MPs have voted to ban tobacco vending machines and retain the ban on tobacco displays at point of sale.

Tobacco is linked to three quarters of mouth cancer cases and also is a major cause of gum disease.  Mouth cancer kills about one person every five hours in the UK, with about 1,800 dying each year.

It is diagnosed annually in more than 5000 people, an overall rise of 40% in ten years. Mouth cancer usually affects people over 40, though more young people are developing it. People who smoke and drink are 30 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.

Research now suggests that (HPV) transmitted by oral sex could soon rival tobacco and alcohol as the main cause of mouth cancer  

Sunita Verma, Sparkle Dental Boutique says, ”Visually appealing point of sale tobacco displays are a temptation for impulse purchases. Now that there is a ban on tobacco vending machines, this should help keep tobacco out of children’s reach. This in turn will help reduce the number of people who take up smoking and therefore the number of patients with mouth cancer.“

 Source: Dental Tribune 9-15 Nov

White wine stains teeth in the same as red wine, say researchers from the New York University College of Dentistry.

Researchers carried out experiments with cow’s teeth, exposing them to white wine and tea.  They found that the teeth were significantly more stained than when they were exposed to a combination of tea and water. The researchers however, found that red wine still poses the greatest risk to staining of human teeth.  

Two sets of six cows’ teeth were soaked in white wine for an hour before being immersed in black tea. Although stains were deeper with white wine than with water, red wine still caused the darkest stains because of a “highly pigmented” substance called chromogen.  

Sunita Verma from Sparkle Dental Boutique says “For all those wine drinkers (including me!), giving up wine is not the answer. The best way to avoid yellow, stained teeth is through the daily use of a toothpaste which contains a teeth whitening ingredient and professional teeth whitening with a dentist.” 

Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique has been invited by Vicki Treadell, Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai to join a delegation of business women in Mumbai, the commercial and entertainment centre of India. The trip will consist of meeting with business leaders, visits to charities and NGO’s in Mumbai.  

Cherie Blair will be hosting the Cherie Blair Foundation Conference on Friday 11^th December aimed at the empowerment of women.  

Sunita says “It’s a great opportunity to meet some of the leading business leaders in India. I am looking forward to meeting Ms Chanda Kochar, the first woman to head ICICI bank. A visit to the House of Tata will also be a truly amazing experience.”

“Mumbai also houses India’s Hindi film and television industry known as Bollywood and the trip also includes a visit to Yash Raj Studio’s. Yash Chopra the “Godfather of Bollywood” will be hosting this segment of the tour and how amazing to meet the maker of India’s most successful films with stars like Amitabh Bachan and Shahrukh Khan. I am so excited about this element of the trip and am hoping to catch a glimpse of some  Bollywood’s stars at the studios whilst I am there!”

“Mumbai is such a melting pot and a city of 15 million living amongst skyscrapers and slums. With the success of Slumdog Millionaire, I am really keen to be exposed to Mumbai’s slums first hand and part of our delegation will include visits to a few NGO’s. I am sure that this will not only be emotionally challenging but also very rewarding”.  

For Sunita, the opportunity of taking part in events like this, widen her breadth of business experience and she enjoys the fact that the success of her dental practice is enabling her to say “yes” to this kind of opportunity. She is revelling in the opportunity to meet other inspirational people outside of clinical dentistry and see what she can bring back to Sparkle Dental Boutique. 

Winter is upon us and many of us stop smiling, or certainly smile less.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, is a mood disorder where people who normally feel fine throughout most of the year, experience symptoms similar to depression in the winter.

Dr Sunita Verma from Sparkle Dental Boutique, Hanwell says `Some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. When it comes to winter, they feel tired, have little energy and crave sweets and `comfort foods’. There are many different treatments for SAD, ranging from light therapies to anti depression medication’.

Sunita goes on to say `At Sparkle Dental Boutique, we have purposely introduced as much natural lighting into the practice as possible, from light and airy roof windows to floor to ceiling glass doors in the treatment rooms to allow as much brightness in. We also have special lighting throughout the practice to enhance our patients experience.’

Sparkle Dental Boutique also offers many services to keep you smiling through the winter months from professional teeth whitening, to restoring your teeth whether they are crooked, rotated, uneven, long, short or just generally worn.