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Friday 30 December 2011

Movie Recommendations.

I've taken the opportunity to catch up on some films this week, two in the cinema and one on Blu Ray.


My cinema choices are:


Sherlock Holmes: The Game of Shadows.



My second cinema visit is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. This is brilliant but be warned it is graphic and it lives up to its 18 certificate.



Finally on Blu Ray I caught up with Inception. I saw this in the cinema last year and it was brilliant. It lives up to a second viewing and it looks stunning in Blu Ray.


A walk along Dawlish Warren

Yesterday, Barney the dog came to visit. I decided to take him out for an early walk, so we took a long walk along the sand dunes and the nature reserve at Dawlish Warren.


The weather forecast was a bit dodgy, high winds were due and a storm was brewing.


We went for a walk along the sand dunes and I managed to get these photographs.


I think they show the calm before the storm arrived.





Thursday 8 December 2011

Winter Whitening!

How would you like a brighter, whiter smile? 


The Spicer Road Dental Practice has an amazing offer on tooth whitening this December. 


We are offering tooth whitening at the amazing price of £260, a seasonal reduction of £100 on our usual price!


Interested?


Contact or reception team for an appointment and a brighter smile could be yours! Our telephone number is 01392 272408.





Monday 5 December 2011

The retirement of a Welsh Great

Saturday marked the final game of Shane Williams' illustrious rugby career. Fittingly, his last game was in Cardiff, and with the final move of the game he scored his final try.


Thursday 10 November 2011

November is Mouth Cancer Action Month, here are some facts you may not know!




If in doubt get it checked out

Here is a headline fact that may shock you, one person in the UK dies from mouth cancer every five hours, mouth cancer kills more people than cervical cancer and testicular cancers combined. Surprising or what?
Over the past decade, cases of mouth cancer have risen by 41% and a lack of public awareness has been highlighted as a major contributing factor for this increase. Many people aren’t sure of the symptoms and may aren’t even aware of the existence of mouth cancer at all! An early diagnosis improves survival chances to more 90%. However many cases of mouth cancer are detected at a late stage, reducing the chances of survival.
So what can you do detect a mouth cancer. Regular dental health checks will help. At the Spicer Road Dental Practice we always check our patients for signs of mouth cancer at every six monthly dental health check. We check our patient lips, cheeks, tongue roof and floor of their mouths for ulcers, red or white patches or unusual lumps or swelling. 
What puts you at risk of mouth cancer? 75% of cases are linked to tobacco use or excess alcohol consumption. People who both drink and smoke are up to 30 times more likely to develop the condition. Poor diet is linked to about a third of cases, eating five portions of fruit or vegetables help to reduce your risk. The risk of developing mouth cancer increases with age, most cases affect people over 40 years of age, however an increasing number of young people are developing the condition.
The most important thing to remember is that early diagnosis of mouth cancer can save your life. If you have a lump, swelling or ulcer does not heal within three weeks consult a dentist and get the area checked out.
For more information visit www.mouthcancer.org .
If in doubt get it checked out!


Monday 24 October 2011

Mouthguards, Why we dentists think they are important.

Half term is here and it possible that many of our patient's have taken up a new sport at school.


Protect your smile, it is the only one you have, and to damage it would be devastating. It will also mean you may need many years of work to repair your smile.


Here's a poster that we are displaying at our dental practice.


Prices for a custom fitted mouthuard start from £59.

For appointments contact our reception team on 01392 272408, or visit our website.

Thursday 6 October 2011

Steve Jobs RIP.

Listening to the radio last night I heard the tragic news that Steve Jobs former visionary CEO of Apple had died, after a long battle with cancer.


As a convert to Apple three years ago, I was just thinking of his impact on the world that he has had in the last 10 years. He certainly changed the way we listen to music via the iPod and iTunes store. I've had two MP3 players on the last six years and now have 4150 tracks stored on my iPod. Weirdly, I don't listen to albums on this any more, it is set to random play and it is cool when a half forgotten track is dug out of the deepest darkest corner of its hard drive and brings back a memory of time or place. 


Then along came the iPhone, not just a phone on which you could talk and text but via the millions of available Apps your could access your emails, the internet as full web pages, Facebook and twitter and many other things that took your fancy. I wouldn't leave home without it!


Finally I'm sitting typing this on my iMac, now 3.5 years old. Initially a steep learning curve because things were so different when compared to my windows PC. Now things are easy, 95% of the time it just works. To be honest with you if I had a 3.5 year old PC I'd want to throw it out the window because it would be so buggy and stroppy, my mac definitely isn't this.


In the end all the products were beautifully designed and gave us what we wanted, stylish products that worked!


Saturday 24 September 2011

If you want something to change, MAKE IT FUN!

How to change people's behaviour. Make it FUN!


I saw this at a course this week and thought it was great!



Just something to think about!

Monday 19 September 2011

More films to recommend!

Just would like to recommend a couple of films I had the chance to see last week.


