Dr Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique was asked to speak at the Young Dentist Conference 2010 at the Royal College of Physicians 2010 on Saturday 13 February, sponsored by Dental Protection, the BDA and BDJ.

The Conference was aimed at the needs of dentists in the early years of their career and Sunita was asked to speak in the `Finding Your Niche’ session and share her experience of how a young clinician can open a private practice and find their niche within the current economic climate. 

Sunita says “It is the first time that I have been asked to speak at a conference and the thought was a bit daunting, but the idea of delivering thought provoking ideas, facts and practical tips to young dentists was greatly appealing. When I bought my practice, there was little help and advice for me and since then dentistry in the UK has gone through a huge change presenting a whole new set of challenges for young dentists today.”  

“Speaking to a full house of 300 young dentists certainly caused a few butterflies in the stomach but what a great experience. My own Vocational Trainer, Dr Kooner who I started my career with was also at the event and it was great to have gone full circle.”  

“Would I do it again? Public speaking and making a presentation is a skill that we do not normally have as dentists. This has been a great opportunity to share my experience and with a bit more practice, I’d certainly take up the gauntlet again.”

Maintaining good oral health could help keep thinking skills intact in the ageing population, according to an American study.

Researchers from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York claim that gum disease can influence the functioning of the brain through causing inflammation in the body, which they claim can be a risk factor in the loss of good mental functioning. 

The study which was based on adults aged 60 and above found that those with serious gum disease were three times more like to have trouble recalling a three word sequence after a specified period of time.

The research project also found that adults with the highest levels of the pathogen which causes gum disease were two times more likely to fail three digit reverse subtraction tests. They were also nearly three times more likely to struggle with verbal memory tests and twice as likely to fail on verbal recall and subtraction tests.  

The study which was reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, was based on more than 2,350 men and women who were tested for periodontitis and completed numerous thinking skills tests as part of a national survey.    

Source: Dental Tribune Dec 2009

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.”

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.