Ely, Cambridgeshire - Ester Jones

[brit]

From Robotguy:

'I suppose that I should give a huge plug to my dentist as I've never mentioned her name anywhere in my journal; she is Ester Jones at the Enhance Dental Spa in Ely, Cambridgeshire. I cannot say how much of a difference she has made to me, she has been patient with me and helped me every step of the way.'

Robotguy's journal: https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/f...wed-this-phobia-to-rule-me-for-too-long.8021/

They have a website: https://enhancedentalspa.co.uk/

 

[Surreyvwphobic]

Enhanced Dentistry, Ely

Hello to everybody on this site. Many of you will have been following my journey from phobia to freedom under the title "Smiles Better".

Much though I loved that place, it was a train ride away and getting appointments quickly with a specific person was difficult (although those that read this thread will see that I struck lucky when I most needed to following a recent disaster). I have remained on the books of this wonderful practice in case of further unforeseen emergencies and will be forever grateful to all of them for their love and support that enabled me to get from phobia to freedom in 8 months.

Thanks to these recent positive experiences and new found confidence, I finally decided to bite the proverbial bullet and register with a very upmarket practice in Ely (UK) which luckily is but 5 minutes and a few hundred yards walk from my front door, so no transport or expensive escorts needed.

My first experience was in fact superb; the reception staff were very welcoming and, having referred to an email I sent then some while back set me up with a lady called Megan.

I first saw Megan last Wednesday (August 15th 2018 AD) and, much like Sameera from "Smiles Better" was simply lovely! She was a very tender motherly character that straight away resolved to make sure that my well being and comfort was paramount. I am also delighted to report that her nurse was equally attentive and played a much more hands on part than so many nurses do, and this clearly bodes well for the future if and when I have to face anything sinister.

I had joined at this slightly earlier stage in the year due to a mishap that I have mentioned elsewhere; in brief, an interdental brush had snapped with half of it getting stuck between my rearmost molar and it's neighbour, so this was the main concern of the session.

As before, the usual first exam took place; this time dental charting occurred without so much as a murmour with no discomfort or worry anywhere, and the score was now down to mostly two with the odd three (due mostly to the incident) and I was deemed in otherwise ideal dental health. So good news there.

However, the x rays taken (one each side) soon showed that all was not quite well; a part of this fateful brush was clearly visible, and it was going to take some effort to get this out!

Megan started the usual options; going through with explorers, various types of floss and even larger types of brush, but to no avail. In the end, we had to give up as the clock beat us and we had ended up inconveniencing quite a number of following patients, so had to rebook, the next appointment being set for Monday 3rd September (just under a fortnight away). Despite all the pulling and poking around, this lady did not hurt me! Bless her, she got quite upset at the fact she was unable to get an outcome that day and her thoughts were simply with looking after me and minimising suffering. A kindly hand supported many times by both Megan and her nurse (cannot remember her name at this stage, but she was equally motherly and very attentive), along with soft encouraging words as the session progressed.

The facilities were very impressive; the x rays taken were the latest digital low dose type that mean both dentist and nurse can remain with you and not run out of the room; the chair again was very comfortable with very sumptuous padding and lumber support and a very nice attached neck pillow which made for a very comfortable experience. Although both ladies wore masks, they were semi opaque, so one could in fact see faces through them, and like "Smiles Better", they wore black tunics that were more akin to a hairdressing salon. Indeed, with the name "Enhance Dental Spa", one would reasonably anticipate that this sort of approach would be taken to give a positive and mostly pleasant patient experience.

Like Sameera, Megan was acutely aware of past dental trauma and, having worked in orthdontics and hospital settings, understood my situation perfectly and was empowered to give me the loving ongoing care I seek for the rest of my days. She was the first to actually diagnose me with "Dental Fatigue", basically recognising when a patient has become overwhelmed with the difficulties of routine care coupled with past dental trauma and in my case, dental abuse with that nasty orthodontist in my teenage years.

I loved her to bits from first meeting and know she will do her utmost to give me a good long term dental experience. She will be shocked (but undoubtedly delighted) when she learns about my tale of managing to cope and thrive with the successful removal of the snapped brush yesterday (Thursday 16th August), as we had discussed what might happen next following the initial failure and I was still contemplating sedation again if it looked as though the removal was going to end up being too traumatic at that stage. This was a good learning experience for all of us though, so will readily pass on to Megan how we achieved success with all aspects of the procedure for future reference.

So, after all of the trials and tribulations of yesterday, the next review with Megan should be a breeze; I am going ahead with this, as it gives us to chat more about how future care might pan out, and of course it will give her peace of mind that all has settled down after my operation (and the chance to do any remedial work if it should be deemed necessary). As I write at this moment, the only discomfort I seem to have is the aftermath of bruising which is inevitable after two shots and masses of poking pulling and washing, regardless of how gentle and considerate the procedure clearly was.

My civil partner also attends this practice and speaks very highly of them after he too, was rescued by them following some botched work to his roots at an NHS practice nearby. I had also read a very complementary article about this place by someone else on this site that like me had progressed from phobia to freedom back in 2010 (I believe). They used a lady called Esther who is on my radar as an alternative to Megan if she were to leave or otherwise be unavailable when needed.

The practice I am now writing about is called "Enhance Dental Spa" and are based in central Ely (UK). They do have limited parking and easy ground floor access for those with mobility issues and although quite a stiff walk, is near enough to a railway station although it is quite a steep uphill walk getting there.

Their address is 68 St Marys Street Ely Cambridgeshire (UK) and their telephone number is (01353) 666895. They do have a website, though I have had difficulties displaying it.

They do provide on request a very useful card wallet with full details of services prices and staff crucially with pictures, so good for phobics as one can see what a given person looks like with no surprise of the unknown for first meet. Oddly enough, when I met Megan, she looked younger and more attractive in real life than in the picture (I think due to not enough light in the exposure), although some of the others I noticed in passing looked identical enough.

As before, will update after this next appointment.......

From dental heaven with love. Simon