First up, The Guard. I loved this film, funniest film I've seen in a while and worth a look at either at your small local cinema or on DVD in a couple of months. How can I describe this, Brendan Gleeson plays a policeman in the West of Ireland, his patch is invaded by some drug dealers and he is partnered with an FBI agent played by Don Cheadle. If I described this as Father Ted mashed up with the Bad Lieutenant, you wouldn't be far wrong. I'll post the trailer and I hope it isn't to sweary.


Next on Saturday, I got to see Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy. One word can some up this film - brilliant! An acting tour de force by the elite of British actors. Gary Oldman and Benedict Cumerbatch are outstanding. If this film isn't nominated for Baftas or Oscars I don't know what will be! Don't miss it!


Tuesday 6 September 2011

A Grand Day Out

Last weekend, my sister and niece visited, it was absolutely great to see them both. The weather even obliged and was pretty good, Friday was warm and sunny, Saturday dawned a bit foggy but brightened up as the day went on.


Friday, we had a BBQ at home then went for a walk down to Exeter Quay. My niece was convinced we had visited Cardiff Bay but we managed to correct her.




On Saturday, Barney the dog visited and we took a trip to Simouth, first to the Donkey Sanctuary and then into Sidmouth. We had a great day out, Barney happily walked with us constantly checking his pack was ok, I reckon he walked 2-3 miles on the day. Sidmouth was lovely, really picturesque, and the fog even started to lift as the day went on!







Monday 15 August 2011

Chris and Annie's Kili Climb

Two people I know, Chris Barrow and Annie Bradley are attempting to climb Mt Kilimanjaro next week. They are raising money for Bridge 2 Aid. 


If you feel like donating, you can do so here, please be generous.



Tuesday 9 August 2011

Barney the Dog visits, some new photographs.

It was nice to have Barney our Dachshund on the weekend, here are some photographs of the little guy.





Tuesday 26 July 2011

Spicer Road Dental Practice has a Facebook Page



As one of the partners at the Spicer Road Dental Practice I thought I should let you know that we have a Facebook page.


You can find it here.


Why don't you come over and like us?

Sunday 24 July 2011

Some movies I'd like to recommend.

After not going to the cinema for quite a while, here are some recommendations for films I've seen recently.


First I'd like to recommend Senna. a documentary about the racing career and the ultimate death of Ayrton Senna, the great grand prix driver. This a superb film, it had a limited cinema release but if you can see it on the big screen, do so, its superb big screen experience. It is told via a series of clips of races, interviews and film of Senna released by his family. Even if you don't like Formula 1 it is still worth seeing. Hearing the sound effects and the noise of the crashes are shocking! Here is a clip of the trailer.



Next I'd like to recommend X-Men First Class. This is a reboot and return to form of the X-Men franchise. This is done in a similar way to the Star Trek Film directed by JJ Abrams. Really enjoyed this after the disappointment of X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins- Wolverine. Great effects and a good cast, particularly Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Very cool visuals, reminiscent of Sean Connery era James Bond films. Occasionally struggles with the number of characters but definitely a good film.



Finally, yesterday I went to see the final part of the Harry Potter film. A great movie, it is amazing how these films have developed over the year, v enjoyable and coming to the film without reading the book interesting and surprising. Sad to see the end of the franchise. Also, a degree of applause in the cinema as the film ended.





Thursday 9 June 2011

Its great to be appreciated.

As you all probably know, I am one of the dentists who works with the great team at Spicer Road Dental Practice.


For just over a year we have been members of the Best of Exeter. Using this service we encourage patients to write testimonials or recommendations about us.


I think these recommendations are great and there are many brilliant comments about our team and individual dentists. You can find them here.


If you would like to join our dental practice, please contact our reception team on 01392 272408, or visit our website here.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

My Christmas Present (yes I do know it's May)

Last Friday I had an awesome day away from work, enjoying a Hawk and Kite Experience bought for me by my wife Rebecca as a Christmas Present.


I left early Friday morning for the almost two drive to the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover. We met our day organisers from Wild Arena and then spent the next few hours in glorious sunshine photographing and getting close up to the Hawks, Owls and Raptors housed there. As well as getting close to the birds we were coached on photographic techniques, experienced the wildlife close up and were buzzed by several birds during some awesome flying displays.


Here are some photos of my day ( I took nearly 500 shots so these are very edited highlights.)











Saturday 30 April 2011

Spring Clean Your Smile.

To celebrate the arrival of spring we have an amazing offer at the Spicer Road Dental Practice, Spring Clean Your Smile.


To celebrate the arrival of Spring we are offering tooth whitening at one third our usual price. For an investment of £260, we can transform your smile with tooth whitening. 


This offer is available for a limited time and ends on 16th June 2011.


See our flyer below.



Wednesday 13 April 2011

A new day and new crowns for a patient.

I had seen this patient for several years, he recently told me that he was unhappy with the appearance of his smile. He was concerned that his existing crowns were not in an ideal position, the crowns showed black lines adjacent to his gums and that the colour wasn't ideal.


After much discussion we decided to replace the patient's existing crowns with two new all ceramic (porcelain) crowns. We would also alter the position of one of his incisor teeth and alter the teeth so that the black lines would no longer be seen adjacent to the gums.


