A dental group is celebrating after being crowned Team of the Year.

Honour Health, based on Bell Villas in Ponteland, has won ‘Dental Team of the Year’ at the national Dental Awards 2021.

This is the third consecutive year that the team has cleaned up at the awards, after being named Practice of the Year in 2020 and Dental Team of the Year in 2019.

Ponteland’s branch of Honour Health is the newest in the small chain of North East dentists. Originally established in Stanley by Dr Onkar Dhanoya in 1986, the company expanded to Jesmond in 2001 before landing in Northumberland in 2015. Dr Dhanoya said: “Winning Dental Team of the Year 2021 is a fantastic accolade for our staff, and it’s a great privilege to bring a national award back to the North East for the third year running. This year, the recognition of our work is all the more special because of what we’ve gone through together as a team in recent months.

“Covid-19 threw up unprecedented challenges for us, and for the dental industry as a whole.

“The way our team reacted to these challenges proves just how well we are able to pull together in a crisis. I’m proud of how everyone looked after each other and our patients during such an uncertain time.

For Honour Health’s entry into the Dental Awards, the team had to provide examples of how they had gone beyond the regular duty of care and how they have connected with the local community, as well as a wide range of other criteria.

Dr Dhanoya continued: “During the first lockdown, when the initial closure of dental clinics meant that we couldn’t physically see our patients, our dentists were still here, triaging patients over the phone, providing advice and reassurance.

“The team also collected and delivered donations to our local food bank, and donated scrubs and PPE to St Oswald’s Hospice and local hospitals.”

Despite winning awards over the last three years, Dr Dhanoya is taking nothing for granted and is looking to expand the practice’s team.

He finished by saying: “This award truly represents the talented, committed group of people working at Honour Health.

“The unwavering dedication of every dentist,

hygienist, dental nurse and receptionist throughout Covid means that

we are now stronger than ever and looking to the future.”