September 15th, 2011
Once you have brushed your teeth, that should not be the end of your home oral hygiene routine. There are other things to take into consideration lest you want to be at the mercy of the damaging effects of plaque on your teeth and gums.
The failure to floss can leave damaging amounts of plaque in the gaps between your teeth. If plaque is left there it can erode the layer of enamel and start to cause cavities. These will have to be filled otherwise the pulp chamber inside the tooth can become compromised and the health of the whole tooth will be threatened. Flossing doesn’t have to take very long and it is not a costly pursuit. In fact a box of dental floss represents excellent value as they usually contain many metres of dental floss.
Other things to consider when you are looking after your teeth at home include how you are brushing your teeth and the equipment you are using. Overly vigorous brushing can do more harm than good and the use of a brush with frayed bristles won’t do much remove plaque at all.
Even if you brush your teeth really well and take the advice to floss too, there is one other crucial part of your dental routine that should not be neglected: six monthly visits to your dentist in West London.
September 2nd, 2011
Brushing, flossing and regular visits to the dentist are things that most people know are crucial to good dental health. What is less well publicised is the fact that your dietary choices can affect the level of your oral hygiene as well. You should take this into consideration when you are choosing what to eat because you don’t want to compromise your oral health because of your dietary choices.
Of course most people know of the effects of eating too many boiled sweets, for example. Full of sugar and with a tendency to stick to your teeth for long after you have been eating them, these can contribute to a large amount of plaque in the mouth. But anything with high levels of sugar should be eaten with restraint when it comes to thinking about your oral hygiene.
Other foods that can be damaging for teeth include things like fruit and potato crisps. Fruit is very good for you generally and contains plenty of vitamins but it is also high in sugars too. The habit of eating cheese as the very final course in a meal can be explained in part because of how it helps to naturally remove some of the sugar from one’s teeth. Crisps are a problem because of their texture and the way fragments of them tend to hang around in the mouth after they have been eaten.
Dentists in the City of London recommend that a special effort is made to brush your teeth after you have eaten any food which tends to produce a lot of plaque bacteria.
June 14th, 2011
Brushing our teeth has been drummed into since we could remember and so should be automatic in our normal London W1 day. But as our understanding of how our teeth work has evolved, other techniques to clean our teeth have been added into our everyday routine. This is because it was discovered that just brushing alone, didn’t quite cut the mustard. It’s difficult to get the bristles of a regular tooth brush between the teeth to remove food from within. So we’ve arrived at even better methods to solve the problem. Flossing is a wonderful invention that does the job, as are small inter-dental brushes and lets not under-estimate the usefulness of mouth-washes either. However, it’s probably a safe bet that most of us carry out these operations first thing in the morning and last thing at night. But what of the rest of the day like brunch, lunch and the odd afternoon snack? The whole concept of flossing is to remove food and which is why we should carry with us some floss, a small brush and maybe even a small bottle of mouth-wash, wherever we go. Is this drastic or just common sense? Think about it: oral hygiene twice a day means that food is breeding bacteria and acids on our teeth for at least 8 hours and in dental terms, that’s a recipe for disaster.
May 10th, 2011
Being concerned about health ought not to be something confined to gym fanatics and healthy eating obsessives. It should be something that is considered by all of us in our every day lives and form part of our routine. Being healthier means living longer and a greater sense of well being leads to happiness and increased productivity.
Oral hygiene is just as much a part of health considerations as looking after the rest of your body. Your mouth is an intimate part of key things that you do every day: eating, drinking, talking, breathing and smiling. Ensuring that your mouth is as healthy as it can be does not have to be something that takes up a great deal of time and effort. A few simple acts that become routinized are all that it takes to make sure that you have lasting health in your mouth.
Think of oral hygiene in two main parts: what you do at home to take care of your teeth and your relationship with your London W1 dentist. Home oral care should consist of regular brushings of your teeth using fluoride tooth paste. This should be done at least twice a day and be followed by flossing. The aim here is to rid the mouth of the plaque that builds up after eating and can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.
Even with the best of care though, dental ailments are still a possibility and that is where the relationship with your dentist comes into play. By allowing him or her to examine your mouth thoroughly for signs of things like cavities, gingivitis and oral cancer you are giving yourself the best chance of avoiding complications, pain and invasive treatment.
April 30th, 2011
When you think about taking excellent care of your teeth, your mind probably imagines the tooth brush which is sitting in your bath room as you read this. It is the most handy tool in the fight to keep your mouth healthy and in good working order and you should be using it at least twice a day with fluoride tooth paste to remove plaque and strengthen enamel. But there is far more to dental hygiene than brushing alone.
If you want to avoid things like dental decay and gum disease it is imperative that you also floss your teeth. Plaque will hide wherever it can, including between your teeth. You must not let it stay there because it will break down the enamel on your teeth and, if it is on the gum line of your teeth, begin to inflame the gums. Flossing should remove most of the plaque that is between teeth, leaving you free to enjoy your dental health.
The decisions you take in the rest of your life can have an impact on how healthy your mouth is too. Activities like smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol to an excess on a regular basis can cause oral cancer and they decrease the production of valuable saliva. A healthy diet and plenty of exercise means that you are fit and strong and more likely to fight off a number of things which might otherwise affect you.
Regular trips to your West London dentist complete the picture of a healthy outlook for your teeth and gums. They know more about teeth and gums than just about anyone can check that everything is running smoothly in your mouth.
April 19th, 2011
In the same way that you make time to clean your hair and body when you take a shower or bath, you should always give yourself time to adequately clean your mouth so that it stays healthy and able to function properly. But you must remember to give yourself time to do more than just brushing. Too many people in the United Kingdom think that all they have to do to look after their teeth is to give them a quick brush and the rest will take care of itself. If you are one of these people, you are putting your teeth and gums at risk.
