Dental Nurse Clinics at Larkham House
What are Dental Nurse Clinics?
Our dental nurse clinics are run by Lead Dental Nurse Kay Dillon RDN OHE and Lead Dental Nurse Lauren Blight RDN OHE Cert Rad with their additional qualifications and training they assist our team of dentists with the following duties and procedures as prescribed by them:
- Oral Health Education for patients
- Oral Health Education in schools and nurseries
- Oral Health Promotion
- Fluoride Application
- Radiography
- Impression-Taking
- Clinical Photography
- Suture Removal.
Why attend a Dental Nurse Clinic
Appointments with Kay and Lauren are available to all our patients, giving you the opportunity to chat and discuss any concerns you may have, especially for our nervous dental patients who may need time to work through their anxieties. We support our patients, building a rapport and increasing your confidence in our practice. Our Lead Nurses can often make patients feel more at ease and allow longer for an appointment, with time to explain treatment plans, step by step.
We find that many patients are more honest during nurse clinics rather than with their dentist and may voice problems or concerns they would not have brought to the dentist’s attention. Or perhaps found that they had additional questions after treatment. This is where Kay and Lauren can help.
What can they do for me?
Oral Health Education for patients
Oral hygiene instruction is often given verbally by dentists, without time for a visual demonstration. Patients can then easily misunderstand what they should be doing. Our Lead Nurses can take the time to demonstrate oral hygiene aids and how to use them effectively, tailored to your individual needs.
Dietary advice is given to our patients, spending the time helping you to develop your own knowledge to make healthier choices by yourself. We find, particularly with children, that more than one appointment is necessary to reinforce these messages to ensure that they are fully understood, particularly after orthodontic treatment.
Oral Health Education for Schools and Nurseries
As part our community programme, we are available to visit schools and Nurseries to help children of all ages understand the importance of good oral health, and to support the Health aspect of the school curriculum.
Depending on the age group we will talk about:
- What foods and drink are good or bad for teeth
- Shown how to brush teeth properly and floss
- Understand what a dentist does
- Overview of how many and the types of teeth we have, what they are used for
- How cavities are caused and what happens to the teeth
- The effects of smoking, alcohol and stress.
Fluoride Application
Fluoride application is highly effective at reducing tooth decay if it is applied twice a year, providing extra protection when used in addition to brushing. Fluoride varnish is a pale-yellow gel that sets quickly when applied to children’s teeth using a soft brush. We find that when our Lead Dental Nurses carry out fluoride application, children attending are far more cooperative, having often met them beforehand and are less anxious around them. This can then help build the child’s confidence in the dental chair, making future treatment easier.
Radiography
Our Lead Nurses use their radiography skills on a daily basis. We require x-rays for almost all our new patients at their initial consultation appointment, before the dentist sees the patient. This also means that Kay and Lauren are often the first member of the clinical team that you meet and this can make the appointment seem like an informal chat, putting you more at ease.
Impression-Taking
When a patient has decided to go ahead with a treatment plan such as a dental implants, crown or bridge work, teeth whitening, orthodontic treatment or a gum shield, we require a dental impression. Our Lead Nurses take and alginate impression to create an exact mould of your mouth so your treatment or appliance feels natural and doesn’t irritate the sensitive soft tissue lining the inside of your cheeks and gums.
Clinical Photography
Some of our patients require clinical photographs, which can be a useful tool when explaining treatment plans, and aid in case-planning when the patient is not present. Kay or Lauren by take further clinical photographs often taken during treatment as well as on completion, giving you before and after photographs.
Suture Removal
Our Lead Nurses are trained to remove sutures after surgical treatment. You clinician will review you first, confirming all is looking healthy and that the sutures are ready for removal. Our nurses will take their time, explaining what will happen before the stitches are gently removed.
What do our patients say about treatment at Larkham House?
