All smiles for 2,000 more NHS patients
AN EXTRA 2,000 NHS patients are able to have their teeth treated after the expansion of a dental surgery.
Sneyd Green Dental Practice has hired an extra dentist, exclusively to treat new patients, along with two more nurses.
The practice in Hanley Road currently cares for the dental needs of about 12,000 patients and has invested £150,000 in the expansion to allow it to treat more people.
The new dentist will examine the teeth of 30 new patients a day.
Principal dentist, Dr Shaun Edwards, said: "We are about to take on an extra 2,000 patients. We've taken on a new dentist who will be exclusively treating NHS patients.
"We have now got four NHS dentists working full time, which I think makes us the biggest in the area.
"We have just put £150,000 into the practice to extend the building and to improve the computerisation. We have also had to invest heavily in sterilisation of equipment – we are now at the same level as a hospital.
"We have also taken on extra staff including two new nurses."
Back in February, Sneyd Green Dental Practice advertised for extra NHS patients after seeing a lull in numbers. At that time the practice had 8,000 NHS patients on the books and room for 2,000 more.
Now its three established dentists are treating up to 50 NHS patients per day as total patient numbers have swelled to 12,000.
New dentist Dr Pirooz Pirooznia started at Sneyd Green Dental Practice last month.
Dr Pirooznia, aged 27, who had been working in Germany before moving to Stoke, said: "Most of the patients have not been to a dentists for a long time. Many come for check-ups, some because of pain.
"It is people who have not been registered with an NHS dentist for a long time.
"Teeth are generally in better condition in Germany, but that is only because there, people come for a check-up every six months. In Stoke-on-Trent, it seems a lot of people have had trouble finding an NHS dentist. If people come for a check-up every six months, soon teeth will be as good as in Germany."
NHS Stoke-on-Trent is investing heavily in providing more NHS dentist spaces. Earlier this year, health officials announced plans to pump £1.3 million into creating two new dental practices in areas of Stoke-on-Trent with the worst tooth decay.
A spokesman for the primary care trust said: "NHS Stoke-on-Trent is committed to improving access to NHS dental services for local people.
"Alchemy Dental Practice in Shelton which opened in November 2008 has taken on around 5,500 new NHS patients.
"We are supporting two existing practices, Boulevard Dental Practice in Tunstall and Smallthorne Family Dental Practice, to move into purpose built premises in 2009/10 which will allow approximately 5,600 more patients to be seen.
"And we are supporting Shelton Dental Centre which will allow them to take on an additional 3,000 people.
"Finally, the PCT is going out to tender in 2009/10 for two new practices to cover the council wards of Hartshill and Penkhull and Stoke and Trent Vale, and another to cover Bentilee and Townsend and Berryhill and Hanley East."
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