Studies have previously shown a link between having gum disease and an increased likelihood of suffering from heart disease or a stroke.

However, they have struggled to explain why the conditions are linked until now. Click here to read the article in the Telegraph for more information.

Much publicity has been made of cheap dental treatment available in Eastern Europe. Indeed some advertisements even includes free air travel and accommodation. On the face of it this seems attractive to potential patients. More recently, Hungarian dentists have set up an inflatable surgery in an attempt to further entice British people into cut price treatment.

However, the longer term costs are never taken into account. Time is precious for many people, particularly those in Canary Wharf, and things can go wrong in complex dental treatment if dentists do not have the adequate training or use the correct products.

Now ask yourself, how much would you really save if you had to go back to eastern Europe to ask the dentist to repair any damaged teeth that he originally restored?… Potentially very costly.

Reacting to the Healthcare Commission’s national survey of 69,000 people’s experience of primary care services, (including access to dentists), published today, Susie Sanderson, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Executive Board, said:

“Today the Government has received yet another powerful message about the state of NHS dentistry.

“The concern highlighted by the Healthcare Commission is that real problems for patients could be being stored up for the future. It’s vital that urgent action is taken to tackle the flaws in the current NHS arrangements for dentistry, recently criticised so emphatically by the Health Select Committee.”

More and more patients are converting to private dental services as they are becoming increasingly frustrated with the accessibility of NHS practices, particularly in Canary Wharf. In addition, the actual treatments that are available on the NHS are becoming more and more restricted.

Currently we are accepting new patients at Waterside Dental Health, but places are limited, so please call 0207 987 1212 to arrange an appointment. Look after your smile, and your health!”

Earlier this month in an unprecedented U-turn the US Government’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dropped much of its reassuring language on amalgam fillings from its website. It now states that “dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous system of developing children and foetuses” (Source: Independent on Sunday, June 2008)

Mercury is placed in tens of millions of teeth worldwide each year, and the British Dental Association (BDA) insists that it is “safe, durable and cost effective and does not pose a threat to systemic disease”.

It is important to realise that any arguably negative effects of these fillings have not been proven. In Canary Wharf there are thousands of Americans who regard US FDA rulings as gold standards and, at Waterside Dental Health, we certainly take these views very seriously. All of our clinicians are happy to address any concerns our patients have on this matter. We also have the benefit of a number of alternatives including CEREC inlays, a state of the art technology.

Even the BDA now says that the alternatives “have improved over time” adding: “Trends towards greater use of these materials imply that there is to be a sustained reduction in the use of dental amalgam”