Practice newsDr Ansa Akram GDC: 123778 - Specialist Orthodontist. Ansa joined us in 2015 and has established orthodontic treatments back in Dee Shapland Dental where teeth straightening started over 40 years ago when Arden Dee Shapland was one of the fi rst general dentists in Exeter to provide this service.

Orthodontics has progressed enormously since then and Ansa is one of only a few specialist orthodontists in the area to provide lingual orthodontics where braces are fitted behind the teeth, making treatment less obvious.

Ansa teaches at Bristol Dental Hospital and practices at the RD&E Hospital and treats very complex cases. She has a lovely, kind and calm manner and already we are seeing some amazing results with her treatments and patients are delighted with the outcomes. Ansa also treats adults who want to improve their smile and some children. Please enquire at Reception if you would like a consultation appointment with her.

Dee Shapland Dental Surgery384 Topsham RoadExeter EX2 6HETel: 01392 873899Email: shaplanddental@csdconnect.com

Gayle Kime GDC: 4814 - Dental Hygienist. Gayle has joined the team to support our other Hygienist, Erica, to help ourpatients maintain healthy teeth and gums.

Gayle has a wealth of experience, not only in gum health but also in maintaining dental implants and complex restorative dental treatments. She has worked in several specialist referral practices over the past 21 years. Gayle is highly motivated but also very gentle, kind and great at teaching patients to look after their teeth and gums therefore helping them to stay healthier in general health.

Opening hours

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday

8.30am to 5.30pm8.00am to 5.30pm8.00am to 1.00pm8.30am to 7.30pm8.00am to 4.30pm9.00am to 12.30pm

What is MI (Minimal Intervention) dentistry and why is it our philosophy of patient care at Dee Shapland dental.

MI dentistry has four main aims:

The first is to do everything possible topreventdental decay and gum disease from doing anydamage to your health.

We believe that by giving you the very best oral health advice, themost up-to-date dental knowledge and the latest tests andproducts will help you to maintain healthy teeth and gums for life.

MI dentistry is about stopping any problems before theystart, at any age.

Children and young people can particularly benefit as it’s important to establish good dental hygiene habits as early as possible toprevent the need for treatment in the future.

MI dentistry can benefi t everyone by using sealants and varnishes that can be painted on to prevent cavities in teeth. Advice and regular professional tooth cleaning by our dentists and hygienists helps to guard against gum disease and tooth decay. Any restorative treatment to a tooth, such as a filling could weaken the tooth and cause problems later on, which is why MI is the best approach to take.

The second comes into play if the firstdoesn’t work and involves early detection, diagnosis of dental diseases and, if possible, treatment without using a dental drill.

We encourage you to visit us on a regular basis to ensure we can effectively monitor and sometimes prevent a small problem becoming a bigger problem. This can reduce the need for more expensive and invasive treatments with the potential therefore of saving you money.

The third aim arises when we do need toopen the instrument drawer and employ a widerange of minimally invasive techniques, all withthe objective of providing you with the maximumbenefit, while doing the minimum amount ofsurgical intervention and least amount of harmto your tooth.

We use the very latest and highest quality dental materials and products and our clinicians regularly attend courses given by recognised experts in their field ensuring we provide you with the most up to date dentistry.

The fourth and perhaps the most importantpart of MI dentistry is to educate andmotivate our patients to take charge of theirown oral health with eff ective tooth cleaning,and to understand the important role thatlifestyle, food and diet plays in keeping teethand gums in the best possible condition.

It is well recognised that there is a potential relationship between gum disease and general health. Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, low birth weight babies, dementia and rheumatoid arthritis can all be linked in some way with gum disease.

Denplan Limited, Denplan Court, Victoria Road, Winchester, SO23 7RG, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1962 828 000. Fax: +44 (0) 1962 840 846.

Part of Simplyhealth, Denplan Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Simplyhealth Access for arranging and administering dental insurance. Simplyhealth Access is incorporated in England and Wales, registered no. 183035 and is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Denplan Ltd is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for General Insurance Mediation Business. Denplan Ltd only arranges insurance underwritten by Simplyhealth Access. Premiums received by Denplan Ltd are held by us as an agent of the insurer. Denplan Ltd is registered in England No. 1981238. The registered offices for these companies is Hambleden House, Waterloo Court, Andover, Hampshire SP10 1LQ.

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We therefore believe that by helping you to maintain good oral health we are also helping you to maintain good general health.