Here is a picture of the patient before his treatment.



We decided to fabricate this patients crowns from Emax, a ceramic made by Ivoclar Vivadent. Emax is a great material that combines amazing aethetics with great strength, and is ideal for use in situations where a great aesthetic result is needed for example when replacing incisor teeth.

Here is my patient after treatment. 





The patient and I were really happy with the appearance of his new crowns and his new smile.


Does this sort of dentistry interest you? If it does visit our website or contact our reception team to make an appointment for a dental health check and a chat on how we can help you gain the amazing smile you have always wanted.

Monday 11 April 2011

A quick website recommendation.

This website is really great it is NASA's Astronomy Pic of the Day.


Each day a picture of skies, planets and other amazing phenomena in our universe are posted, along with a quick explanation by one of their scientists.


Today's picture is of Mesa Arch in Canyonlands, Utah and can be seen here. What is really cool is that I have been here, stood on top of this rocky outcrop (see my profile pic), here are my pictures taken when I last visited Canyonlands.






Wednesday 30 March 2011

Books I have read so far this year.

So I thought I would list the books I have read so far this year. I have read both real books and ebooks, all have been a good read. I've read eBooks on both iBooks and Kindle, boths apps are good but I do think the book animation on iBooks is really cool.


So here they are:
  • Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell.
  • Dressed to Kill - Charlotte Madisson.
  • Innocent - Scott Turow.
  • Pandora's Star - Peter F Hamilton.
  • The Botty Rules - Nigel Botterill.
  • Moab is my Washpot - Stephen Fry.
  • Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett.
  • The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry.
I think there is a good mixture of fiction and non fiction here. My favorite non fiction was The Botty Rules (Kindle edition) and my favorite fiction was Unseen Academicals by Terry Practchett, a great fun read which had me laughing out loud a few times whilst I was reading it.

Monday 28 March 2011

Why I love my iPad.

I know that last week Apple launched the iPad 2 in the UK and the queue of at least 300 people outside Exeter's Apple store will attest to this, but I still love my iPad.



I finally decided in December last year to purchase my Ipad, I decided I wanted something to be portable along side my iMac that I could surf wirelessly around the house. I didn't feel  that I needed a fully featured Macbook but wanted something that would stand alongside the existing Apple products that I owned. I also realised that an iPad would also make a great presentational tool and a way of bringing documents and short presentations to meetings. Also I felt that I wanted to try out an e-reader and the iPad filled both these roles.

I would alos like to recommend some Apps, literally thousands are available through Apple's App store.
  • Evernote

    Take notes, save images, create to do lists, view PDFs and more.
    You can access and share your evernote notes between all your mobile devices and computers.
    You can search and find everything, even printed or handwritten text in images.

  • iBooks and Kindle.
    Great apps for reading books. Plenty of content here, loads of books to download, both free and paid content. Kindle works on many devices including computers and mobile phones. iBooks allows you to store and read pdf documents easily and comfortably. If I can have one moan about eBooks though, it troubles me that quite a few eBooks cost more than the paperback or hardback version, and why is it that VAT is charged on eBooks?

  • Keynote. This iPad version of Apple's presentational software is brilliant. If you have iWork 09 or later you can share keynote presentations prepared on a mac with your Ipad. Also you can create new Keynotes on your iPad and share with you mac. Keynotes can be shared from your iPad via I tunes or mobile me. The presentations created with Keynote look high class and I hope to use them to present treatment options to my patients in the near future.

  • Angry Birds. A great way to waste an hour when you are bored!

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Well the Six Nations does start on Friday

Maybe this sums up the feelings for a few of the Welsh rugby fans on Friday. The song was once an advert for a the Wales Vs England game a few years back.

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Time flies and I must be having fun

It's been a while since I've had time to write a blog post and time has flown by and February has arrived.


Christmas was a wonderful time and the big snow falls in December meant that I experienced my first true white Christmas. December in Exeter was one of the coldest that most people could remember, fortunately we were lucky and didn't suffer any burst pipes when the thaw eventually came.I'm looking forward to enjoying my Christmas present, a day photographing hawks, owls and other birds of prey. The experience is booked for the start of May and I hope to come home with some awesome photos that I can show here. I didn't take many pictures of the snow this time but here's some of Barney enjoying himself in the back garden.







January has been a great month, work has been very busy and I've managed to carry out plenty of interesting cases. I'm enjoying my dentistry and having fun.


I also purchased an iPad, I have to admit it is an awesome device, useful for both leisure and work. For fun I can recommend Angry Birds, iBooks and Kindle for iPad. I have already bought several books and the iPad makes a perfect e-reader. On the work side of the things I would recommend Evernote, Dropbox and Keynote for iPad. Keynote looks like a great way of presenting treatment plans to my patients.


Finally February marks the start of The Best of Exeter's fourteen days of Love. Spicer Road Dental Practice is a member and our entry can be found here. So far we have gained 44 testimonials from our patients, we want to collect more and we would like to become Exeter's most loved business.