Martin Ashley

Martin Ashley

Professor Martin Ashley is an NHS consultant in Restorative Dentistry and Oral Health in Manchester, UK.

Location Manchester

Activity

  • Thank you Toluwanimi, I am glad you have enjoyed and benefitted from the course. Please tell others who will also benefit.

  • It was well worth the effort required and we had a strong team working together. Thank you for recognising this and please, spread the word.

  • Thank you Jia

  • Hello Dhruv, welcome to the course - it is useful to have so much knowledge in one place and will give you insight into what areas of knowledge and caring are required when we look after someone else's mouth. I hope you enjoy it.

  • Many dementia patients are compliant, especially when not at the later stages of the condition. but those that are challenging for their carers, can be difficult to manage on many days,

  • Thank you Radoslav, it is a helpful week for everyone.

  • You are 100% right and also, communicating with other people involved in their care

  • Well done for trying to develop your skills, with your family. I visited an elderly friend in hospital this week, and brushed their teeth for them. The nurse was surprised how confidently I did it, but with many years of practice, I should be really good ! She improved a lot just by some simple guidance. You are right, practice leads to improvement.

  • Thank you Jia, I am glad the course was useful for you and gave good insight and preparation for you. Kind regards

  • I love this !

  • Hello Radoslav, welcome to Mouth Care Matters. I am sure you will find it interesting and useful.

  • I agree but please keep practising. It gets easier, much easier

  • I agree - it isn't always easy. We don't always get to work in a well-lit room, and even using the light on our phone, or another torch, takes one hand away from holding the mouth or the spoon / mirror. Sometimes, we learn about the teeth present by feeling with our finger, if we can't get to see inside.

  • It is a useful brush, but mostly for a carer cleaning someone else's teeth. A 'normal' brush used with a good technique is the proven way to maintain your own dental health.

  • And thank you for contributing so well

  • Replacing a lost denture can take up to six appointments, usually two weeks apart. And that is after the delay of finding a dentist willing to do the treatment and then delays on their treatment waiting list.

  • Welcome to Mouth Care Matters, Sarah. Most of us will be carers at some stage and you will already be stepping into this role with your grandparents. Good luck with your studies towards Dentistry. This course will help you understand some of the academic aspects but also, the professional characteristics we need to have.

  • I agree. There is also a requirement to carry out the task to the best of our ability. The person we are caring for is relying on us to clean their mouth. We can be as caring and kind as possible, but in some cases, need to be willing to use techniques to overcome some resistance from the patient

  • Hello Massimo, welcome to Mouth Care Matters

  • That's a really good reflection, Alisha

  • Not enough !

  • Hello Nia, welcome to the course. It will be a good introduction to the words and explanations we use and also, how we care for other people in our professional roles. I know you'll find it interesting and useful. Good luck.

  • You have summarised this well and now realise the scale of the problem we face

  • Hello Elif, welcome to the MCM course. It will be interesting and useful for you, both in your understanding of oral health and also the way we care for other people. Good luck with your application.

  • Thank you Ahmed. I agree but be cautious about relying only on Miswak, if you can also use a toothbrush. Miswak is difficult to use thoroughly on the inner surfaces of the teeth, next to the tongue and palate

  • Thank you Ahania, there is so much to learn and practice.

  • Thank you too, Zoe and welcome to the course. Good luck with your studies.

  • Hello Charlene, welcome to MCM. It is a key time for you to be developing a better understanding of your patients' needs now that you are working. You have such an important role to play in their health and recovery. Thank you for everything you do as a staff nurse.

  • Hello Sophia, please come and say hello in person some time. I am around the hospital most days,

  • Hello Ahania, welcome to MCM. It will be useful for you and interesting too.

  • That is good insight, Natasha.

  • Thank you Chui. Best wishes

  • Hello Natasha, welcome to MCM. It will be useful for you to know more about caring for other people and some of the dental knowledge that will prepare you for studying in the future.

  • You had a busy day watching so many videos, Arya ! Thank you for your contributions and responses. Good luck.

  • I agree - Jessica has the balance between caring for and respecting Ken's independence, just right

  • Hello Arya, welcome to the course. It will be really useful for you.

  • Thank you, Jessy. I'm glad you have enjoyed and benefitted from it.

  • Hello Krishn, this course will be really useful for you and good luck with your gap year.

  • After breakfast. It removes all the food particles that would start to feed the plaque and also, remove most of the easy to reach plaque that has been growing overnight. Some people like to clean their teeth as soon as they get up, to freshen the mouth and then again after eating breakfast, to remove the food. It is okay to do this but for Mouth Care Matters,...

  • Hello Bircan, the information and training you will get on the course will be really useful for you. Good luck with your gap year and your ambitions.

  • Thank you, Rafael

  • Hello Alina, welcome to the course.

  • Thank you, Cecilia

  • Hello Naveena, this will be useful information for you and hopefully interesting too.

  • Thank you Halima

  • Hello Muminah, welcome, it is a useful to the world of dentistry but also the importance of caring for other people.

  • Hello Wasal, welcome to MCM

  • Thank you too, Hari

  • That is strange, Halima, we've not had that error before and lots of learners have completed it. Please have another go and if it doesn't work, let us know again

  • Hello Eshika, welcome to Mouth Care Matters. It is a good step for you to understand some of the practicalities of patient care but also, some of our philosophy of caring for other people. Dental hygienists have a really important role to play in healthcare now and in the future

  • Welcome Halima, its a really useful introduction for you and will be a good addition to your application and interview discussion

  • Hello Rebecca, this should really help you understand the challenges that we face with patients and some ways to improve their mouth care when you are with them. It will also allow you to set a good example for the other staff

  • Hello Heather - I'm sure there will be plenty for you to learn here and equally, much for you to share with us.