This is not to say that brushing is not vital; of course it should form the cornerstone of any dental care routine. But you need to do more. Flossing is the activity that many people miss out when they look after their teeth. It is vital that flossing is undertaken as regularly as brushing because your tooth brush can only remove so much plaque from your mouth. Don’t give plaque a reprieve by letting it hide, undisturbed between your teeth.
Also you need to consider your diet and lifestyle. Even if you are an expert brusher of your teeth, not having a healthy diet and eating too many sugary foods can put your mouth at risk. Make sure that you are regularly visiting your dentists too. There are some problems with your mouth that you might not notice. Your London W1 dentist will be alert to the signs of things like tooth decay and periodontal disease and offer an early diagnosis. It would be a terrible shame if you compromised the health of your mouth simply because you neglected to go to the dentist at the right time.
April 15th, 2011
Gum disease is definitely one to do your level best to avoid. It can have a lasting impact on the health of your mouth and may require invasive procedures to sort it out if it is not dealt with swiftly. It is no wonder then that dentists tell their patients how to avoid gum disease in the first place rather than having to deal with it. Prevention, as they say, is better than cure.
One ought to appreciate just how gum disease happens in order to comprehend how to avoid it. Just like dental decay, when cavities are formed in your teeth, gum disease happens when plaque is left hanging around in your mouth. Your gums are not keen on plaque and they will become inflamed as a result of prolonged contact with it.
Brushing in the proper fashion is very important then. Do it twice a day, usually first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Don’t rush it; take your time to ensure that you are removing all the plaque from the gum line of your teeth. Make sure that you pick up the habit of flossing too. All too often people wonder why they are still suffering from gum disease even when they are a dedicated brusher of teeth. This may well be because they are neglecting to floss and plaque is sticking around between teeth.
Ask your Central London dentist about how they would advise you to beat gum disease before it can start. The consequences of being blasé about gum disease can be as bad losing some of your teeth.
April 2nd, 2011
Taking care of your teeth is multi-faceted operation that hopefully should form part of your daily routine. You should make sure that you are not eating too many sugary foods as they can contribute to dental decay. Don’t forget to floss so that plaque and debris are removed from between your teeth. But the most fundamental part of oral care is making sure that you are brushing your teeth and brushing your teeth in the right way.
The first thing to get right is the tooth brush. It is important to use a brush that is comfortable to hold so that it will not slip. Regularly replace your brush when the bristles become frayed so that it is still effective. Use a tooth paste that contains fluoride so that the enamel is strengthened and you will have greater protection into the future. Be sure to brush all areas of your mouth as plaque can get everywhere. Don’t miss out the inside of your teeth as some people do.
The primary aim of brushing your teeth is to remove the plaque which can be so detrimental to your oral hygiene. Plaque is the main cause of dental decay and gum disease. If allowed to thrive in the mouth plaque will break down the enamel and cause damaging holed to appear in your teeth. It will also cause gums to become inflamed and swollen, eventually leading to tooth loss if the problem is not solved in its early stages.
By keeping to regular appointments at your London W1 dentist you will be making sure that any problems with the way you are brushing can be sorted out. Your dentist can see the signs of whether your brushing regime is as effective as it can be.
February 7th, 2011
Everybody knows how important it is that teeth are kept clean by brushing at least twice a day. But this is not enough to ensure that your mouth is free from the plaque which can damage it. The fact is that, even with the best brushing technique, you will not be able to reach all the parts of your mouth where plaque hides. This is why it is so important that you floss as well.
Plaque is a substance which forms when you eat food, especially those which contains plenty of sugar and or starch. If left unchecked, plaque begins to attack the enamel which protects your teeth. In the end your teeth will begin to decay and become especially sensitive as the nerves inside are compromised and interfered with.
Brushing ought to remove plaque from most of the surface of your teeth but plaque also forms between the teeth and needs to be removed. This is where flossing comes in. After you have brushed, you should take a suitable amount of dental floss and pull it between your teeth in a back and forth motion.
Leaving plaque between the teeth can also be a leading form of gum disease. Don’t be afraid to start using floss if you have not done so before. Over time your gums will become hardened to the process of flossing but the first few times you do it there might be a little bleeding as your sensitive gums are lacerated by the floss. This is perfectly normal and you should persist with your new flossing regime.
Your London W1 dentist can give you plenty of advice about the right technique and which dental floss to buy.
October 1st, 2010
When it comes to looking after the health of your teeth, there are a few basic steps you can take to keep them clean, healthy and in the best possible condition. Brushing your teeth twice a day for three minutes as advised by City of London dentists and flossing at least once a day will help to keep the teeth clean and free from decay-causing plaque and tartar.
When we eat food, tiny particles get trapped in the small spaces between the teeth and also in the grooves of the enamel and around the base of the teeth. Bacteria forms on these particles and creates a sticky film called plaque which will coat the teeth and will attract more bacteria each time we eat. This bacteria decays and releases acid which will slowly start to erode the tooth enamel. When this starts to happen, the more sensitive inner parts of the teeth are exposed to the bacteria and an infection can easily start to build up. This is called tooth decay and will eventually lead to the destruction of the dental nerve and the loss of the tooth.
This can all be prevented by the removal of this bacteria and plaque by effective brushing. Cleaning the teeth with toothpaste and a toothbrush will strip the bacteria from the teeth and make it harder for plaque to cling to the teeth. This is why dentists always recommend cleaning the teeth after eating, as this is when the teeth are at their most vulnerable.
Flossing helps to remove the plaque from the more difficult to reach areas between the teeth that a toothbrush can not get to. Cleaning in tandem like this will give you the best possible chance of avoiding dental conditions and having a check up every six months will also ensure that your teeth are as healthy as possible.
