Philips

Dental Nurse Jo Dawson wins Philips-sponsored place on Smile Revolution course

Philips Oral Healthcare recently offered one dental professional the chance to win a sponsored place on the second of Smile Revolution’s 5-week course to ‘Launch Your Own Oral Health Promotional Project/Business’. The place was won by Jo Dawson, a Dental Nurse who works at Devonshire House Dental Practice, Cambridge.

The course is designed to help dental professionals plan the launch of an oral health promotion venture; Philips sponsored the place – worth £1,000 – as a way of reinforcing its ongoing support to dental professionals.

The Smile Revolution’s mission of the course is to drive leadership in dentistry through innovation in oral health promotion.  As Victoria Wilson, creator of Smile Revolution, explained “Philips has already supported us on numerous occasions; from the very beginning, the company has been so invested in dental professionals’ education and it is reassuring that decades later, Philips is still providing an amazing level of support.  I am so grateful that the company believes in my vision and can see the potential impact of this course for dental professionals and the publics oral health.  It is hugely encouraging.”

Victoria Wilson

Over a five-week period, those attending the course are set specific tasks to work towards and are asked to put together a viable, sustainable oral health promotional project / business model, drawing on elements discussed throughout the programme.  At the end of the five weeks, the hope is that they will have learnt the tools of how to create a viable, sustainable oral health promotional project / business proposal and moving towards launching their project.   As part of Philips’ ongoing sponsorship a mentoring element is also added for the winner to help them continue to take their project forward at the end of the five weeks.

Projects can be anything participants wish them to be. There may be an opportunity to develop a venture under the umbrella of a dental practice, with the collaboration and support of the dentists or practice owner.  Alternatively, it could be a scheme within the community, using the clinic as the hub. Or it could be a totally separate venture outside the clinical setting. The sky is the limit as to the number of opportunities to uncover, and it is also about unleashing the potential of delegates who may not have had the confidence to take that leap of faith before the programme. The Smile Revolution course is designed to empower individuals and help them find solutions to excel in existing and new one arenas.

The idea for the course took shape at the start of the Covid pandemic.  As the pandemic began to take over, it became so apparent that clinicians were no longer able to work clinically and as a result the public’s oral health was suffering,” Victoria recalled. “At this point, I had been running the Smile Revolution for two years and felt now was the time to share everything I knew to support others in launching sustainable oral health projects as I have.”

“I began to collate the most relevant resources that have supported the developments of the Smile Revolution over the last five years. I consolidated them into a course and launched the five-week programme, How To Launch An Oral Health Promotion Project/Business.  The aim was to teach the students everything I know and have learnt in the process of creating the Smile Revolution, to support their individual development in their own projects that they uncover throughout the process. I further support the students with mentoring during the five weeks additional to the set webinar settings based on the need. The course consists of a one-hour, live webinar every Monday and a online classroom every Sunday. An integral element of the course supports innovation and leadership in dentistry.   It has been so gratifying to see such a wide range of projects evolving from the course.”

Jo Dawson, the recipient of the second Philips sponsored place said, “I was delighted to find out that I had won a place on the course.  I am passionate about preventing caries but stuck about how to have the greatest impact in addressing the problem.  It breaks my heart to think about kids having fillings let alone GAs.  I wanted to raise awareness of how easy it is to prevent tooth decay in particular, and for example, to stop parents giving out raisins as snacks to primary school children – as a starting point.  I’ve been trying to make a change on my own, but thought this input and support could really help me make things happen.  I’ve been doing online business webinars and Dental CPD but nothing that overlapped that could support taking things forward.  I want to thank Philips for its generous sponsorship.”

After attending the first digital course session and being set my homework for the week, I already started to feel excited and curious as to where this journey would take me.  The 1st webinar was surprising, inspiring and uplifting. The content is nothing like any other dental CPD or business course I’ve ever seen. It was quite a revelation and could well be the beginning of a revolution.  The messages installed in me from the first lesson was, don’t give up! We all have a valuable contribution to make and we can find our niche.  Have confidence. Using our own personal inspirations and working honestly about our motivations we can develop ideas to create sustainable and viable projects that will succeed, as well as being personally rewarding.  The whole inspiration side of things makes so much sense.  I’ve really had a mind blast and lots of ideas are flowing around. Looking at things differently and limitlessly, which has been a revelation and very positive.  It has given me some new areas to explore and some old contacts remembered who I can reconnect with in a new way.  