  • Thank you Zainab - that's good to know. Well done

  • If you contact the course organiser, they can hep with this.

  • Fingers crossed for you ! You will learn plenty about your own dental health, as well as how to look after other people.

  • Hello Radha, this should be an ideal course for you and we look forward to you sharing your experiences with us too.

  • Hello Zainab, dentists are fortunate to have a good overhead light when we are examining a patient in the surgery. At all other time, I find the light on my mobile phone really helpful for examining in the mouth.

  • Well Muhammad, I'll try to correct you. Medium brush, instead of soft. We'll cover brushes later in the course. Rinsing has some benefits but the chemicals in toothpaste can only be there if they make your mouth healthier. We will teach you about spit, don't rinse after brushing.

  • Hello Zainab, welcome to the course. Its a useful one for you to do, in preparation for your application to Dental School. It will help with your understanding of our roles as professionals as well as some of the terminology and concepts.

  • Hello Samantha, these are both good points and thankyou for raising them. The foam sponges on sticks were a choking hazard, as some patients clamped their teeth onto them and pulled off the sponge area, that wasn't firmly attached to the stick. These were discontinued and removed from hospital stocks. Another version of these, with the sponge head firmly...

  • I couldn't agree more, Samantha. I know you'll get a lot from doing the course and hope you will inspire and encourage others to do so, too.

  • That is all good, Alisha, except the very soft bristle. We don't recommend those unless we are needing to be really careful after mouth surgery or in someone with a really sensitive mouth problem. The soft bristles bend too easily and so the end of the bristles don't get a chance to clean away the plaque.

  • Good luck with you brother, Alisha. Sometimes, even when we try our best, it doesn't work, but every bit you can do, for his hygiene and his diet, will make a difference

  • Hello Megan welcome to the course, you are important to us as this course was mostly designed for HCAs and nurses. It will help improve your knowledge and confidence and be an extra step in your application to nursing.

  • @AsharaEyres Thank you

  • Tell me some more, please

  • Thank you - I disagree with you, or at least with the way you describe the research findings as excellent.
    Soft bristles are effective at removing plaque if used with a really good technique and can be more comfortable than a firm brush in a painful condition (which is unusual for most gum conditions) or after mouth surgery. However, the soft bristles deflect...

  • Hello Maddy, welcome to the course. As it is presented for anyone with an interest in oral health, it doesn't focus too much on the science and practice of dentistry, but presents these in a way that most people can understand. There will be plenty of content to help you prepare for dental school and it will be seen by Universities as evidence of your...

  • @BenedicteNDOBOEPOY Thank you for sharing this

  • I agree - thank you

    For translation:
    Many of us are not aware of the health of the mouth and teeth although all the problems and diseases of the body are caused mainly by the lack of oral and dental care

  • The Bacteria in your mouth will travel into your lungs. This normally doesn't cause problems as there are many mechanisms working to prevent this and to keep the lungs clean. If the person is unwell, especially if their swallowing mechanism isn't good, and if they have an unclean mouth, pneumonia is much more likely to develop.

  • Thank you Destiny - it has been a pleasure catching up on your comments. I am sorry I wasn't around to interact with you regularly. Good luck with using what you have learned.

  • I really enjoyed the sessions with Emily and her carers. Getting to see Emily having her teeth brushed at the end is so valuable too.

  • Thank you. More of this is shown later in the course.

  • Thank you Rahela

  • Thank you - it is one of my favourite videos too.

  • As a translation:
    Learning the language used to describe the mouth was completely new to me, useful when I need to describe the mouth from one individual to another professional.

  • I agree Aymme

    As a translation:
    I consider it very important that this type of issues are more widespread with all people not only with the health personnel who take care of oral hygiene, but that they actually visualize how it affects people not to have a smile with which they feel comfortable, and how this can awaken insecurities or depressions in those...

  • Occasionally a toothbrush and paste - but not routinely

  • Be patient and keep trying. Weeks 5 and 6 have some information about resistant patients

  • I agree

  • Hello Destiny, it will be really useful for you, and I hope the level we have presented the content at, will really suit your learning,

  • Welcome Babuu - I hope it is of benefit for you and your colleagues too.

  • Hello Eriu, welcome to the course - sincere apologies for not being involved and responding regularly in the last few weeks - I have been distracted by other NHS responsibilities. Your SLT experiences will really help you get the most from this course.

  • Thank you too, Sue

  • That's a good insight into your work place challenges, Sue - I'm glad we could help with some of this.

  • Thank you

  • Very good conservation, Benedicte - it is a sign that the person is comfortable and confident with us.

  • This is an incident reporting system used in many hospitals

  • Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit - they are both terms used for similar units where patients need significant medical and nursing input and are usually unable to care for themselves.

  • If you message me @manchester.ac.uk I can help you with this

  • Thank you Benedicte, and yes, all the filming was done before the Pandemic

  • Thank you Sue, we loved having this precious time with them both.

  • That is interesting - thank you for sharing

  • Thank you Benedicte

  • Bienvenue Benedicte, you have a lot of experience already and I think this course will bring much of this together for you. We will enjoy and benefit from you sharing your experiences with us too.

  • He's a lucky man !

  • The later sessions in the course are all about this challenging aspect of mouth care, Sue

  • Yes Sue, you can find contact details if you search - and I'll reply.