’ve had your teeth done you have to wait a bit to have a cuppa.

Nearly There

Now there is the QuickSleeper.  This is a novel way to deliver a dental anaesthetic and numb up to 6 teeth in one go without the same numbing of the cheeks, lips and tongue.  How good is that?  Now, it does not replace conventional anaesthetic altogether, as it cannot be used in all situations and each case needs to be assessed properly, but I am using it more and more.  It is a bit different.  There is an element of vibration involved but it is all very gentle and feedback is very good.  It is ideal for doing a few tooth restorations in different areas of the mouth in one go, especially if you’re struggling for time and want to get a lot done in one visit.  Perfect for people that live away. Or those who cannot wait for a cuppa!

Most Gentle On The Planet

I was not quite accurate in what I said above.  The quick sleeper can be used to numb up in a similar way to the conventional approach i.e. leave you feeling numb.  However, as it is a computer controlled technology it is so gentle.  This means pain free!  I researched this quite a bit and have been on courses as I’m a dental anorak!  However, it’s the quest for always looking for better.  We have 3 of these things in the practice so we can ALL use them all the time and have one standard of care throughout.  The feedback is incredible.

On The Clinic

My son, Edward, is still enjoying his course at university and has now started treating patients on clinics.  It’s a really intense fast moving course.  Non of this 4 hours “contact” a week.  He’s all buzzed up.  He comes back to see Hull City play with me.  Come on City, see if you can stay up lads.

Until next time.   Take care and be good. 

Chris

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 24 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Are You Fed Of Sleeping In The Spare Room?

Hello again. I hope that you are well. It’s all go as usual. I was In Bury yesterday on a practice management/customer service course. It’s not only the clinical stuff that I have to keep up with and constantly look for better. This Friday/Saturday I’m at Cambridge University on a course looking at a way to speed up healing. It looks very interesting.

What Are You On About…The Spare Room

Well, there is actually a National Stop Snoring Week. It’s 23rd-29th April. Snoring is really quite common. It can be mild or severe. In very severe cases it becomes sleep apnoea when you actually stop breathing for several seconds at a time before a big gasp and this happens several times an hour. This can put a big strain on your heart.

The Big Yawn

One of the big drawbacks of snoring is lack of sleep. This can be for the snorer, but not always. Sometimes the snorer is blissfully unaware and sleeps well. The vibration or noise can interrupt sleep, sometimes you are not aware of it and it is more of an arousal from sleep rather than waking up but it still interrupts the normal cycle of sleep stages and leaves you really tired still in the morning. Obviously if the snoring is loud enough then it interrupts the sleep of a sleep partner and this is when the bed in the spare room comes in!

What Causes It

The cause is airway collapse and vibration. The main cause is the vibration of the tongue collapsed back against the soft palate.

Can You Treat It?

Well, yes you can. The aim is to stop the collapse. One way is to posture the lower jaw forwards which in turn brings the tongue forwards and opens up the airway using a mandibular advancement device. The one we use now is the Sleepwell device as there has been loads of research and great results out of Barts and the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry led by Professor Ama Johal. I did some training with him.

Another way is Non-surgical laser therapy. My Colleague Ilay and myself are trained in this using the Nightlase™ protocol with Nd:YAG and Er:YAG laser. The great thing with this is no numbing, no down time, no surgery and it starts to work from the first session and the airway is improved 24hrs a day and not just when a device is worn. It’s all clever stuff. I’ll expand on it next time.

It’s That Time Of Year Again

It’s coming to the end of the football season. Will Hull City stay up? It’s been a funny season. I really hope that they do. Come on lads, keep it together and push until the end.

Until next time. Take care and be good. 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

From Soup To Solids ……In A Day

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

From Soup To Solids ……In A Day

Hello again. I hope that you are well.  Another busy month as usual.  I was on a course last night in Wakefield in fact.  It was the Association Of Implantology UK Yorkshire Study group.  It was good but getting home just before 11pm was a long day.  The motorway was closed!

Ready For A Feast

So what is this soup to solids about then? Well, I was inspired by the study group last night.  I see quite a lot of people who have failing teeth and a lot of missing teeth that really means they struggle to eat what they really want to and can miss out on that enjoyment or are limited when they go out in company or socially.

