Monthly Archives: July 2012

High Street Dental – a stunning example of making a difference

Every so often, you meet what I refer to as ‘stand-out’ people.

Jaspal Sandhu is one of them.

You already know I’m sure about the many awards he’s received. What you may not know is that Jas truly leverages his giving so that his team AND his patients are involved in making a difference too.

We’re so thrilled to have Jas and the High Street Dental team as part of B1G1. Through this platform alone, Jas has given:

2,500 square meters of rainforest protection
1,330 people access to clean water for a day
1,014 people medical support for one day and ……
1,000 dollars to support NGO’s activities

But even more than that, Jas has personally encouraged other members of the profession to do the same. He’s a stunning example of leadership in action and leadership with enormous compassion.

We’re thrilled we know him.

Wild Swimming

I love the outdoor life, and I love keeping fit, so when I can, I try and mix the two together.
Recently I have discovered wild swimming. It was mentioned to me by a good friend of mine, and I thought why not!!

I’ve never really been a fan of swimming, especially in leisure pools, so the idea of swimming outdoors in rivers, lakes and the open sea appealed to me, and you don’t have to ever worry about bleary stinging chlorine eyes ever again!!

There’s nothing quite like the freedom of a huge expanse of water. The water is bracing at first, and obviously most of the year you will need to wear a wetsuit, and if you want to continue all year around, boots, socks, gloves and hats!! (all available in wetsuit material of course).

The great thing I that it’s FREE!! It’s therapeutic, it washes away (no pun intended!) all the stresses and strains of daily life. Gliding through that open water, you look around you and take in that natural beauty around you. You feel invigorated, happy, healthy and full of life.

I recommend it, so go on find your inner spirit and give it a go, what have you got to lose.

Look up www.wildswimming.com to find out about magical locations across the UK and beyond. Life is what you make it after all!

Oral Cancer

Cancer. Why is it that so many of us dare even speaking this word aloud? It’s almost as if we think that we’ll become a victim if we say it. After all, cancer is NOT contagious.*

Perhaps it should be referred to as ‘The Disease That Shall Not Be Named.’

The good news. Cancer detection is improving all the time. Treatments have advanced so much that many forms of cancer, which would once have considered to be fatal, can now be treated, with very high survival rates.

But what about mouth cancer. Here are some facts:

This year, 6000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with mouth cancer.
Without early detection, half will die.
Mouth cancers often don’t present with any symptoms at early stages.
But, early detection improves survival chances to 90%.

As dentists, we are ideally suited to screen for signs of mouth cancer. We perform a full screen on all of our members at regular intervals. And the even better news is that we have now invested in a Velscope early detection tool.

The Velscope system has been officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an innovative device that addresses global health concerns and is the only dental product recognised.

With a Velscope, a blue light fluoresces the tissues of your mouth which allows us to see diseases not visible with the naked eye. It helps us to discover oral diseases before they can be seen under normal light.

There are no rinses or dyes involved. The whole procedure only takes a few minutes.

So, from now on, we will be using the Velscope regularly for our practice members.

But, what if you’re not a member? Just give us a call and we’ll happily give your mouth a full screen for the signs of any disease, including cancer. We can give you dietary advice and brochures with much more information about the causes of mouth cancer and how best to try to minimise the risks.

And how much will this cost? Nothing! This one’s on us. Of course, if you want to, you can donate to the charities that we are currently supporting.

* Cancer.org