First sign of spring in Helens Bay

Welcome back to our latest newsletter! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and new year. As usual there has been a lot going on in Helen’s Bay and we love to keep all our patients updated… our fabulous nurse Helena brought in this beautiful bunch of flowers for us and brightened up a wet January morning!

Our New state of the art 3D Facial Scanner

As you all know we like to keep up to date with our the latest technology here in Helen’s Bay! We recently purchased a new 3-D face scanner, this state of the art technology allows clinicians to capture detailed and accurate facial information to help with clinical diagnosis..how amazing is that! Here is our colleague Luke helping us test it out.

Team training

Some of the team spent a day at the beautiful Grand Central Hotel in Belfast. The course was on Reception mastery, focusing on the heart of our practice… YOU our patients! what an exciting way to start off the new year and the ladies came back feeling excited and inspired!

Welcoming new patients

Do you know anyone that needs an amazing new dentist? We are pleased to be in the position to welcome your friends and family to our practice. All new patients at Helens Bay Dental are initially assessed by Dr Gareth Small. We offer the gold standard in dentistry and patient care and with our highly qualified team as well as state of the art technology. You know they will be in good hands.Our welcome team are on hand to take their call and help them start their journey. Below is a couple of recent images of amazing before and afters we have taken for some very happy patients!

This photo shows a patient who came to us after orthodontic braces at his old practice but felt after he was finished this treatment he was left with black triangles which are spaces at the top between each tooth that can appear after this treatment is finished and can look unsightly. We suggested that he consider composite build ups to close these spaces, Sarah organised a digital smile design ‘road test’ for the patient to allow him to visualise exactly how the teeth would look after the build ups. The patient was really happy with the design and couldn’t wait to go ahead! What a result he had! Cosmetic bonding is an amazing treatment and can be done in only one appointment, if you would like any more information on this treatment just get in touch with our treatment coordinators on 02891853304

This before and after photo is a lovely lady who was unhappy with her teeth for a while. She then had a bad fall which resulted in a injury to her mouth and loose and fractured crowns! She was given a partial denture by her previous dentist but was unable to get used to it. She made the decision to get in touch with us as she wanted a fixed option. We were able to achieve this amazing transformation using “All on X” dental implants, this is one of our favorite before & afters and I am sure you can see why! Dental implants are the closest thing you can get to the look, feel and function of a natural tooth and allow permanent replacement of missing teeth If you have any spacing in your mouth that you would like to consider an implant for just get in touch with Glenda or Shelley to find out more 02891853304

Team member of the month

We get very regular reviews and recognition from patients for the dentists and team and we love it!

We also recognise team excellence once a month in house! Well done to Shelley who was voted by her colleagues for team member of the month!

And as always thank you to all the team for the on going hard work and dedication … we appreciate every one of you!

Welcome back to our July newsletter! We hope you all have been keeping well and enjoying this beautiful weather. As you know we like to keep you up to date with what is going on in our practice so we have a few things to talk to you about today…

Hannah attended our practice as she had been considering cosmetic dental work for some time but was always worried she wouldn’t be able to achieve her desired result. On Hannah’s first appointment we took a digital 3D scan and we were able to look at this along with Hannah and discuss what changes she would like to make. In Hannah’s lovely words she “felt in excellent hands with Glenda and Sarah as their professional manner put me at ease and they kept me informed at each step of the way, they also gave me all the options available and went through what each would mean”. Hannah then decided to go ahead with composite bonding on her upper front teeth.

“I can only say that the attention to detail was more than present, and I am overjoyed with my new smile! This has totally uplifted my confidence, I am no longer self-conscious and covering my mouth to laugh or smile, I’m proud of my big grin and amazing new teeth and the compliments from friends and family who are stunned by the difference and how natural my smile looks. I cannot give enough thanks to Sarah and the team for all their hard work”. We have added Hannah’s before and after photos. What a difference this has made! Sarah has achieved a whiter, brighter and more even appearance.

Did you know we offer Invisalign clear braces here in Helens Bay Dental? If your teeth are crowded, unevenly spaced or have shifted since you were younger Invisalign braces can help you attain that natural, arresting smile that only straightened teeth can give.

Invisalign braces are the invisible alternative to traditional orthodontics, using a series of clear aligners invisible braces comfortably adjust your teeth without your mouth being poked by metal wires and brackets.

