Member Article

Billingham dental practice up for double national award

A leading Teesside dental practice is enjoying a brush with success after being shortlisted for two categories in prestigious industry awards.

Billingham-based Identity Individual Dental Care is hoping judges will agree it is ‘smiles’ better than rival dentists when staff attend the Dental Hygiene and Therapy Awards at the Barbican in London on Friday (January 24).

While the Wolviston Road surgery itself is shortlisted as the UK’s Best Preventative Dental Practice, hygienist Gill Fenwick is hoping to get her teeth into an award for a second successive year.

Having won the Heart Your Smile award at last year’s ceremony, highly experienced Gill has now been shortlisted as the UK’s Best Dental Hygienist.

While she would love to be a double winner, Gill believes both she and the practice should be proud of their recognition whatever happens as the judges are her fellow dental professionals.

“To be recognised in this way by our peers, our fellow hygiene professionals and dentists, makes our shortlisting highly prestigious,” said the former Newcastle Dental Hospital graduate. “It’s a great accolade just to be in with a chance. It would mean the world if we won both awards!

“I was over the moon to win last year, especially as it was the first I’d ever gone for. I was surprised and delighted but to be named the UK’s best hygienist would undoubtedly be the highlight of my career.”

Practice owner James Robson launched Identity three years ago after taking over an existing practice and immediately set about making it into a positive community asset, updating the surgery, building a new sterilisation room and encouraging his team to achieve all they are capable of.

“Too many people wait until they have a raging toothache before getting in touch with their dentist, but we’re a preventative practice,” said Gill. “James is passionate about educating our patients, about making them aware of how good oral hygiene can prevent not only problems with their teeth and gums but with their general health too.”

Having achieved British Dental Association qualifications in radiography last year, Gill was nominated for the award by practice manager Niki Boersma, who said: “Gill always puts her patients first. She has such a caring nature towards her patients and is constantly passing on her knowledge to help them look after their teeth and gums so they are better equipped to lead a healthier lifestyle.

“At Identity, we all take continual professional development seriously but Gill has such passion and enthusiasm for dentistry and regularly goes out of her way to help other staff.”

After winning last year’s Heart Your Smile award, Gill became an ambassador for the Heart Your Smile dental charity, a campaign dedicated to celebrating the dental profession and changing the public’s perception of dentistry.

She now actively promotes the importance of oral hygiene to the local community, forming a referral system with local stop smoking and diabetes support groups.

Identity are focused on raising awareness of the effects poor oral health can have on general health. “We’re focused on giving as much advice and information as possible to vulnerable groups because many diabetic and cardiac patients are unaware of the links between their medical condition and poor oral health,” added Gill, who has also taken stop smoking intermediate adviser training with North Tees University Hospital. “Equally, many patients don’t realise that if their oral hygiene is poor it can have a negative effect on their heart health.”

To celebrate their double award nomination, Identity is offering a free dental health check to the first 20 new patients booking a Friday appointment during February. Half-price dental health checks are also available on Fridays until the end of March.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dave Allan Communications .