BDA Good Practice Scheme

We are proud to announce that Ashley Dental has been recognised by the British Dental Association (BDA) as committed to good practice and has been accepted as a member of the BDA's prestigious "Good Practice Scheme".

We have demonstrated that we consistently meet nationally recognised standards, in order to provide the best possible care for our patients.

Chris Wildin, the practice owner, said, "Good dentistry is not just about the teeth – it's also about the relationship between the dentist and patient. We work extremely hard to ensure that our patients understand their treatment, its cost and the choices available to them so that they can make well informed decisions."

Full details about the Good Practice Scheme, and the commitments it requires, are available.

How Can We Help ?

It's not good news for Dentists as a recent piece of research by the British Dental Health Foundation suggests that visiting the dentist makes people more nervous than snakes or spiders*

The Foundation asked 1,004 people - in February 2011 - what made them most nervous from a list including heights, flying, injections, doctors, snakes, spiders, going to hospital and visiting the dentist.

Over one in five people rated visiting their dentist as the thing that made them most nervous - more than any other category. Overall, statistically, heights topped the poll of biggest fears, closely followed by visiting the dentist and going to the hospital. Snakes were rated fourth and spiders came fifth.

At Ashley Dental, we are doing our very best to make sure that you find the experience as positive as possible. Our last patient survey indicated that 83% of our patients felt that the dental nurses were reassuring, 92% found the Receptionists helpful and a satisfying 97% thought the surgeries were comfortable.

We are always seeking your comments and suggestions and in the summer of 2011 we installed a "Suggestions" box in our Waiting Room. If you have any suggestions on ways that we can make your visit to the dentist more positive, please let us know – either through the suggestion box, in person or by email.

*For full details of the research, please visit the British Dental Health Foundation website: www.britishdentalhealthfoundation.org Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "Everyone in the profession knows that dental anxiety is a major barrier for many people to visit their dentist... The comparison with snakes and spiders may appear frivolous, but it does suggest we still have a lot of work to do to build public confidence."