Unlike their traditional metal counterparts Invisalign braces removable, these remarkably invisible braces which are available at our practice can be taken out when you eat, floss or clean your teeth.

3D computer imaging technology is used to design and plan your smile. A series of custom made clear aligners are then manufactured ready for fitting! The individual aligners move your teeth little by little and are generally worn for 2 weeks each, by the time you are wearing your final aligner your teeth will be in the desired position.

And at last but certainly not least one of our front of house team Victoria welcomed a beautiful baby boy at the end of May…. welcome to the team Milo! Big congratulations to Victoria from all at Helens Bay Dental.

Out for a late lunch in a new venue in Belfast Six by Nico. We had a very unusual experience, so different and new! We were welcomed by a young enthusiastic team, excited to tell all about their offerings and keen to hear after how we found everything. They explained the origins of the restaurant, how the food would be delivered and a little about each course. They told us what to expect and assured us it would be a unique experience that we would love, and they were right. There was even a screen showing live feed from the kitchen as each plate was put together time after time all afternoon

We did the usual… took photos of the food, checked in on Facebook, shared it with friends!
On the way home Gareth did an online review and recommended the restaurant as a must do experience. What happened next was even more unusual! The following day Gareth received an email from the chef thanking him for taking the time to review explaining a bit more about their new set up in Belfast (home town Glasgow!)

” I cannot tell you what it means to be so warmly welcomed to the Belfast community. Your compliments will be passed on to my Team in Belfast and will help motivate them to continue their incredible work. I’d love to keep this channel of communication open with you. If I can answer any questions, you remember something that you thought could be changed or even I could check availability for you. Please do not hesitate to contact me I love being able to communicate with my guests on a one to one level Thank you and have a wonderful week”

We love reviews at Helens Bay Dental and are lucky to have an expanding collection of warm words! We take a lot of time to tailor how we offer Dentistry and customer service and we were very impressed at this Restaurant and will be looking to see what we can transfer to our Customer care and communication. We will start with thoughtful replies to the lovely patients who take the time to review us!!

We have a new look for 2019 our 25th year in Helens Bay and it has changed things in ways we imagined and ways we didn’t! And its changed things for everyone as our pictures show.

Gareth wanted to have a new studio to deliver his Brand of Digital Dentistry in a new and improved way:- all digital imaging, microscopic examination when required, single visit crowns and a quicker and more accurate outcome with implant retained crowns.

Alexis wanted to have a space where she could look after patient calls, emails, patient care administration and Gareth’s many digital technical support needs in a back office space.

Amanda wanted to have a team member at the front of house looking after patients on arrival before handing over to the clinician looking after them.

Glenda wanted to be able to concentrate on her Treatment Coordinator role looking after new patients on first visits and helping existing patients make appointments to suit their schedule when new treatments are needed.

The physical changes took only 2 to 3 weeks which surprised us all, although our Builder Seamus Woulihan of Seaview Developments was delivering exactly what he promised. He met and exceeded our needs, which is what we try on a daily basis to do. We have worked hard in the Pre-Christmas period to deliver the best of care and service and to develop the new flow through our small building.

The impact on our patients has been enormous and we have been hugely encouraged by the swift and positive responses. The bank of 5-star reviews are building on Google and Facebook allowing others to get a glimpse of what it is like to be a patient at Helens Bay Dental. Many have taken the opportunity while with us to log a review on one of our Ipads!

A review on Instagram this week shows the patient perspective literally!

Our smaller Reception area and extra treatment rooms allows a more personal interaction between patients and staff and that has led to so many positive conversations about why Helens Bay Dental suits our patients and why it is different. New arrivals are recommending us to others which is how we can continue to grow.

We are family owned and operated and aim to remain that way. We have invested heavily in the Dental technology and are changing small things to make the Dental and Service experience personal and remarkable. We look forward to welcoming patients old and new to Helens Bay in 2019 and hope we can share the experiences with others like some of our new patients do.

We are just back from a family weekend celebrating my Father in laws 80th Birthday. Happy times with extended family of all ages reflecting on how time flies!

I returned to a 2 day in Practice training event with the whole team as we completed our move to the Digital World by introducing a wireless scanning tool to record images instead of using wet impressions material!