To all dental professionals. Although I’m sure, half the reason there is still a problem with caries and gum disease globally is because the profession is so busy doing dentistry, and we haven’t all got time or energy to expand beyond our busy practice day list.  This course also helps to focus on life-balancing too – with the opportunity to experience yoga as part of this.”

Discussing her own inspiration – for the creation of the – Smile Revolution, Victoria explained: “In 2015, I completed my BSc in oral health promotion with O’Hehir University and in 2017, I was invited to a social responsibility conference held by the International Federation of Dental Hygienists, showcasing sustainable oral health promotional projects around the world. They called on all representatives from varying nations to lead on social responsibility in our retrospective countries. At the time I was in the UAE but soon returned to the UK where the concept of the Smile Revolution evolved.

“The Smile Revolution focussed on supporting leadership in dentistry from the outset, from showcasing dental professionals via the Smile Revolution Podcast series. The philosophy behind the podcast is based on sharing knowledge to support the advancement of all dental professionals. The next step has been to launch the courses.  New course dates are to be announced for 2021 which will also be supported by Philips, as the company is funding further sponsored places to ensure that cost is no barrier to entry for those who would like to further their ambitions.”

For more information, visit http://www.smile-revolution.net/.

Megan Fairhall Lives to Smile (S02 E06)

Megan Fairhall, dental hygienist and therapist, discusses her career development, what inspired her to start the #LiveToSmile campaign, and the importance of education, as well as her own courses.
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Google, and Spotify:

 

Megan qualified from the University of Portsmouth in 2010 with a BSc degree in Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy. She has since developed her own dental brand #LIVETOSMILE, where by she utilises social media and online marketing to attract new patients, focusing on her teeth whitening treatments, a part of dentistry she has discovered a real passion for.
 

#LIVETOSMILE has since been introduced into three different dental practices one being on the famous Harley Street in London. Subsequently Megan was asked by the global brand Philips to represent them as a key opinion leader. Megan has since been working closely with Philips on many projects including helping to raise awareness of the issues surrounding illegal teeth whitening which has included featuring in documentaries with the BBC, press and much more. Megan now runs whitening training courses in association with Philips for DH&DT’s, helping to uplift and inspire them to elevate their careers within dentistry.

Megan Fairhall

 
Megan also works with the prestigious toothpaste brand Regenerate as a KOL helping to raise awareness to the consumer on acid erosion. This has lead to exciting opportunities and features in lots of beauty press and events. Including a world wide feature in Virgin Atlantic’s inflight magazine.  
 
Megan’s latest project her #LIVETOSMILE Dental Beauty Box is another great passion of hers. Aiming to educate and inspire the public when purchasing their dental products. Providing them with the dental products they need combined with beauty products they want all delivered to their door in a bespoke reusable pink beauty box. 

For more information, visit https://www.livetosmile.co.uk/home/.

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The Probe Dental Podcast is presented by The Dental Awards.

The Dental Awards is the original and most respected awards programme in British dentistry. 2021 marks the 22nd anniversary of the Dental Awards, and over the decades, this prestigious event has recognised the outstanding individuals and teams whose commitment and drive continue to raise standards throughout the profession.

The Dental Awards is attended by over 600 clinicians each year. Winning, or being a finalist, is a tremendous accolade and provides a massive publicity boost to the profile of your practice and your team. After all, who wouldn’t want to be treated by the Dentist or Dental Team of the Year?

The Dental Awards are sponsored by B.A. International, Colgate, Colosseum Dental, Dental Elite, and Water Pik. The Probe and The British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show are official partners.

