We are celebrating the news that we have retained our Investors in People (IIP) status and achieved an additional recognition by securing a Silver Award, placing our practice in a small minority of organisations in the country to achieve this feat.

Investors in People is a nationally recognised standard awarded to organisations that show excellent people management leading to improved business performance.

The Silver status was awarded to us after a day of intense assessment involving a random sample of staff within the practice and covering things such as communications, learning and development, and continuous improvement.

To enable us to achieve this level of accreditation we were assessed against the Investors in People profile framework of good practice. This framework provides further challenges for Smile Essential by looking beyond the standard Investors In People framework. This gives us an indication of how good we are in certain areas and what areas we need to focus on to improve our People Management.

Niket Patel said, “I’d like to thank everyone within Smile Essential for helping us achieve this positive accolade. It’s an excellent acknowledgement of our developing ‘people first’ culture and our ongoing commitment to learning and continuous improvement.

Today is the final day of National Smile Month 2016. National Smile Month is a month long campaign designed to create better public awareness about oral health. There are 3 main messages the campaign promotes.

• Brush your teeth last thing at night and on at least one other occasion with a fluoride toothpaste.

• Cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks.

• Visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend.

If we are honest, maintaining a good level of oral health is a straight forward task. Many of us already know what’s required to keep our teeth in tip top condition. But we still choose to ignore the most basic day-to-day hygiene routines and put our health at risk.

A shocking number of people brush for less than two minutes, our diet as a nation has become over-reliant on added sugars while millions of us haven’t seen a dentist in the last two years.

Consequences of the above over a long period of time, often leads to unnecessary, invasive and expensive treatment.  Most people aren’t aware of the direct impact our oral health problems can cause such as gum disease and tooth decay while the repercussions of poor oral health go further than our mouth.

Over the recent years more evidence has been gathered suggesting that poor oral health also puts you at an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, dementia, complications during pregnancy and male sexual health problems are just a few of the likely outcomes of not looking after our teeth. Now that should have you running to to grab your toothbrush!

Your oral health

Brush twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste

Clean in-between your teeth once daily with floss or interdental brushes

Visit your dentist regularly

Chew sugar-free gum after eating or drinking, especially sugary foods, to help protect your teeth and gums in between meals.

Wait an hour after eating or drinking anything before brushing as then enamel will be softened and you could be brushing away tiny particles.

Avoid snacking and try to only have sugary foods and drinks at mealtimes, reducing the time your teeth come under attack.

Your childs oral health

Brush your child’s teeth as soon as they appear with a toothpaste appropriate for their age.

Help your child to brush their teeth until they are at least seven.

Take your child to the dentist early, as soon as their teeth start to appear, this will help them get used to the sights, sounds and smells of a dental practice.

Use a timer or brush a long to a song to ensure your children are brushing for the correct amount of time.

Using a reward chart to track your children’s brushing habits and get them actively involved in brushing their teeth.

Using disclosing tablets are a great way to show areas of your children’s mouth which may need better brushing.

Arrange a dental health check today by clicking here…

Smile Essential dental practice has been recognised once again for outstanding customer service with an award for excellent customer service by healthcare search engine WhatClinic.com, based on feedback by customers over a twelve month period.

Smile Essential dental practice based in Leicester has been awarded this consecutively for the past several years. The award is based on feedback from patients, and combines scores for excellent customer service and timely consumer feedback. Customers rated clinics based on how well the clinic treated them, how quickly they were contacted and seen, and how happy they were with the treatment.

Dr Niket Patel today said; “We are delighted to be recognised once again for our commitment to customer service. As one of Leicester’s leading dental practices, it is something we focus on in everything we do and to receive such positive feedback from our patients is great…”

WhatClinic.com CEO Caelen King congratulated Smile Essential dental practice and said “This is the 7th year we have run these awards. Every year, the standard goes up and up – and I’m delighted to recognise those clinics that are putting the needs of the patient first, every single day.

“It’s the customer who selects our awards winners, by their clinic ratings and the feedback they leave about service and experience. We believe that empowering the patient with accurate information is the future of a successful healthcare market.”

To read more on our caring approach please click here.