Long standing patients here ( of whom there are many) are the backbone of our Practice and they are very familiar with how things change at Helens Bay. It was 13 years ago that we started digital scanning to allow us to mill crowns and inlays in house. This continues to develop and progress and our dentists are among the most experienced in the UK in this field The skills have now been expanded through the entire team allowing new exciting work areas to develop for the nursing team.

At Helens Bay Dental the “Family” is comprised of team members of many ages some in situ 24 years and others less than a year. Together we are learning and introducing the latest technologies to make the patient experience and treatment outcomes the best and most innovative available anywhere! There are more exciting changes to come in 2018, news to follow!

How time flies at work when you are having fun and learning new skills to improve more smiles!

Friday 11th May 2018 was Team Meeting morning at Helens Bay Dental and we started early with breakfast, a healthy one as we practice what we preach and like to look after our teeth! We called upon the culinary skills of our near neighbour “Crumbs Catering”.

8.30 am the goodies arrived and a beautiful table was set up in readiness by Crumbs owner Diana. All agreed that our healthy option was local and delicious. We had a successful review of the last quarter and discussed the coming months.

There are even more exciting times to come at Helens Bay Dental and we will share soon. Thanks to Diana and her staff for the breakfast for the Helens Bay Champions!

On Friday last, I met my colleague Lidia Ferritto from our Implant Team in London to attend the ITI Conference to refresh our knowledge on the latest developments in Implant Dentistry and beyond. When you each have almost 30 years of experience in Dentistry it is humbling to discover so much innovative research and to be able to sit in London and hear the World’s best minds present their work.

It is always refreshing to get a few days away from the “normal” and bring new ideas home. Lidia and I left the 2 day conference with much to think about. After the conference we met with my daughter who is studying Dental Therapy at Barts and the London. The conversation was dentally oriented and she was very enthusiastic to hear all the ‘news’ ! It emerged that one of the speakers was actually Professor & Chair of Periodontology & Implant Dentistry at her University, Professor Nicos Donos.

Interestingly, her first lecture back at University on Monday was presented by the same speaker – great to know that our young people are being educated by the best in the field!

We look forward to continuing to provide the very best Implant Care available and it is not a coincidence, we try really hard!

A patient recently brought this newspaper picture in to the practice. We all laughed and it made me think about how Dentistry has changed in general and at Helens Bay in particular. I have been in practice here for 23 years in October and love the changes we can offer patients and the tools at our disposal.

The rate of change has quickened in the last 5 years as the digital revolution gathers pace.

For the last 10 years we have been able to image a tooth and construct a crown in a few hours allowing smiles to be restored in a single visit.

This years latest technology has advanced to imaging multiple teeth to make bridges, crowns, veneers and crowns for implants. More same day solutions to resolve smile issues.

We don’t need sticky impressions for this work! Accurate digital images capture all the information we need.

To allow placement of implants with greater accuracy we can make a virtual guide, digitally imaged and manufactured in-house.

For patients undergoing orthodontic treatment no impressions are necessary the camera captures all the information we need with accuracy and clarity.

Last week, a patient was referred to me with both upper front teeth damaged beyond repair to see what his options were. The good news for him was that because of our imaging technology his options are much superior to this time last year in terms of speed of outcome.

We removed the broken teeth and then placed an implant into each tooth socket.

We digitally scanned the implants and designed two crowns on the computer screen and milled them.

When ready and polished we screwed them onto the implants and in 3 hours we gave him back his smile. I was almost as delighted as the patient.

When I started in Helens bay I couldn’t have foreseen what my daily workflow was going to be but it fills me with enthusiasm for the future anticipating what I may be doing next.

1. Gareth Small and Sarah Lochhead have a combined 34 years of providing dental solutions at Helens Bay
2. We offer the latest Digital solutions in Dentistry across all treatments- faster treatment, beautiful predictable results and smiles that last! We have provided 3800 same day crowns in the last 10 years
3. We have an in house Implant team who have placed 1800 implants in Helens Bay
4. We have an in house Short term straightening team who have improved smiles for 200 people so far. Digital techniques at the practice can eliminate the need for sticky impressions!
5. We have a dedicated, caring Nursing and Reception team who will book you in with your own treatment provider for all your visits because they know what you like.
6. We are accepting new patients! If this sounds like the service you would like for you and your family call in and see us!
7. Our hygiene care is lead by Lorraine Dunlop, Dental Therapist and we call her our Children’s treatment champion