We use the knowledge and skills of all of our team to help provide MI dental care at this practice. We are lucky to have the knowledge andimmense experience of Nick, Principal dentist, with over 30 yearsworking in practice.

Our dentists use composite materials to provide natural tooth-colouredfillings and teeth whitening to brighten your smile the non-invasive way!

About the team

Our Associate DentistAnastasios, is a research fellow at the Peninsula Dental School and is at the cutting edge of latest research. He has a Masters degree in Periodontology and has a special interest in gum disease.

Our HygienistsErica and Gayle have over 20 years of experience between themhelping patients keep their gums healthy. Both are incredibly motivated and dedicated clinicians who love to teach patients how to care for their teeth and gums and have healthy, happy smiles.

Our Specialist Orthodontist

Ansa, helps to provide beautiful smiles for our patients using techniques that are again – minimally invasive. An increasing number of adults are using orthodontics as a way to achieve the smile they have always wanted.

Oral Health EducatorWe also have an Oral Health Educator who helps to look after both adults’ and the children’s dental health using topical fluoride application and education on diet and tooth cleaning. We aim to make these sessions not only factual but also fun and our registered children really look forward to coming to see us.

Our team have ongoing training in patient care and we have two staff members who are ‘dementia friends’. We have contact with the Alzheimer’s Society and have had training in helping both patients and their carer/s with the challenges they face when visiting the dentist and looking after their oral health at home

As a practice we are a team committed to helping youachieve a healthy smile.

Please don’t keep us a Secret!We’re always delighted to see friends and family of our existing patients. If you do recommend a new patient we will give you a £10 M&S voucher or donate £10 to our 2016 and 2017charilty - theAlzheimer’sSociety.

New arrivals

2016 was quite a year for our orthodontic team.

Our specialist Orthodontist – Dr Ansa Akram gave birth to a baby boy Zayn, in February.

Vickie, one of our orthodontic nurses also had a baby boy Oscar, in April.

Aggie, our other orthodontic nurse had a baby girl, Amelia, in December.

Our congratulations to them all.

For the love of charity!

Macmillan Coffee MorningThis has become a yearly event where we bake cakes each day of the Macmillan coffee morning week in September. The money made over this week helps MacMillan provide cancer services and support for patients in Devon. In 2016 we raised £200.00.

Exeter HospiceIn December all the Dee Shapland team donated gifts for our luxury Christmas hamper. This was raffl ed and we raised £220.00 for our local Exeter Hospice. A massive ‘thank you’ to our lovely patients who very generously supported this cause.

Rainbow runLaura, our trainee dental nurse ran the ‘Rainbow Run’ in 2016 in aid of Children’s Hospice South West and raised £95. Laura visited the hospice as part of her health care studies at College last year and was touched by the wonderful atmosphere and incredible support the hospice gives to families of poorly children.

And lastly…Aggie has had her hair cut for the Little Princess Trust and has raised £287! She has donated her hair to help make a wig for children affected by hair loss through cancer treatment.

Let there be light!This year we decided, following a risk assessment, that the trees once planted by Nick’s grandfather in the 1950’s, had to be taken down as they were becoming a potential hazard to patients using the drive.

It was sad to see them cut down in one day but after discussing what we wanted to replace them with, Phil Smith Garden Services have planted a beautiful swath of colour to depict the art in the practice and hopefully make the entrance more welcoming. We also have a lot more light in the reception area reducing the needfor artifi cial lighting throughout most of the day.

100% again!!We recently conducted our yearly ‘patient satisfaction survey’ and again received a 100% satisfaction score.

Patients not only rated our services but also gave feedback. Many felt the practice was very friendly and caring with highly professional staff and excellent, gentle treatment provided by the dentists. One patient wrote that ‘you cannot improve onperfection’. Another patient felt that their dentist, Nick, is someone they could trust. Frequently patients commented that Nick was the best dentist they had ever been to and others said that they had been patients of the practice for many years and couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. Every patient said that they would or hadrecommended the practice to family and friends.

We are very grateful for all feedback from our patients both positive or from those with any suggestions for improving patient experience or our services. We do listen and implement change where needed or are able to. Our new easy access cleared drive has helped patients who need to park close to the entrance to get in and out of their vehicles more easily and we now employ two hygienists to provide hygiene services on a Tuesday and a Thursday to offer patients more fl exibility when booking appointments.

We will be running another Denplan Excel survey in 2017 and would like to thank those in advance who very kindly spent a few minutes completing the form.