Cheltenham dentist Illume would like to invite all clients to its Open Evening on Tuesday 10th November from 6–8.30 pm. Tim Rumney, Adrian Jones and our new dentist, Simon Gumbley, will all be there along with other team members.

The evening will provide an opportunity for Simon’s clients to meet him over a glass of wine and some cheese before their first appointment, and for Adrian and Tim’s clients to come along and chat with them if they’d like to - or just enjoy the wine! 

If you have any friends or family you think would benefit from coming to see us at Illume, we would love to welcome them on the 10th so please bring them along too.

There’ll be a prize draw to win a case of wine and anyone booking a New Client Consultation during the evening will be able to do so at a 50% discounted fee from our standard rate, making it just £55.

Please call 01242 522230 or email [email protected] to let us know that you’re coming - we look forward to seeing you on the 10th.

We have already written to Dr David Barrett's clients to let them know that he will be leaving Illume on the 27th of November and that we wish him well in his new venture of practice ownership in Oxford.

We want to reassure all of our clients that it will be very much business as usual at Illume and that we believe every change brings exciting opportunities. We are delighted to welcome Dr Simon Gumbley who will be joining us following David’s departure. Simon qualified from Bristol University in 1985 and worked as a Senior House Officer and Registrar in hospital before working in general practice. Simon joins us with a wealth of experience in private practice over many years and excellent references.

When not at work, Simon enjoys mountain walking and is a keen vegetable grower with an allotment. He is also an enthusiastic water polo player and a qualified referee.

We are really looking forward to him joining our team at Illume. We believe he has excellent clinical skills, an understanding and caring nature and a proven track record of building long term rapport and relationships that align very well with our values at Illume.

Cheltenham dentist Tim Rumney, owner of Illume dental practice, is pledging support for the acceleration of gender-neutral HPV vaccinations following a call for dentistry backing from the British Dental Association (BDA).

The Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) started to assess the requirement of HPV vaccinations for adolescent boys in 2013, with the recommendation to be announced in 2015. However, just last year the Department of Health announced that a decision will not be made until 2017 – with any implementation of the vaccination unlikely to happen before 2020.

In the meantime, Illume together with other UK dental practices and health professionals, is becoming increasingly concerned about the growing risk of HPV related diseases, including mouth cancer.

For example, a recent audit of national head and neck cancers by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) found nearly two-thirds of examined patients diagnosed with cancer of the oropharynx tested positive for HPV.

What’s more, between 2006/7 and 2010/11 the secondary care costs of treating head and neck cancers alone increased from £17.21 million to £30.32 million – highlighting a massive increase in cost of 76% to the NHS in just three years.

Illume’s Practice Owner and Clinical Director, Tim Rumney, says, “Over recent years it has become increasingly clear that the HPV virus is a real risk factor for many debilitating diseases including mouth cancer.

“Here at Illume we hope that a mass pledge for the accelerated gender-neutral vaccination will result in a fast tracked decision and implementation of the vaccination for all adolescent boys. If implemented as soon as possible, thousands of lives could potentially be saved each year, and costs to the NHS could be reduced significantly in the longer term.”

Illume provides all patients with thorough mouth cancer screening as part of its healthy mouth reviews and also offers a free ‘two minutes to save a life’ mouth cancer screening service.

For more information please click here, or if you have any concerns about mouth cancer please contact the practice directly on 01242 522230.