Lydia in Cambodia.
When a dentist offers high quality restorative and cosmetic procedures, you might think their first consideration at a new patient appointment would be the aesthetics of the patient’s smile. But this would be a misplaced assumption in the case of Lydia Pink, a dentist in south east London for whom prevention is always the priority.
Also high on her agenda of concerns are the teeth of street children in Cambodia where she goes annually to work in a clinic and for which she fund-raises for most of the year, involving her practice and her patients in supporting the trip.
Her commitment to the charitable work and to her preventive approach were both recognised last year when she won the category of Best Young Dentist, London 2008 and then two months later Preventive Dentistry Practice of the Year Award.
Her entry for the award consisted of a portfolio in which she explained how she works at Sparkly Smile, formerly the Blackheath Village Dental Practice. Lydia, who has been qualified for four years, was attracted to the private practice in the first place by its emphasis on hygiene.
She had started off working in the National Health Service in Hertfordshire but after she moved to London with her husband, the 2006 contract kicked in and she found it increasingly difficult to make it work. After initially working two days a week at Sparkly Smile she soon decided this was the way she wanted to work full-time.
Lydia describes the routine: ‘The main aim before we start any treatment is to have a full hour’s comprehensive consultation where we concentrate on hygiene before commencing any cosmetic treatment. We have hygienists working every day and each patient gets an hour with the hygienist and then they are put on a regime where they come either weekly, three monthly or six monthly, depending upon their needs.’
‘The hygienists don’t just clean for that hour, they will educate the patients as well. Usually, they sit for half an hour, if not more, with the patient and show them how to maintain their oral hygiene and control plaque - so mouthwashes are always recommended to the patients whether it be Listerine or other products.’
Lydia continued: ‘Brushing is always number one. But if a patient is struggling with brushing, then a mouthwash is always going to be better than nothing because it will help reduce the plaque build-up. This would especially apply when manual dexterity is not there, for example, if they are an older patient or even a younger patient - there are certain mouthwashes we recommend for children - like Smart Rinse.’’
Treating children and getting them to understand the importance of looking after their teeth is very important to Lydia.
In Cambodia, she is limited by lack of funds. She works at a clinic in Phnom Penh which is run by an Australian dentist who is training some local young women so they can do treatment too.
‘One really difficult issue is that the clinic has no root canal equipment, not even for simple cases. The clinic is forced to pay to send children to the university for root canal treatment and that is draining a lot of their funds.’
Lydia’s ambition is to find the funds for a mobile X-ray unit and endodontic kit, so the clinic can provide the necessary treatment themselves. It would also help to have a regular flow of UK dentists willing to travel to work there for a period.
‘Raman Bedi (the former Chief Dental Officer) has been a real help as he can raise the awareness of these issues and help us achieve permanent funding,’ she said.
On her 2009 trip to Cambodia, Lydia was accompanied by her laboratory technician. The technician taught the local dental assistants to make small appliances, dentures and single tooth dentures, which they can produce in the clinic.
‘We found a lot of the kids attending the clinic lose most of their front teeth and then they find it difficult to get jobs. Having a little single tooth denture will make a lot of difference.’
Once back in England, she reverts to a very different way of working, where patients are highly receptive to prioritising prevention. This is partly due to her commitment to ensuring that patients fully understand the benefits.
Patients need to know that their foundations are good and their gums have to be healthy,’ she says.
Her life is not without its challenges and one is the high expectations of her patients. They are paying good money for modern cosmetic treatment, she says, and they are entitled to expect great results. In terms of managing the working day, it’s team policy to keep communication lines open. There is a morning huddle and regular practice meetings where issues can be ironed out. The dentists also like to undertake the major restorative and cosmetic work in the morning, when they are at their most productive, and this also helps keep stress at bay.
Lydia is very happy being a general dentist and is stimulated by the variation in her working day.
‘As a dentist you don’t get that much relaxation during the day, it is very intense. Compared to working in some practices, however, it is very relaxed here and it is nice to see our support team always greeting patients with a smile!’
Hearing about Lydia’s life in practice, it is surprising to think that she was once torn between dentistry and fashion design. At school she ended up doing two science and art A level and then opted for dentistry just before leaving. First she read physiology and then went on to study dentistry at Guy’s. It was while she was in her last year in 2005 that she first organised and led an overseas trip with two fellow students to join a charitable project in the Far East. They performed 100 extractions and 150 fillings in just two weeks working on trestle tables with only an angle poise lamp for light. For this she won the Cordent Trust Preventative Dentistry Award 2005.
It is clear that Lydia feels contented professionally and well supported by colleagues who want to provide the highest standards of prevention possible. When she does have a quiet moment, she has the welfare of the street children in Cambodia to consider and plan for.