FARMING families can sometimes find it difficult to combine their busy working life with routine health practices such as dental health – but now a new mobile service aims to change all that.
In an attempt to bring the services of a dental hygienist to your front door, Fiona Perry has launched Flying Smiles to reinvent the rules with regard to dental well-being. Comrie-based hygienist, Fiona, said: "Why should oral health not be part of your overall health plan? Usually, because dental practices do not operate farming hours, it can mean a day away and getting dressed up and travelling to town. Until now there was no other option.
"Covid-19 and lockdown rules have made the world review how we work, play and get healthcare. So, for Flying Smiles, it could not be a more perfect time to reinvent the rules," added Fiona, who qualified in 1985 from Kings College and has seen dentistry evolve over the years. She is also fully insured and registered with HIS and the GDC.
"Our mouths are full of active microbes that can affect your overall health. Gum inflammation is linked to coronary disease and diabetes, to name but a few nasties and the government’s Oral Health Improvement Plan recently showed that there is a need for care in the community when access to a dental practice is not practical," she pointed out.
Fiona said her passion was to assist clients to help yourselves and those who find the whole dental experience sends shivers down their spine, might well find that being at home allays those fears. Living rurally herself, with several farmer friends, so she is familiar with the stresses and strains of daily farming life.
Recently, she paid a dental visit to her friends’ farm and had great fun on the photo shoot to promote Flying Smiles. The bales’ stickers (in the pictures) were from the Well Child Charity and she reckoned it was a great way to sponsor important charities.
"What looked quiet and calm outside the shed was actually not: inside, this year’s orphan lambs were being weighed for market! Finally, jealous goats looked on as the tups got an extra feed to keep them in the picture while the farmer had a wee rest," she said.
As the first mobile dental hygiene service in Scotland, Fiona comes to you, so you do not need to wait in a public waiting room and all with strict cross-infection rules. There are discounts, too for team/family to have an appointment, with a lower price per person offered if there are three or more people.
Fiona wears a clean gown for each patient and a bigger shield than she used too. All new patients get a free goodie bag to keep their mouths healthy. Find out more on http://www.flyingsmiles.co.uk or facebook: flyingsmiles
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