There is no denying that our teeth play an important role in our lives.
Its very easy to take them for granted. Our natural set, will always be the best set that we will ever have, and its important we take good care of them. Not only will this help you to keep them for longer, but it will also save you money and time in the long run.
Tips For Good Oral Hygiene
Improving your smile can start at home with relatively little effort, and at a low cost.
The key to home care is simple:
- Brushing at least twice a day
- Daily flossing/use of tepees
- Use of a mouth wash
Everyday our mouths will come into contact with bacteria that will actively damage our teeth over time. Its of paramount importance to combat this daily through the above methods. Brushing alone will not clean the whole tooth and that’s why flossing and using tepees are recommended. The main role of a mouth wash is to freshen our breaths, but there are also ones that have fluoride in them. Fluoride mouth washes can help to protect teeth against the acids produced by plaque.
The daily routine is a must when it comes to looking after your teeth for longer. The next part is to also visit your dentist at least every 6 months (unless other wised advised).
When we see you for a dental check up we will be checking the health of your mouth, teeth and gums. Even when cleaning your teeth effectively, over time our teeth will suffer from natural wear and tear, and that is why it is important to get checked out by a dentist. We will be able to see parts of your mouth and teeth which you won’t see.
Dental pain is often not the first sign of a dental complication. This means that we quite often see patients who have cavities (holes in their teeth), and they haven’t had any pain or discomfort. If left untreated, the cavity can grow in size and bacteria can enter the tooth. This is when pain or discomfort can start to occur because at the center of each tooth we have a nerve.
The simplest solution for a cavity is to clear out the bacteria and the fill it with a type of filling. If the bacteria infects the root (nerve) of the tooth, it does unfortunately lead to further complications and can be quite painful. To save the tooth before the last resort of extracting the tooth, a root canal may be performed. Root canals in short, are a procedure to remove the infected root and clean out all the bacteria, before using a root filling to plug up the whole tooth. Depending on the tooth, not all teeth will be saved, but as a rule of thumb, the earlier a tooth is treated the more likely it can be saved.
Cosmetic Improvements
Our dentists and the dental profession in general main priority is to ensure the health of your mouth, gums and teeth over everything else. What this means is, you need to be completely healthy before we can consider carrying out any cosmetic treatment and this is closely regulated by the GDC and CQC.
Like previously mentioned, your natural teeth are the best set you can get, and we are big advocates on preventative dentistry and helping you to look after them for as long as possible.
If you have healthy teeth, but the aesthetics are not quite there, we do offer a wide variety of treatments to give you the smile you deserve. The most common form of cosmetic improvement is through the use of teeth whitening.
The color of our teeth can make a huge difference on how our smile looks (for better or for worse). Its not commonly known but teeth are not actually a natural white, they have a subtle yellow/grey/brown tones which give them a natural off white look. That being said, our lifestyles can play havoc to the color of our teeth. One of the biggest culprits being coffee and tea, which are two of the most commonly consumed drink on a daily basis. Over a long period of time this can lead to excessive staining of the teeth. Smoking is another very common cause for discoloring teeth. Red liquids such as wine are another culprit. When whitening teeth we do advise to avoid certain foods and drinks during the procedure, and also afterwards to consume in moderation so you can keep your whiter teeth for longer (but you can always top up on the whitening with your home trays).
Another popular method is to use dental veneers. They are in essence perfectly shaped/shaded shells that are bonded to the surfaces of your teeth (commonly made out of porcelain/composite material). This does require preparation of the teeth, which means healthy tooth structure needs to be shaved away. The downside to this treatment is the tooth preparation is irreversible, and its important to understand what this would mean for your teeth. Porcelain veneers are stronger than their composite counterparts. This means that they can be made thinner, and as a result requires less tooth preparation. When designing a smile with veneers its important to take a number of factors into consideration, for example, if you didn’t have all the visible teeth veneered it can give a strange effect next to your natural teeth, making them look smaller. Its also important to take into consideration the overall symmetry of the smile, giving you the most natural looking beautiful smile.
One of the most common complaints we hear is the straightness of teeth. Our sister practice has now started offering Invisalign which is a clear aligner system to gradually straighten teeth. Crooked and uneven teeth can be very noticeable, and we have seen it effect peoples confidence.
As you can see there are a number of different treatments available to correct many different problems. We haven’t even covered them all, but this should give you a good idea on the sorts of treatments that are available.
To get a tailored plan to meet your needs, please do not hesitate to call us and book your dental assessment today.