It’s that time again when Dentistry magazine launch their shortlist for the Dentistry Top 50 awards. 

This poll is open to all readers of Dentistry magazine and users of Dentistry.co.uk. Readers are asked to consider who they think are the most influential people in the UK dental profession whether it be colleagues, tutors, association leaders, political figures, media analysts or whoever and we are pleased to confirm that Dr Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique has been shortlisted once again.  

Sunita says “I’m very surprised to be shortlisted. It’s a great honour to even be considered amongst such people who are changing the face of dentistry in the UK.”

At Sparkle Dental Boutique, we are now able to remind you of your dental appointments by text.  

If you do not have a mobile phone, don’t worry as your text message will be delivered via BT to your normal landline in a voice format. 

You will receive a notification from us about your appointment, 48 hours before your appointment time. If you unable to attend your appointment, then please let us know immediately so that we can offer the appointment to someone who may be waiting to be seen urgently.   

Please note, a charge will be made for late cancellations and failed appointments.  

The latest Oral B Smile Report, a study of 2000 participants across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in August 2009, has found that while its no surprise that people make judgements based on initial impressions, it’s a persons smile and teeth which can prompt intuitive views about their lifestyle.  

The report reveals that

• Bad teeth can age you by 13 years

• 82% think you earn more if you have healthy looking teeth

• Men rank a gorgeous smile higher than a great figure

• 40% of men think women with unhealthy teeth must be single

The major study took a group of 1000 men and women and showed them an image of a woman with clean looking teeth. A different group of 1000 men and women were shown an image of the same woman, but in this picture, she had stained teeth.  Both groups were asked the same questions based on the photograph they had seen, with these results.  

Sunita Verma, Principal from Sparkle Dental Boutique says “You can tell a lot about a person through their smile. When we make cosmetic improvements to our patients smiles, we see a dramatic change in confidence, with many patients changing jobs, looking for a new relationships or just trying something totally new.”

Sunita Verma with Cherie Blair at the Women of the Future Awards in Mumbai 

Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique has just returned from Mumbai, where she attended the Women of the Future Awards.

The evening was hosted by Vicki Treadell, British deputy high commissioner of Mumbai, Pinky Lilani OBE, chairman of the Women of the Future Awards and Cherie Blair, awards patron. The event was part of a whole programme of events organised by Vicki, for women in business in the UK to meet with business leaders in Mumbai and visit charities and NGO’s.

Sunita says, ”Winning Professional of the Year at the Women of Achievements Awards in 2009, has opened up a whole host of opportunities, this trip being one of them. I had the opportunity to meet with some amazing, inspirational women from both the UK and from India. It is great to celebrate such talent and to establish a mutually supportive network of fantastic women.”

“Being a major Bollywood fan, one of the things that I was looking forward to most was the visit to Yash Raj studios, where they make Bollywood films. Sadly there was no film shooting during our visit…but I managed to catch up on all Bollywood gossip.”

NOW stands for National Orthodontic Week and the first NOW will be celebrated during the week of 22 - 28 March 2010. Orthodontics is a special kind of dentistry concerned with the growth of the teeth, jaws and face. 

Nearly one million people of all ages started having orthodontic treatment last year in the UK.  Orthodontic treatment is about making the best of your teeth; it’s about improving the harmony of your mouth and jaws. Once you can bite together correctly, you can eat more comfortably and care for your teeth and gums more easily.  Orthodontics is all about creating a natural, healthy smile.   

Braces work to create a stunning smile. They can improve dental health and function. Overcrowded or crooked teeth are harder to brush and floss, and improper cleaning can lead to tooth decay and gum problems. Orthodontic treatment can also correct bite problems. If left untreated, bite problems can cause teeth to wear down or cause difficulty in chewing.

During NOW, Sparkle Dental Boutique will be will be organising a series of events and special offers to celebrate orthodontics, so do check back on our website at www.sparkledental.co.uk for more details.

I promise to  

• Thoroughly brush my teeth twice daily.

• Use an antibacterial mouthwash to control plaque and prevent gum disease.

• Reduce the amount of sugary things I eat, particularly chocolate!

• Use floss once a day to remove plaque from between my teeth.

• Make an appointment at least once a year to see my dentist.

• Finally, get over my embarrassment about my teeth and make an appointment to get a perfect smile.

• Kick my smoking habit for good and then get my teeth whitened.

• Visit my hygienist twice a year so that she can help me look after my teeth and gums.

• Transform my very crooked teeth by wearing braces.  

• Eat more fruits and vegetables each day.

When a patient asks about options for improving their overall smile, particularly when their teeth are crooked, they have two options: the option of porcelain veneers or the option of orthodontics (braces).      

Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique says, “Sometimes patients are reluctant to have orthodontic treatment assuming that they are too old for braces, or that orthodontics are only for children or that they will have to wear braces for a number of years. This is simply not true!”  

“We offer a new procedure offered at Sparkle Dental Boutique called short term orthodontics (STO). With STO, we can give our patients the smiles that they desire through simple orthodontic tooth movement. The simple treatment philosophy is that if teeth are in the wrong position, move them!”

Many types of tooth movement can be easily and safely accomplished in about six months, using orthodontic brackets and wires. 

STO overcomes the two main obstacles that prevent adults from accepting orthodontic treatment, that is treatment time (within the range of 4-9 months) and the appearance of the brackets and wires. STO also allow quick and more predictable tooth movements.  

Sunita says, “The case shown above was treated within 5 months using a functional brace and clear braces. Once we had corrected the tooth position, we then whitened the teeth and finally conservatively treated the tooth using a technique called cosmetic bonding, to give a very aesthetically pleasing result.”   

Source: Short Term Orthodontics: The Cosmetic Dilemma, Dr R Swain Dentistry 10 December 2009

and the thought of you under it that sets

my heart a glow.

Or it could be the thought of holding you

amidst the falling snow.

Holding hands and laughing like children,

tasting the candy cane on our lips.

Sweet as grandma’s pumpkin pie

it can get no better than this,

sharing our hearts in love

this holiday

lost in a christmas kiss.

Scott Allen Waters

Smile Quotes

• Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. - Mark Twain

• And through the tears, we’ll smile when we recall, we had it all for just a moment. - St. Elmo’s Fire

• No smile is as beautiful as the one that struggles through the tears. Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened. - Sarah Ackerman

• You should never frown. Even when you’re sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

• A smile is a light in the window of the soul, indicating that the heart is at home.

• Smile, it’s the second best thing one can do with one’s lips.

• Brighten the world with your smile.

• A smile costs nothing, but gives much.

• A smile is a little curve that sets a lot of things straight.

• Smiles are free: don’t save them.

• Smile, it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to.

• What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. - Joseph Addison

• A smile can open a heart faster than a key can open a door.

• Smiling makes you feel better about yourself, even if you don’t feel like it. - Lauraine Snelling

• Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.