The Educational Supervisor: I qualified from Leeds Dental Institute in 2013 and moved to Norwich for my DFT year, followed by a year in the NNUH Maxillofacial department as a DCT. I joined the Special Care Dental services in 2015 where I have been since. I completed my PGCert in Dental Education during my second maternity leave in 2021 – a very busy year indeed! My interest in teaching started in my university years and I am excited to support a new Therapist to encourage all of their skills and enjoy practicing the full breadth of their scope. Therapists are an integral part of the Special Care Service pathway and at the forefront of my aims for the year is to work together with the FDT to hone their skills, build their confidence and knowledge and optimise competency. Our close knit practice is a nurturing environment with an abundance of experience and knowledge to allow the FDT to flourish in all of these areas. I enjoy a holistic approach to dentistry and the variety of challenges working in a Special Care Service provides; medically compromised patients, those with additional needs, general anaesthetics and sedation, phobias and my personal area of interest, paediatrics and treatment of anxious children. I live in Norwich with my husband and 2 and 1 year old, outside of work you will normally find the four of us on the Norfolk Coast or searching for cafes with good coffee and snacks!
The Practice: The Siskin Dental Centre is one of seven within our Norfolk and Waveney group of practices forming part the Community Dental Services team operating from all around the country, and we provide NHS treatment. All surgeries are fully equipped and each has digital intraoral radiograph facilities with an OPG machine on site. We have on site car-parking space and central sterilisation sent to our Lowestoft clinic. Treatment is provided to a variety of adults and children who are unable to access general dental care due to medical, social, mental health or additional needs. We see regular patients, new referrals and one off courses of treatment where we stabilise the oral health and discharge back to GDP to continue care. Along with our dentists, clinicians include a Specialist in Special Care, Oral Health Educators and 2 Therapists who are highly skilled and experienced in all that working in a Special Care service brings; they provide the full scope of their treatment skills on a daily basis. The practice is a 3 chair practice located in a community hospital close to the centre of the city but also close to amenities a short walking distance away. All clinical staff are ILS trained and regular OHE clinics support the Therapists to carry out as much treatment as possible. We run inhalation sedation appointments daily as well as regular intravenous sedation clinics and general anaesthetic lists for our patients which the DTFT can learn more about during their year with us.
The Area: Norwich is a safe, vibrant, and exciting city with a variety of cafes, high end restaurants, bars, museums, independent shops and live music venues all around. There are several areas with nightlife as well as multiple shopping centres allowing plenty to do in the day and night. Once out of Norwich you have access to the beautiful Norfolk Broads and Coast where you can take up a variety of activities such as sailing, cycling, climbing, walking and many more. All of this is easily accessible by car, bus or train from Norwich. If you would like to travel further afield to Cambridge or London, there are frequent trains running all days of the week.
Other Points of Interest: Within the Norfolk and Waveney group, we have fortnightly clinical team meetings to discuss interesting cases, improvements to the service and changes in policies. We meet quarterly for full team meetings which are a sociable and learning opportunity for all staff, including non-clinical. We would encourage the FDT to take part in these during the foundation year.
We are a caring, supportive and encouraging group and we are excited to welcome a new member to our team!