January 10th, 2012
Once you have decided to set sail on that beautiful adventure of starting a family in the city of London, you had better get yourself ready to nurse your child through their oral future. Teeth are a tricky sea to sail, especially in children as they demand constant vigilance in order to keep the mouth healthy. Teething is going to be the first hurdle you have to face as a parent and you have to ensure that you do all you can to keep your child free from tooth decay and infection. By having a close liaison with a paediatrician during this time will help you to make the correct decisions. Once this is over, the next hurdle is when your child shows their secondary teeth- again, a tricky time, but by this point, you will have found a dentist who again, can help you out and get you through it. The final hurdle after that is that there is a strong chance your child may have to get some tooth alignment and have to wear a brace. This is also a traumatic time and you may find yourself giving your sibling more moral and emotional support during this time along with practical support. You get this right however and you will be giving your kid the best possible break in life and keep them smiling for life.
December 29th, 2011
Children- we have them and we love them, but they are always going to be a handful and as they grow, their teeth are going to be a handful too. So you need to get yourself prepared for the future by finding a good dentist and pediatrician in central London as they start to grow, and prepare yourself for the fact that you are going to have to pay for all of this treatment they are going to have as well for their oral hygiene: an insurance plan might be wise to cover all the treatments they are going to have as they get older. The world now has all the information you need at your disposal, from dentists to the internet, so by getting yourself up to speed, you will be prepared for any eventuality, and there will be some. It starts with teething, to the loss of your child’s milk teeth and then through to that tricky sea of tooth alignment and if, they are still living at home- wisdom teeth will be next on the agenda. No-one said this was going to be easy for you but you can ride out the storm if you do the homework alongside your dentist and it will become easy and second nature, and in return, your child will thank you and be there for you when your dentures fall out over dinner!
November 22nd, 2011
Good oral health for your child begins with incorporating excellent dental hygiene into your child’s life from an early age. Even before your children’s teeth become visible, their gums should be cleaned with a damp cloth to encourage blood circulation and remove any plaque and food particles. It is important to familiarize your child with the dentist and have a proper check up by your child’s first birthday. With frequent visits to the dentist from a young age, your child will learn not to fear dental check ups and grow to appreciate the importance of oral health. Your dentist will be able to keep track of your child’s teeth and detect any potential problems. Preventative dental care from an early age is crucial to fighting costly dental diseases such as tooth decay. By about two and a half years of age, your children should have all their primary teeth visible. Ask your dentist in London W1 about a fluoride treatment at this stage to harden your children’s tooth enamel. This helps prevent common childhood dental diseases. You may also want to consider dental sealants for children’s new permanent molars. Dental sealants work as an extra shield of protection against cavities. You and your dentist can work together to make certain that your children’s oral health is the best as it can be for them.
November 2nd, 2011
It’s not the easiest thing in London W1 to keep your eye out for your kids 24 hours a day and for all your best efforts, they will get up to no good as soon as your back’s turned. Even your best attempts to ensure that they have solid diet will be ruined by the fact they will be munching on everything bad for their teeth as soon as your out of sight- were you not the same? But when it comes to the general oral hygiene of children, there is a brilliant way to protect their teeth from the ravages of tooth decay so that you don’t have to worry about what rubbish they are putting in their mouths- the dental sealant. This is a fantastic way of ensuring acids are kept away from the enamel that covers the tooth. All it is, is a thin layer of plastic that is applied to usually the teeth that are most suceptible to tooth decay, i.e. those molars towards the back of the mouth and the it ‘shrink wrapped’ onto the tooth with a curing lamp. It is painless and beautifully versatile as it can be touched up should it start to wear down. And then you don’t have to worry about tooth decay in your kids for a good 5-10 years by which time they may have learnt a thing or two about oral hygiene! -the little rogues can eat what they like now without you having to worry!
September 6th, 2011
As a parent you will want to make the most of your time with your children and ensure that they grow up to be healthy. As part of this, you will need to steward them through the early days of starting to take care of their teeth. But you are not alone when it comes to this; you can and should get help from your local dentist in the City of London area.
An important part of childhood dental care and the parenting involved in this is making sure that your child takes on dental care as part of their daily routine. Very young children will have to have parents brushing their teeth for them but when they are old enough to competently handle a brush they will need to be monitored so that they are brushing their teeth twice a day just like adults. Giving them incentives is often effective and making a chart too.
Dental sealants can be effective for slightly older children. Dentists can fit a protective layer of plastic over the new molars of six and twelve year olds so that these vulnerable teeth are protected from the potential ravages of plaque and ensuing dental decay.
By taking your child from an early age to go and see your dentist you will not only be allowing an expert to examine their mouth but also helping them to see the visits as part of the normal fabric of a person’s routine.
August 23rd, 2011
It is a common habit of young children to suck their thumb. This does not always happen only at night, sometimes young children do so during the day as well. It truly does become a habit and it can be very difficult to stop doing it. But it is necessary, as a parent to try and get your child away from thumb sucking by a certain age so that it does not have an adverse effect on the way their teeth develop.
Sucking your thumb night after night (or day after day) affects the way that your teeth are positioned. Essentially the commonest form of this is when the front teeth are pushed outwards by the frequent presence of the thumb. Having teeth which are misaligned in this way can have consequences for the oral health of the patient.
Not only do misaligned teeth not look as good as teeth which are straight and in line with one another, there can be other complications. The act of grinding one’s teeth during sleep is called bruxism and dentists have found a link between misaligned teeth and the condition. Bruxism itself can cause the erosion of tooth enamel, leading to tooth decay and also complications with the temporomandibular joint (usually shortened to the TMJ). Teeth which are too bunched up in one place can also lead to cavities because it is harder to clean them properly, ye t plaque can still affect them.
The consequences of all this may be that a young person has to wear a brace because of the effects of sucking their thumb. If you are looking for tips as to gently wean your child away from thumb sucking, your City of London dentist might be able to help, or you can consult a child care specialist in your area.
June 6th, 2011
It’s big moment becoming a parent and hopefully a glorious one. But the biggest challenge you will have to face in the city of London is caring for the health of your new-born, especially caring for the health of your child’s teeth. There is no exact science to this and however many books you care to read beforehand is no substitute to the real thing happening before your eyes. But thankfully, you don’t have to go through this on your own, because with the aid of a good pediatric dentist and later on, a regular dentist, you should be able to avoid the minefield of problems that can come with children’s teeth. The first real test is the teething years and you should watch what you feed your child- being careful to feed your child foods that are low in carbohydrates and sugars, because it’s during this time your child’s teeth will be at their most vulnerable to decay; you should also verse yourself in the art of cleaning the teeth. Your second challenge comes when the secondary teeth grow and again the same principle applies although you should also enquire about dental sealants that will protect the teeth from tooth decay. Ensure you keep a close relationship with your dentist during these difficult periods as they will be able to give you the support you need.
April 6th, 2011
Being a parent means look after your children and doing your best to make sure that they have an excellent start in life. You will probably be anxious to ensure that they go to the right school, have a pleasant group of friends and are fruitfully pursuing their budding hobbies. It also means that you have a responsibility for their health and you will be all too aware that any health problems developed in childhood might blight them for the rest of their lives.
Looking after your children’s teeth can seem like a difficult task given how much youngsters love sweets and are reluctant to brush their teeth. But with a few simple techniques and routines it can be a lot easier than you think. Giving children incentives to brush their teeth can be a very effective method indeed. Perhaps avoid giving them sweets as their treat though!
Many people favour drawing up a wall chart with their child so that they can tick off the days as they successfully brush their teeth. Children actually like order a lot more than some people think and a wall chart appeals to this part of their nature. It is the aim of such an exercise for children to find eventually that tooth brushing becomes just a part of their routine, long after the chart has been finished.
Take them to see the dentist on regular basis so that being in the surgery and among dental professionals becomes something that is normal and not to be feared or apprehensive towards. Your City of London dentist will also be able to check that their teeth are developing as they should be and that no insidious dental conditions are developing.
February 25th, 2011
Having a cavity form in one of your teeth can be a painful process which requires a filling. Once a cavity has formed your teeth cannot regrow and it is something that will be with you for the rest of your life. Children can be especially at risk from dental cavities and it is essential that their teeth are protected. The use of dental sealants can help.
A dental sealant is a plastic coating applied to the rear teeth of children. It is a simple and effective barrier against bacteria harming the youthful teeth. By using them, the child’s teeth are protected from bacteria and plaque which can cause them to decay.
Often patients have dental sealant placed at about the age of six when the permanent molars erupt and again at the age of twelve when the second molars erupt. They are affordable and will last several years before they need to be supplemented. The process of applying dental sealant is painful and will not cause children discomfort.
It can sometimes be difficult to get children to brush their teeth properly and with them snacking on sweets in the play ground at school, it is worth while giving their teeth the extra protection afforded by dental sealant. After all, it is better to protect teeth at a young age so that life long problems cannot take hold.
If you are concerned about the state of your child’s teeth, make an appointment with your Central London dentist and ask them for more expert advice about dental sealant and what it can do for your child’s teeth.
February 1st, 2011
Keeping your teeth healthy and free from decay is important at all ages but for babies who are just developing their first set of teeth, it is especially vital. You should establish a relationship with a dentist from the earliest days of your baby’s life so that their mouth can be monitored properly. Dental experts advise that a leading cause of dental problems in babies is a condition called baby bottle tooth decay.
If your baby’s teeth are in prolonged contact with any substance apart from water then there is a danger of decay occurring. This is because human’s first teeth are incredibly fragile while the enamel is developing.
The best way to stop your baby from experiencing baby bottle tooth decay is to not allow him or her to have a bottle of milk or formula for too long. They should just be drinking it while they are thirsty but not sucking on it for a long period of time.
You should not leave a bottle in bed with your baby because they will tend to reach for it and suck on it in the night. Some experts even suggest that bottles should only be given to babies at meal times. In any event, try to get your infant to drink from a ‘tipping cup’ as soon as they are able. This reduces the risk of liquids having prolonged contact with the developing baby teeth.
You should clean your baby’s teeth once there are able seven or eight teeth in the mouth but be sure to use a soft bristled brush so that damage is not sustained. By the age of two your child ought to be brushing their own teeth twice a day and using fluoride tooth paste if you can be sure that they won’t swallow it. Talk to your Central London dentist for more advice.