For more information, please visit the-probe.co.uk/awards

For more from The Probe, visit the-probe.co.uk. Theme tune courtesy of Bensound.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Philips offers the chance to win a sponsored place on Smile Revolution’s 5-week course

Thanks to the success of her first course, Dental Therapist and creator of the Smile Revolution podcast series, Victoria Wilson is launching a second five-week programme entitled ‘Launch your own oral health promotional project/business’ which starts on Monday 9th November.

Some of the delegates from the first 5-week course, which has just concluded, have shared their feedback to encourage their peers to sign up:

  • “Victoria seems to have this ability to unlock the door to personal and professional excellence. The course is well delivered and very interactive – she is a great mentor! I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience too.”
  • “I always look forward to the online sessions, and it is not just a matter of learning and absorbing information; I am excited to learn about the other delegates’ projects and enjoyed seeing their progress as well!”
  • “It was brilliant. Victoria makes me want to go out and achieve so much”.
  • “Informative, interactive, engaging”.

The course is designed to help dental professionals plan the launch of an oral health promotion venture. Philips Oral Healthcare is offering one dental professional the chance to win a place on the course – worth £1,000 – as a way of reinforcing its ongoing support to Dental Professionals.

Philips already understands that oral health promotion can take many forms and some clinicians wish to vary their working life outside of surgery. The company is therefore keen to be supporting Smile Revolution’s oral health promotion course in recognition of the way it will form a new and exciting part of a dental professional’s development.  Philips see this as a huge opportunity for dentists, hygienists and therapists to increase their skills, with the ultimate aim of improving the public’s oral health, by developing innovative outreach projects. By becoming more versatile, and exploring and uncovering other opportunities the clinician has the potential of making an impact beyond the traditional clinical setting.

Victoria Wilson commented: “Philips has already supported us on numerous occasions. From the very beginning, the company has been so invested in dental professionals’ education and it is reassuring that decades later, the company is still providing an amazing level of support. I am so grateful that the company believes in my vision and can see the potential impact of this course for dental professionals. It is hugely encouraging.  Members of the Philips education team recently appeared on a podcast on Smile Revolution highlighting the need to develop transferrable skills and how important it is to seize as many opportunities as possible to be able to give yourself the flexibility of a different career pathway. They spoke of the trials and errors they may have to go through, and about confidence to get to the stage they have now reached, and this message is exactly what I am trying to convey in this course”.

What will I learn as a part of this course?

Over a 5-week period, delegates will be set specific tasks to work towards, and they will be asked to put together a viable sustainable business module drawing on the elements which they will have discussed throughout the course. At the end of the five weeks, they will have learnt how to create a business proposal and will be ready to launch their project. A mentoring element will also be added at the end of the 5 weeks, again as part of the Philips sponsorship package.

Delegates’ projects could be anything they wish it to be. There may be an opportunity to develop a project under the umbrella of the dental practice, with the dentist and practice owner collaborating, if they want to come on board.  Alternatively, it could be a scheme within their community using the clinic at the hub.  Or it could be a totally separate venture outside the clinical setting. The sky is the limit as to the number of opportunities to uncover, and maybe it is about unleashing the potential of delegates who may not have the confidence to take that leap of faith. The Smile Revolution course is designed to empower individuals and help them find new solutions to excel in existing areas and new ones.

Competition and prize

ENTER HERE – https://form.jotform.com/203063413664045

Anyone wishing to go on this course can enter this competition and stands a chance of winning a sponsored place worth £1,000, courtesy of Philips. Entrants can enter here, https://form.jotform.com/203063413664045 stating why they would like to win a place on the course, and where they would like to see this course taking them. A draw will be organised at the end of the week and the winner will be announced on the same day.

For more information about the course and competition entry criteria, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-an-oral-health-promotion-project-business-5-week-course-tickets-107758117430

Philips sponsors a lecture duet about digital scanning at the Oral Health Conference this November

A joint lecture being presented at the BSDHT’s Oral Health Conference by Hygienist Anna Middleton and Dentist Alif Moosajee will examine how and why a digital intraoral scanner is an invaluable tool for the whole dental team, and how it not only enhances teamwork and improves workflow, but ultimately enriches the patient experience, improves communication about their treatments and what can be achieved for them.

