We celebrated our 15th birthday in style on the 6th December with a packed reception enjoying glasses of English Fizz from Kingscote, Denbies and Balfour winerys and food from Papa Ciccia's in Fulham. It was so nice to see patients who have been with us from the very beginning, new clients and new businesses from Fulham High Street attending.

Our charity raffle was a great success with the winners of some great prizes announced including ZOOM in surgery whitening, take home tooth whitening kits, Oral B electric toothbrushes, a Christmas hamper donated by our neighbour Dr Espresso, a case of High Water hard seltzer donated by the owner and one of our patients, Waterpik air floss units, bottles of English Sparkling wine and beer from Exeter Brewery! Phew, what a list. We managed to raise over £3000 for Alzheimer's Society, a brilliant team effort for a wonderful cause. 

What a journey it has been. Here's to another 15 years, cheers!
 

Peri implantitis is becoming a major issue for dental implants and it is important to be aware of this when embarking on implant treatment to replace missing teeth. The term relates to a number of factors around implants but the main issues are:

1. Inflammation of the surrounding mucosa ( gum )

2. Increased pocket depths around the dental implant

3. Bleeding on probing

4. Suppuration ( pus oozing from the tissues)

5. Loss of bone around the implant either in a horizontal , vertical or both directions. 

This differs from peri implant mucositis where there is bleeding on probing, possible swelling and inflammation and increase in pocket depths BUT there is NO loss of bone around the implants. Peri implant mucositis is reversible but peri implantitis is irreversible. Diagnosis is essential and the earlier the treatment, the better the diagnosis. Often, the disease may go un noticed, very much like gum disease, but once symptoms develop it is often too late to prevent bone loss. It is essential that regular dental and hygiene visits are maintained after dental implant treatments so that any problems can be spotted at an early stage. In general, we would advise twice yearly appointments or quarterly hygiene appointments if there has been past gum disease present.
 

We are delighted to announce that Dr Nissit Patel was a finalist for Practice Principal of the Year for London at this years Private Dentistry Awards 2023. The Private Dentistry Awards is held every year in December to showcase the very best in private dental care throughout the UK. To be nominated as a finalist is a great achievement and testament to the dedication of all of the staff at the practice; after all it is all about the team. 

There was also cause for a double celebration with November marking 14 years as Practice Principal for Dr Nissit Patel. In 2009 the practice was barely open with a dilapidated premises, run on paper and with a poor reputation within the local community. The changes could not be more drastic with improvements made every year. We now boast a modern, fully digital practice with the latest technology including both types of dental laser, CBCT scanner, 2 intra oral scanners, surgical microscope, surgical ultrasonic and much more. Our team consists of two dentists, four dental hygiene/therapists, an endodontist, specialist Maxillofacial Surgeon, facial aesthetics medical practitioner and of course, our amazing Practice Manager and assistants. We're planning further investment and improvements for 2024, so watch this space! Stay tuned for exciting updates at our dental practice in Fulham.

Our case of the month is one which involves our amazing Waterlase i Plus laser. This laser has a multitude of benefits and one of those is removing composite restorations and tooth decay without having to use a drill. For some patients, the dental drill is a dreaded object which fills them with dread and fear. For others, there may a medical issue at hand such as tinnitus which may be made worse by the vibrations of the drill. In these cases, the Waterlase i Plus laser could be the answer.