Now that Joshua and Benjamin have started school, calm has returned to our household at long last, and even if it is not forever, we're enjoying it for the moment. It's been a long time coming and we've probably lived the busiest five years of our lives. The biggest challenge that our household's facing now is one I'm sure we share with you, keeping everyone well as we go into winter.

With winter germs becoming more prevalent, remember that they can be managed using some good old common sense. It pays to stay in good health - and for this you need to remember that sleep has a vital role to play in helping you to stay strong. It's now time to pull out your own favourite winter remedies, and keep in mind that food also provides you with what you need at this time of the year, so eating seasonally is not only good on the budget but also good for your health. Bring out the garlic and onions to cook with, and fill your diet with dark green, red, orange and yellow vegetables and fruits. Kiwifruit is especially high in vitamin C. Probably even more important is to regularly wash your hands. Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact, so it's easy to catch germs by touching the phone, keyboard or door, both at home and when you're out. By washing your hands regularly, you help to stop the spread of germs in your own family. And you can encourage kids to sneeze into their elbow rather than into their hands.

Did you see the article in the Herald recently about how technology is making your dental experience more pleasant? Traditionally, people in need of a crown made an initial visit, to assess their requirements, a temporary cap was then made until a later visit when a permanent crown would be fitted. But with Computer-aided design, crowns and other teeth can be made for you while you wait, instead of requiring you to make multiple visits to your dentist. Because Accent's technology is state-of-the-art, be assured that we happily offer you this service.

I'd like to take an opportunity to request some feedback from you. We always like to hear your thoughts, either on what we're doing well, or what needs improving, but specifically I'd like your thoughts on frequency of contact for your recalls. Our policy is to send out recall reminder postcards every six months, and if we haven't heard from you, to send another one, two months later. If you're finding this isn't working for you, please, could you share your thoughts on this and why (perhaps suggesting the way and frequency you'd prefer) when you're next in.

Lastly, and something quite dear to our hearts, is how we're working to make our processes at work as environmentally friendly as we can. We already compost our food scraps at work, we're introducing environmentally friendly cleaning products, and we're currently investigating bio-degradable dental rinse cups and also waste bags. Every little bit helps, and it is always interesting to pool our ideas on this during our regular staff meetings. If you've got any gems to help the planet that you can share with us on your next visit, please do.

Stay well and healthy.

Matt Sumner and the team @ Accent Dental Solutions.