The speakers will illustrate how harnessing digital technology has helped create a closer work bond and communication flow between dentist and hygienist/ therapist.

For Anna Middleton the digital scanner she uses has also served as a fantastic educational tool which has helped her have deeper discussions with patients as they can immediately see their teeth on the screen. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this couldn’t be more useful in practice for igniting engagement.

As Anna commented: “Intra-oral scanning is very powerful for effective communication, consent, long term monitoring and record keeping, and can all be undertaken as part of a hygienist-therapist’s scope of practice. My business was founded after the awarding of direct access status, and often I am the first person a new patient meets in practice. Within my scope of practice, I am able to do so much to engage with patients and what I really enjoy is the ability to offer completely tailored long term solutions for them. I find a treatment plan sells itself because of the insights the iTero system I use provides, and the increased case uptake makes it highly profitable for the practice”.

Alif Moosajee advises that in his practice, there is no doubt that the role of a hygienist and therapist is of paramount importance and during this lecture, he will highlight the benefits of working in tandem with his, from a practice principal’s perspective:

“Patients are becoming more savvy and more willing than ever to have private treatment. They see all these lovely bright white smiles in the media and have high expectations when they come through our doors. They do not understand the journey they have to go through and that’s where we, as a team, need to work on their expectations and set realistic goals”.

He adds: “Dentistry should be fun and exciting. But if you don’t have the right tools and a good team behind you, that’s when you are left with a degree of unpredictability that can cause stress. And that’s why digital dentistry is not something to dismiss for future consideration. With a strong team, digital scanners can enable some of the workload to be delegated, which frees up the dentist to undertake more high value treatments. Your hygienist and therapist can also bring in patients who will ultimately ask for more high value dentistry. So the whole team process spirals positively”.

Implementing a digital strategy for the practice, the team and the patient enables the initiation of a much more efficient workflow. Anna explains that all new patients are seen by her for an hour, and during this time she performs a scan and triages patients, referring them to other members of the team.

She has found that there are many more hygienists and therapists carving out their own businesses and brands and seeking further autonomy. They are looking to expand their scope of practice and vary their daily work. Digital scanning is just one of the many additional skills they can add to their armory to enhance the way they work.

Well-defined: Making the link between digital scanning and tooth whitening

The link between digital scanning and tooth whitening is well-defined; as an intra-oral scanner can be used to create highly accurate digital impressions from which to fabricate tailored trays for every patient, doing away with the need for alginate and ensuring the most accurate fitting trays – and an enhanced patient experience.

Whitening is a gateway treatment and an obvious channel for hygienists and therapists to engage with patients. According to Anna, who is a Philips Ambassador, that’s where the magic happens. Tooth whitening also provides a platform for hygienist and therapist to develop new skills and thrive in practice. It also increases referrals to the dentist as patients invariably want to progress to more complex treatments. It is a win: win with everyone in the team working on more interesting and fulfilling cases.

By empowering the hygienist/therapist to undertake whitening, the dentist can focus on what they do best without wasting precious clinical time on treatments which can be beautifully handled by the hygienist and therapist. The practice wins by adding more value to patients, and profitability will always follow.

According to Anna, delegates will gain a better understanding about intra-oral scanning and its benefits to the patient, the practice and the team from the point of view of a hygienist and a practice principal to achieve multi-disciplinary care, which they can then take back to their practices to discuss and implement.

Alif concurs: “I hope that the talk is going to provide a good insight to understand what digital implementation has done for my practice, for my patients, and for me as principal. I will explain how important it is to get your team on board, how to manage your time effectively and maximise your potential”.

He adds, “People who would like to investigate digitalisation further can often request a loan scanner and see how it can be utilised in their own practice before committing – and I wonder how soon it will be before they realise they can’t do without it?”

Delegates will leave with a practical understanding of how to acquire a good scan for best patient results and start applying this information to their hygiene-therapy scope of practice, including tooth whitening, pre-orthodontics, restorative and patient monitoring.