This can be because of the limitations of dentures that move or make the mouth sore or because dentures cannot be tolerated and there just aren’t enough teeth left.  If quite a few cases it is possible to place dental implants in the morning and make a bridge to fit within 24 hours so that a proper meal can be had straight away.  I would give another 24 hours before popping the champagne but it is a good reason to celebrate as it’s life changing.  Like anything else it all has to planned right and certain criteria met to be successful, it’s all in the planning.  Not one size fits all. 

With our modern, fancy 3D scanner we have loads of information to do the proper planning with no surprises.  It’s really revolutionised dental implants.  I was just designing some implant guides this morning on a case that I had virtually placed implants on the computer.  This is common place now and increases accuracy and safety especially in more tricky cases.

What a Difference A Day Makes

So, “same day teeth” is another tool in the box.  We can use for single teeth sometimes or even a full dental arch.  Sometimes we can even remove many failing teeth and place implants there and then and have the bridge with 12 teeth on it within 24 hours.  With single teeth, within a couple of hours start to finish, sometimes.  

I’m a big believer in “tools in your box”.  In my game it’s different techniques.  Everyone we meet is different with different needs and situations so we need to be able to have bespoke, individualised solutions.  When I have spoken to young dentists I have told them to be a sponge.  To go looking for knowledge and soak it up.

Another reference I make is Bruce Lee.  At this point I need to work hard not to lose them as I get incredulous looks.  Well, Bruce had a martial arts style, or more a philosophy, called Jeet Kune Do (Way Of The Intercepting Fist).  The premise is to learn from all styles and not be rigidly stuck to one style.  Some techniques within one style work better than others for different individuals.  Also every opponent is different so if you do the same thing every time you’ll come a cropper at some point.


So, be an anorak, be passionate about what you do, learn from the best. Confidence comes from competence and competence comes from KNOWLEDGE.  “If you’re not GROWING anywhere you’re not GOING anywhere.”

Until next time.   Take care and be good. 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

I’ve Seen The Light….. Then I Didn’t

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

“By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

“I’ve Seen The Light….. Then I Didn’t

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Another fast and furious start to the year. First weekend in January and I was another 2 day advanced tooth straightening update course in South Wales. It was good with some great people. I’m sure it’s getting more expensive to enter Wales on the bridge though.

I’ve Seen The Light

I definitely saw the light a few years ago when I discovered and trained in the use of dental lasers. We incorporated their use as an every day thing into the practice to improve our patient experience as well as improve healing and precision. It is cutting edge stuff and we are proud to be doing it. Just one aspect of laser dentistry is in treating gum disease.

My friend, teacher and mentor, Ilay Maden, has joined our practice as an expert in lasers and gum treatment. He has a masters degree in dental lasers and a PhD in gums. He also lectures and teaches world wide and is an expert contributor to journals and textbooks. We are lucky to have him with us. I have been working with him for the last year or so and results have been outstanding.

So When Didn’t I See The Light

A friend of ours just turned 50 and always wanted to see the Northern lights, so my wife and I said we’d go with them. Tromso is a lovely place but, alas, no lights for us. Too cloudy. Apparently they could be seen 50 minutes drive away on our last night but two of our party got viral infections so it was just not meant to be this time. Hey Ho, maybe another go in the future eh?

Getting Some Bone Back The Laser Way

With gum disease bacteria initiate inflammation that causes bone loss around teeth. As this progresses teeth can become wobbly, abscess, need taking out or actually fall out themselves. Sometimes the gum shrinks back leaving aesthetic problems, especially at the front of the mouth. Traditional gum therapy aims to remove the inflammation to stop the bone loss. This does not regrow bone.

To do this surgery is necessary and can be successful. With Laser Therapy it is often possible to get bone regrowth without surgery. I’ve seen it myself this year with Ilay’s work. It’s AMAZING. Sometimes some surgery is required but the advantages of using laser as well include less pain and swelling, faster healing, less chance of gum recession, more predictable bone growth, reduced or no need for antibiotics. With non-surgical treatment even better with no downtime. Dentists are now already sending their patients to Ilay for treatment.

The arrows show how deep the bone loss was then the bone growing back after minimally invasive laser therapy WITHOUT surgery. WOW.

Before and after non-surgical laser therapy with loads of bone regrowth

I know I’m an anorak but I’m blown away with all this. Lasers help the body heal itself!!!!

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Chris


Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk