AQUA DENTAL SPA LONDON BLOG

The feeling of newly cleaned teeth when you’ve just been to the dentist is hard to beat when just cleaning them yourself. Even the most thorough clean involving brushing and flossing can’t match the cleaning you can have performed by a dentist or dental hygienist. This is because the dentist or hygienist uses techniques known as scaling and polishing to completely clean the teeth. Scaling in particular is probably not the most pleasant experience in the world but it is necessary to achieve the levels of cleanliness important for healthy teeth.

When scaling the teeth, the dentist will use a small implement with a hook at the end. This is used to carefully remove tartar from the teeth without damaging any of the enamel. It is necessary to scale teeth to remove tartar because it cannot be removed with normal brushing. Unlike plaque, which can be cleaned with a normal toothbrush, tartar is hard and sticks to the teeth very firmly. If tartar is not removed it can cause decay and gum disease which lead to nasty infections and ultimately tooth loss. This can be very painful, very expensive and also very embarrassing.

When the teeth have been fully scaled and all the tartar removed, the dentist will then polish them using a mechanical polisher. This removes any further residual plaque and leaves the tooth enamel smooth and free of debris. This makes it hard for the plaque to stick to, protecting the teeth from any future decay. To be fully effective these processes need to be repeated on a regular basis. By visiting a West London dentist or dental hygienist every six months for scaling and polishing you can give your teeth the best chance of staying clean, healthy and free of decay.

Bad breath can be caused by a number of problems, from odorous foods such as garlic or chilli to liver disease, excessive drinking, diabetes and little or no oral hygiene. The good news is that the problem is curable, albeit a change in lifestyle will be necessary in most cases. The effect it can have on the personality is also astounding says a London W1 dentist, in fact there is research that shows a low esteem leads to a lax regime in personal care. Oral hygiene is one of the first areas that are affected and the person rarely realises that they have bad breath; this leads to people avoiding them and just piles more misery on the personal problems. Like the advert years ago use to say “bad breath is something even your best friend wont tell you about”. Liver disease is often a cause and in itself bad breath can often lead to a diagnosis that might have otherwise gone undetected, alcohol is often the main offender here or should I say an unhealthy and excessive intake is the offender. In order to treat bad breath in extreme cases the root cause may be treated first, but all in all good and well advised oral care will always improve the situation. Bacteria build up throughout the day is one of the catalysts that bring on and accelerates the problem, so brushing after each meal, mouth washing, chewing gum to produce saliva and drinking water will all help. If the bacteria isn’t removed it thrives on the sugar and fats in the food we eat, then when it dies of excess it become tartar and hardens onto the base of the tooth.

Teeth whitening is all the rage these days says a West London dentist, the methods used depend on your budget of course. Bleaching is popular as it is quite cheap compared to say veneers; and is available at most salons. The salons generally have a regular technician that calls on them to attend to the needs of clients requiring the treatment. Smokers in particular are common clients for this kind of treatment. It involves a coating or bleaching agent that is then bombarded with an ultra violet light, and this then reacts with it and impregnates the teeth with the whitening effect. The sessions are generally between 15-20 minutes and depending on the stains, the teeth may need two or more sessions. The effect can be quite startling and the shade of white is usually brighter than the teeth’s natural colour, even in good well looked after teeth. Many chemists now stock self whitening kits, these have been widely advertised and research shows that they can be just as effective. The kits contain a gum shield that is filled with the Hydroxide solution and an active agent; this is fitted over the teeth and left for a period to soak the teeth and literally bleach them white. Avoidance of staining foods and drinks is necessary for a while, but most people are happy to choose a home kit, as they are known, and do the job themselves. Whereas the technician may charge you anything from £100 to £400, a home kit can be as cheap as just £20 and the effect can be just the same in a lot of cases. This certainly seems to be a cheaper alternative to veneers, but what the long term effect of Hydroxide on the teeth may turn out to be, is anyone’s guess.

An implant is a cosmetic procedure that replaces a damaged tooth with an artificial one. It acts the same as the real tooth did, and is anchored to the jaw just like the replaced one says a West London dentist. They are not a new idea though, the ancient Egyptians and the Mayans of South America used Ivory and sea shells to replace bad or misshaped teeth. They didn’t have false teeth as later civilisations had; they actually drilled the jaw and glued the dental implant in place. Today we use materials that are artificially made and are much harder than the teeth they replace, but the first modern ones were made of titanium. This hard non-ferrous material was first used by a Professor of Anatomy at a Swedish University in the 1950s, Per-Ingvar Brånemark noticed that the Titanium implants that he had placed in a rabbits femur had adhered to the bone. In 1965 after many years of research he successfully made the first Titanium dental implant in a Swedish man named Gösta Larsson. Today the procedure is far simpler and much less painful and uncomfortable, it starts with a few X-rays and then a tooth is sculptured with a screw on the top. This is then screwed and glued into a hole drilled into the jaw; the result is a naturally looking, feeling and functioning tooth that fits in with the healthy teeth around it. The cost is lower than it used to be because of the advances that make it all so simple and easy to apply. It certainly beats having a plate with false tooth that needs to be constantly glued into place every day. The tooth lasts a lot longer, wears a lot better and as it has no nerves is a lot less susceptible to disease and infection. This is all possible because of harmless research carried out on an animal famed for its teeth.

There are various ways to fix crooked teeth, the most common and the most economical way, is by the use of braces. That said there are a variety of designer braces available to help not just the teeth, but the patient as well, according to a Central London dentist. The NHS uses braces and has done so for many decades, this like the use of NHS glasses has become somewhat of a stigma to youngsters, who are the main range of patients getting this treatment. Long gone is the geeky looking kid with the braces that look like they are welded to the teeth as some kind of punishment. Fixed Orthodontic Braces are fitted to the front of teeth using braces (hence the name), these are periodically tightened to steer the growth of the teeth into a set format. Basically they help the teeth as they grow, so they grow straight. The length of the treatment depends on the seriousness of the misalignment and can take years in some cases. In cases where the patient is uncomfortable about wearing braces, the dentist can apply Lingual braces that attach to the inside of the teeth formation. This makes it harder to see the brace and makes the patient feel more confident, however they do have their downside in that they are more uncomfortable to start with, and take longer to get used to. Lingual braces are mostly used in cases where the misalignment is quite severe, and tackling the problem from the inside-out, so to speak, makes it more affective and the treatment quicker. Invisalign is another more modern method that suits adults more, it is a simple gum shield that fits over the teeth and does the same job, they are taken off when eating or cleaning the teeth and are replaced with a tighter one fortnightly.

We all know about the bedside manner of doctors and the importance that such a relationship has on the treatment of the patient, but how often do we think about that same relationship when we think about a visit to the dentist. It may be that in the past dentists weren’t really thought of as physicians, and so we tend to think of them as the enemy rather than the ally they really are. A dentist in City of London prides himself on his own form of dental bedside manner; he says that it is important to have that relationship for a number of reasons. Many elderly people are nowadays reaping the benefit of dental advances and keeping their teeth much longer. This may be that they now consider the dentist a friend rather than the necessary evil of old. Most dentists will know and refer to their clients by their first name, as do most doctors, it is possibly because these days the patient feels little or no discomfort while getting a clean up, or more complicated treatment. The confidence factor is greatly enhanced when a dentist goes the extra mile to show some regard for their patients, and take an interest in what they do outside of the surgery. It not only helps the patient to feel trust in their dentist, it also means that a patient will be more likely to take heed of advice on dental care in the home. Preventative dentistry is as important as repairing the damage a poor regard has on the teeth and gums. If the patient considers that their dentist is a concerned friend then they are more inclined to act on advice, and this one factor in itself makes it all worthwhile.

A dental crown has distinct qualities that a veneer doesn’t have, and the two mustn’t be confused says a City of London dentist. A crown is a man made cap that is fitted to a damaged tooth, that damage can be a crack, a chip or a discolouration. It is made from a silver or gold based alloy, this in turn is coated with a hard wearing material to make it naturally white in colour. Some patients prefer to keep the silver or gold effect as a form of tooth jewellery, but that is a matter of personal taste rather than a requirement of a crown. Unlike a veneer that is a thin cover for the tooth, a crown actually replaces the depth of the tooth that is damaged. The dental technician makes the crown to a certain spec, then the dentist will remove the top layer of the tooth to the depth of the thickness of the cap, when the cap is fitted in place the tooth is half real and half artificial. It looks and feels, for all intents and purposes, like the original tooth. It retains all its nerves, but that makes it just as susceptible to infection as the other teeth, unlike dental implants which replace the whole tooth. A crown should last for years and will not usually wear down like a natural tooth, it isn’t possible to get an infection in a crown as it is an artificial tooth after all, but where the crown is joined to the natural tooth,this area is prone to infection as it is the natural tooth. Cleaning of the crown is the same as for the natural teeth, and flossing is also important to prevent an infection creeping into the join. The dental cement used will usually seal the joint, but this wears down with time and so extra dental care is necessary.

Almost everyone has a veneer in their house, usually in the form of a piece of furniture. It is a sliver of natural wood that is fitted and polished over less inferior woods, to make it appear as if the whole piece is solid. That is exactly what a tooth veneer is says a London W1 dentist, usually a patient will consult their dentist to see if a veneer will cure a problem they have with a tooth, or a whole row in some cases. These problems can be anything from a discoloured tooth to a misshapen or even chipped one. The dentist will examine the tooth and see if it is a good candidate for a veneer, they may recommend a crown instead. If the patient is a good candidate then a mould is made of the tooth, from this the veneer is sculptured and coloured to fit over the problem tooth, and also to fit in colour-wise with the other teeth. A fitting is then done to make sure all is fine, and some fine tuning may be necessary to make the veneer more natural. Then the dentist is ready to fit it, they will skim a top layer of enamel off the offending tooth and simply cement the veneer onto the tooth. If the veneer becomes damaged by a crack or chip, then it is easily replaced as it can not be repaired in most cases. The cost has come done a lot in recent years with more people opting for this simple solution to dental problems. Little or no discomfort is felt either during or after the procedure, the patient may feel a little strange with the new tooth, so to speak, but the mouth will generally get used to it after a few days, all in all a simple and quick solution to what used to be a major dental problem.

Dental phobias may be inherited from our parents says a West London dentist. For hundreds of years no pain relief was available to the patient of a dentist, and it may well be that this inherent fear gets passed down. The phobia is less apparent these days, and that could be down to a generation of people who have experienced the advances in dental care. There is a difference between an anxiety, a fear and a phobia, the basic difference is that an anxiety is a fear of the unknown, a fear is a feeling of vulnerability that affects people in many situations and the dentist is one such example. A phobia is quite different from the other two in that it is a fear of a known situation, the generation that grew up after the founding of the Health Service in the 1950s experienced a state granted dental service that wasn’t customer friendly. Dentistry has always been a professional on the peripheral of the medical professional, and as such it hasn’t had the research or scientific advances that the general medical professional has enjoyed. Thankfully today the old image of the dentist with the blood splattered apron and the evil smile is a thing of the past. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s school dentists sent us to sleep using gas, nick named `Laughing Gas` it certainly didn’t live up to its name. It sent the patient to sleep with a metal plug keeping the mouth open, when the patient woke up the pain was immediate and often severe. Thankfully today we get a gel on the gums so we don’t even feel the needle, then after the treatment the pain is still numbed for many hours, by the time the numbness is gone a few tablets will generally ease us through the full recovery. Dental phobia is slowly being eased from our genes, and it’s not a day too soon.

Almost everyone has a veneer in their house, usually in the form of a piece of furniture. It is a sliver of natural wood that is fitted and polished over less inferior woods to make it appear as if the whole piece is solid. That is exactly what a tooth veneer is as well says a London W1 dentist, usually a patient will consult their dentist to see if a veneer will cure a problem they have with a tooth or a whole row in some cases. These problems can be anything from a discoloured tooth to a misshapen or even chipped one. The dentist will examine the tooth and see if it is a good candidate for a veneer, they may recommend a crown instead. If the patient is a good candidate then a mould is made of the tooth, from this the veneer is sculptured and coloured to fit over the problem tooth, and also to fit in colour wise with the other teeth. A fitting is then done to make sure all is fine, and some fine tuning may be necessary to make the veneer more natural. Then the dentist is ready to fit it, they will skim a top layer of enamel off the offending tooth and simply cement the veneer onto the tooth. If the veneer becomes damaged by a crack or chip, then it is easily replaced as it can not be repaired in most cases. The cost has come done a lot in recent years with more people opting for this simple solution to dental problems. Little or no discomfort is felt either during or after the procedure, the patient may feel a little strange with the new tooth, so to speak, but the mouth will generally get used to it after a few days, all in all a simple and quick solution to what used to be a major dental problem.