The duo hopes to encourage dental professionals to get scanning and familiarise themselves with the wide variety of scanner functions by practicing on team members and then patients. They need to learn how they can use this fantastic tool to maximise their patients’ outcomes – functional, aesthetic and oral health for years to come.

Both Alif Moosajee and Anna Middleton are Philips Ambassadors. Their lecture iTero scanning – why and how? takes place at the BSDHT Annual Conference on Saturday 28th November 2020 at 10:05.

For more information about the BSDHT Conference, please visit https://www5.shocklogic.com/scripts/jmevent/Registration.asp?Client_Id=%27PP%27&Project_Id=%27BSDHT20V%27&System_Id=2

Victoria Wilson hosting 5-week course on how to launch a sustainable oral health promotional project

Dental Therapist and creator of the Smile Revolution podcast series, Victoria Wilson, has developed a new course, supported by Philips, to help dental professionals learn the steps needed to launch a sustainable oral health promotional project in 5 weeks, and the confidence to start a new venture they have mapped out. The five-week course starts from Monday 24th August 2020.

“As a dental profession we continue to treat the most prevalent preventative disease globally,” explained Victoria. “We have so many amazing clinicians, but are limited in our reach through clinical work alone, staying in clinic and this is exactly why Smile Revolution is running the course, to give clinicians insight into opportunities they can explore and develop.

“More recently we are witnessing a very different landscape where many dental professionals are feeling more insecure, worried and vulnerable. I know many hygienists and therapists who have experienced real financial, mental health and professional challenges, and this really urged me to create this course for the profession.”

The course is designed to help dentists, DH&Ts and nurses explore how they can expand their horizons. At the end of the five weeks, participants will have learnt how to create a business proposal and will be ready to launch their project.

“Everyone has aspirations and ideas, and I want to help them ‘think outside the box’, use their working environment and their skillset to allow them to flourish,” Victoria continues. “It is not easy to work on your own so working collaboratively on the course to develop the right business skills should make a tangible difference. To enable delegates to reach this stage, they will be set specific tasks to work towards, and they will be asked to put together a viable sustainable business module with the elements which we will have discussed throughout the weeks.

“For delegates who still wish to be further supported and mentored following the course, I will be there for them to continue to move the project forward. I feel it is my duty as a dental professional to help my peers and I am committed throughout this journey. I want them to run a project that is viable, sustainable and has a measurable impact on oral health.”

The first four people to register for the course will receive a £700 discount. In addition, because Philips understands the need for resources for health promotion, the company is offering all registrants a resource kit which includes a Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4300, practice posters, recommender pads, clinical study information and patient information leaflets.

For more information about the course, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-an-oral-health-promotion-project-business-5-week-course-tickets-107758117430.

Melanie Pomphrett joins Smile Revolution Podcast to talk about transferrable skills for her peers

Melanie Pomphrett qualified in 2015 after studying at the University of Essex and became a dental nurse. Oral hygiene soon became her passion, so, when a year on, the prospect to study for a Masters in Advanced and Specialist Healthcare (Dental Professional Practice) it was too exciting opportunity to turn down. It was reasonably priced course and she could still work full time to fund it since most of the educational sessions were run at weekends.

During a podcast conversation on Smile Revolution, Melanie discusses what the Masters has given her three years down the line, with podcast host Victoria Wilson. She also talks about how important it is to seize as many opportunities as possible to be able to give yourself the flexibility of a different career pathway.

As she explains: “I had no idea where this Masters was going to take me, I had no idea what I was going to be doing in a few years’ time but I knew it was important not to shut any doors. The Masters does not tie me into clinical – it will hopefully open up some doors – and that was my thought process at the time and I think it has paid off. Having a Masters is not going to mean you can start doing more things in practice, but it means that if you want to do something outside of practice, or if you want to really push for something, your voice is a little bit louder if you done further training.”

Melanie goes on to describe the findings of her dissertation about Direct Access, and how she is hoping that her research is going to help her peers achieve prescribing rights.

