OPTIM Interdental Brushes will be among the exhibitors at this year’s Dentistry Show London. Manufactured in the UK by Stoddard, these precision-made interdental brushes are making waves in the profession due to their high quality and competitive price tag.     

As well as finding the full range of OPTIM Interdental Brushes on the exhibition stand at Dentistry Show London, delegates can also expect to find Paul Hilson, a Dental Therapist and strong advocate of the OPTIM range. Paul will be on hand to showcase OPTIM’s Interdental Brushes and answer delegates’ questions about the products.

We spoke to Paul ahead of the show to find out more about OPTIM Interdental Brushes and the benefits they hold for both patients and clinicians.

Paul qualified as a Dental Therapist 7 years ago, and now works full time in both mixed and fully private practices. ‘I believe everyone has their thing in life, and mine is teeth. Once you find something you are passionate about, you’re not bothered about getting up early for work, or staying late. For me it’s all about giving the best service that you can to a patient, and they do deserve your time and attention if they are paying the money for treatment.’

As an experienced Dental Therapist, Paul also finds it rewarding to help those just starting out in the profession through mentoring. ‘For the past three years, third-year Dental Therapy students have been completing their external placements at the practice with me, and I was their mentor. It’s amazing to mentor students because at University you’re very much by the book, and in the real world it’s not at all this way. We all find this in any job. You’re taught how to do things a certain way at University, but in the real world you have to be able to adapt. And you can see them really struggle with that at the start, but to see someone go from a very shy, conservative student, to being able to flourish and qualify afterwards with a great knowledge and understanding, it’s quite a nice feeling actually.’

As well as mentoring students and treating patients in practice, Paul also enjoys attending dentistry trade shows, where he can often be found on the OPTIM stand talking to delegates and demonstrating the products. ‘When you’re a Clinician, it can feel like you’re sort of locked in your surgery sometimes. You don’t often get to see the wider world. Attending dental trade shows is a great opportunity to network with peers that you may only have spoken to online. There are so many stands with different products, and also lots of lectures on various techniques. Each of those little snippets of information that you pick up and take back to work with you will make your life a little bit easier. Why wouldn’t you be there? It’s also a great way for people to find out more about OPTIM Interdental Brushes. We don’t have Reps on the road, so it’s quite nice for other Clinicians to interface with us directly at the trade stand because they won’t get that elsewhere.’

Having worked with OPTIM for 5 years now, Paul is an expert on all things OPTIM and has an in-depth knowledge of the product range, and even the manufacturing process. ‘When I started working with OPTIM, I was kindly invited to the factory to see how the brushes are made, which was a really interesting experience. I think we take it for granted being the Clinician that this little Interdental Brush is something quite menial, but actually when you go down to the site there’s a whole task force to make it.’

Being a Dental Therapist, Paul is keen to stress the importance of using Interdental Brushes daily to improve oral health. ‘The main benefit is that these brushes remove the plaque from in between the teeth. When you use a regular toothbrush, it gets to the front, back and biting surface of the tooth, but it doesn’t get in between the teeth. Therefore the plaque sits there, and that plaque is what’s going cause damage and disease such as gum inflammation which then leads to gum disease. If you can push that plaque out using a brush, you can prevent disease. Once the patient first starts using them, they’ll notice bleeding gums because of the inflammatory response. But they’ll see this improve day by day because they’re removing the plaque that is causing the inflammation. So when they come back and see us, fingers crossed, they’ve got healthy mouths.’

According to Paul, it’s important to educate patients on how the daily use of Interdental Brushes is an important preventative measure for gum disease. ‘If you’ve got gum disease, you can’t cure it, so it’s all about prevention and stabilisation. We have to think of plaque like the trigger of a gun. So if there’s plaque there, it fires off a cascade effect of inflammatory and immune responses. So if we can keep the bacteria away using these brushes, that’s what’s going to stabilise the mouth. Prevention over cure.’

Although there are many well-known brands of interdental brushes out there, Paul always chooses OPTIM over any other due to the additional benefits for both patients and clinicians. ‘I don’t use anything else. If I go to a new practice and they are not using OPTIM, then it’s out with the old and in with the new. There are a lot of well-known brands out there that people are using simply because it’s what they have always used, and as human beings we are not always very good with change! But I often say to practices, “why would you want to be stocking what you have always stocked if there’s a newer brand out there that offers a high-quality alternative?” I firmly believe OPTIM are more durable than some other brands, meaning they last longer – especially in the smaller sizes – so my patients get less frustrated with their brushes buckling on their first use and then having to throw them away. It also means that they will save themselves some money. I believe it’s also better for the environment if they last longer, as fewer brushes are being sent to landfill. OPTIM Interdental Brushes are made in the UK and I’ve found them to be a lot cheaper for the practice to buy in, which is obviously appealing to them as well. I will ask the manufacturer to send some samples out to the practice in the first place so that the Clinicians can try them and see the difference for themselves.’

As Dentistry Show London approaches, delegates can look forward to firsthand insights from Paul and the opportunity to discover the benefits of OPTIM Interdental Brushes for both patients and practitioners alike. Be sure to stop by the OPTIM Interdental Brushes stand at C14 to find out more.