Dental Mavericks In The Media 2012
Strip Off For Smiles
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Michael Oliver Talking to Sun FM About Dental Mavericks
Dental Maverick Chris Branfield Featured In The 6th October 2012 Edition Of Hull And East Riding
Dental Maverick Gill Fisher Featured In The 11th October 2012 Edition Of The Gazette
Dental Maverick David Watson Featured in the October 2012 Edition of the Tewkesbury Admag
Dr Teresa Talks To Radio Berkshire About Dental Mavericks Morocco Trip 2012
Dental Mavericks Return!
Stafford Dentist Brushes Away All Fear To Dive With Sharks For Charity
Richard Howarth, dentist and owner of Stafford’s Pain Free Dental Practice Smile Style, who is a keen sailor and enjoys water sports, has taken the challenge to swim in a shark infested tank for half an hour protected only with a toothbrush to raise money for the charity Dental Mavericks.
This daring dentist has been invited to dive at the Blue Planet Aquarium where Richard will be put into a tank full of Sand Tiger Sharks. The biggest is Storm who is 11.5ft long and weighs about 30 stone with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
The Sand Tiger Sharks live on a diet of Trevally, Pouting and Mackerel (hopefully not dentists) and are fed up to 3 times a week. Two thirds of the Sand Tiger Sharks brain is dedicated to their sense of smell allowing the detection of blood from up to a mile away.
They also have many special pores on the underside of their snouts to sense the electrical impulses given off by fish. Sand Tiger Sharks dislocate their jaw and extend their teeth out of their mouth when they attack their prey.
Richard will receive specialist training then be equipped with a wetsuit, scuba tanks and mask before spending half an hour in the chilly shark infested tank.
Richard Howarth is a founder member of the Dental Mavericks Charity who travel to Morocco to treat children in dental pain who have no access to dental care.
Last year Richard ran Stafford Half Marathon to raise much needed money to buy field dental chairs to be used in his trip to the remote village of El Jebah in North East Morocco.
This year the money will help buy a solar powered chair so that more conventional dental care can be provided rather than just (last chance) extractions and rudimentary fillings.
The Dental Mavericks are also aiming to buy and equip a dental ambulance so they can reach the even more rural communities. The charity has full charitable status and has long term plans to go to Senegal to treat the street children there.
Richard says “the idea for this crazy dive came from a patient of mine. I think they thought it funny that I spend my life helping patients who are anxious and fearful of me as the dentist and in the tank then the tables would be turned with the ‘dentist’ frightened of sharks, some of them 3 times my size and row and rows of teeth!”