Dental Tribune Untited Kingdom Edition

Dr Ian Davis at the South Pole 27March 5-11, 2012United Kingdom Edition Product Spotlight It was 1985 and a quick search revealed that the only dental first aid kit was one put together by NASA for space travel. So Tony set about making his own and the Dentanurse First Aid Kit for teeth came into being. This involved a steep learning curve with vis- its to plastics factories to discuss and design the components and learn about ‘medical grade’ plastics then on to pharmaceu- tical packagers. The pastes had to be formulated to be ‘layper- son’ friendly and as a Dental Sur- geon Tony wanted a paste that would always ‘deform under the bite’ so as not to create further problems when first aid was ap- plied. The Dentanurse First Aid Kit for teeth is an entirely Brit- ish made product, from the idea on the ski slope, to the first kits going into Boots Chemists and dental surgeries. Tony wondered what the reaction of his own profession would be to the kit but he need not have worried for when the kit was first shown and dem- onstrated at a dental exhibition the support from the profession was overwhelming and dental surgeons were soon selling the kit through their dental surger- ies. This was the time of AIDS and Hepatitis B and the Gov- ernment was urging people not to seek dental treatment when travelling abroad. The kit was a very necessary item for those travelling, especially to coun- tries where sterile supplies were in short supply. Nowadays the Dentanurse kit is an important item for home use as well as for travellers. Anyone dislodging a Crown late on a Friday evening need not spend the weekend em- barrassed and unable to smile; a quick trip to Boots, a Lloyds chemists or ASDA will restore their smile until they can seek professional help. There are clear instructions for use and the unique paste in the kit will re-cement a dislodged Crown and the same mix when left to set will make a temporary filling. There is enough paste to make approximately six re- pairs. The kit is purely temporary and it is stressed in the instruc- tions that professional help must be sought as soon as possible. The Dentanurse kit was in- valuable on a recent holiday to the Cape Verde Island of Boa Vista. Tony complained loudly that there was something ‘hard’ in his food and looked some- what sheepish when one of his Crowns clinked on to his dinner plate ...not a very appetising sight for the fellow diners! Thankfully in the suitcase was a Dentanurse kit that had travelled the world with us for many years. Back in the hotel suite Tony mixed the two pastes together (as per the instructions that he had written himself) and re-cemented the Crown, thus saving any damage to the tooth and any further em- barrassment. So whether you are on a de- sert island or following in the footsteps of Robert Falcon Scott you need to pack a Dentanurse Kit if you are going out and may be some time! www.dentanurse.com About the author Jenny Lees is Managing Director of Dentanurse and wife of Tony Lees BDS. Co-founder of Dentanurse UK Ltd. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/busi- ness/7833049.stm http://news.bbc. co.uk/1/hi/business/7695746.stm She also runs her own Arabian horse stud www.pearlislandarabians.co.uk