Throughout the podcast, it becomes evident that Melanie’s passion is not only for oral hygiene and research, but also her desire to instil confidence in her peers, to let them realise – if they have not already – that the work options are endless if they just want to apply themselves and look out for opportunities. She says that if she has been able to achieve so much in such a short time, so can they too! She also talks through the whole cycle of team collaboration and the benefits of it.

Melanie chats about the Dental Nurse Network and how her skills were utilised as a tutor and writing CPD content; how she was also asked to put together online oral health education course for dental nurses, develop tutorials and even a course work book which students could work through.

One element that Melanie expands on is how some course content she worked on includes community work with projects extending to care homes, children centres and scout clubs, which she thoroughly describes as an exciting way of trying to promote oral health not only in surgery and practice but into communities.

She adds: “It is not until you step out of the surgery that you realise that there are people out there, groups – especially vulnerable groups – that just have very little to no awareness about how to maintain their oral health. Sometimes we can look through rose tinted glasses because we see patients who come and see us and can pay and have their treatment done but there is a huge group out there who don’t, and nurses and hygienists are definitely the best people who can help them. I wish I could do a lot more of it. If anyone is interested in oral health promotion, there are jobs out there and they are so rewarding I would recommend them to anybody”.

Melanie also described her work with Philips Oral Healthcare, how she always aspired to work for the company because she loved its products, and how, as a professional educator, she is now able to educate and support her peers with lunch and learn in practices, one to ones with hygienists, nurses and dentists, as well as her work with the BSDHT.

“As hygienists and therapists, we have the theory behind everything, but also the practical side of thing and our dexterity skills. The transferrable skills have become very handy in all the other roles I have done too – the empathy we have for our patients. When I go to a practice now and speak to the teams there, because I have come from a clinical background there is a bit of relatability there because people understand I have come from that background myself. It definitely helps.”

Melanie explains in this podcast how she speaks with a many hygienists who are interested in exploring different avenues but don’t know where to start. She speaks of the trials and errors and about confidence to reach the stage she has and believes it all about believing in yourself. About giving it a go. 5 years from now, Melanie hopes to continue working for Philips Oral Healthcare and continue seeing her patients in practice. She is encouraging her peers to find what works for them.

She concludes: “There are so many opportunities. Find out what other things interest us. We are all brilliant in surgery and we all know we can do our jobs brilliantly. But there are other things out there that hygienists and therapists the can do, contribute to writing, creating content, raising awareness for the public and people who wouldn’t necessarily come through our doors on a day to day basis. Now is the perfect opportunity to explore these avenues because some of us have a bit more time to spare”

For more information about the podcast, visit: www.smile-revolution.net/call-to-action

For more information on Philips Oral Healthcare, visit www.philips.co.uk/dentalprofessional

Philips Oral Healthcare #habits4life campaign returns for 2020

Philips Oral Healthcare is a sponsor of National Smile Month and is reactivating is #habits4life campaign for 2020 due to its success last year. This campaign aims to drive the importance and education around three key oral care habits and create ‘habits4life’ so that, on a daily basis, people can take control of their own oral health with the ultimate aim of living healthier lives.

The three pillars of the campaign are:

  1. Visit your dentist – visiting your dentist regularly helps prevent wider issues for both your oral health and ultimately systemic health
  2. Brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush and floss – taking good care of your oral hygiene ensures a healthier mouth and body
  3. Healthy nutrition (reducing sugar reduces obesity/diabetes risk) and introducing ‘Sugar Swaps’ is recommended as a healthy diet leads to a healthier life

Dr Ben Atkins, President of the Oral Health Foundation, commented: “Philips three pillars dovetail with those of the Oral Health Foundation. I applaud the preventive ethos the company is recommending – that developing habits for life is vital if patients are going to achieve both a reduction in levels of decay and periodontal disease. If this also achieves improved knowledge about the systemic risks associated with poor oral health – so so much the better.

“I am working with Philips on a campaign to drive behavioural change in patients as part of a prevent approach which I believe is not only much more ethical and responsible, but is a far more sustainable model for the profession.”