May 19th, 2010
Looking after the health of your mouth is very important. Good oral hygiene, with effective brushing and flossing every day will help to keep your teeth and gums free from disease. However, it is very important that you also see a dentist for a check up appointment every six months to ensure your teeth and gums are not suffering damage. It is also necessary to see a dentist to protect yourself from other diseases and conditions that affect the oral cavity.
Perhaps the most serious of all the conditions that affect the mouth is oral cancer. This is classified as any cancer affecting the lips, tongue, cheek lining and throat. Oral cancer is a very nasty form of the disease that will be fatal if not caught and treated early enough. If the cancer is detected in time you stand a greater than 80 per cent chance of making a full recovery.
Oral cancer usually appears as small sores, lumps or patches on the soft tissue. These will be very sensitive to extremes of hot and cold and very painful. They also do not disappear after two weeks like non-cancerous sores in the mouth. They are often red or white or a combination of the two.
Your London W1 dentist will be able to examine any suspicious areas in the mouth and carry out a brush biopsy to test for cancerous cells. There are other signs of oral cancer which you need to be aware of including unexplained bleeding in the mouth and sudden weight loss. If you suspect oral cancer or are unsure about a certain part of the mouth make an appointment to see a dentist as soon as possible, it could be the most important decision you’ll ever make. Also ask your dentist for more information about oral cancer at your next appointment.
April 23rd, 2010
Flossing is a method of cleaning in between the teeth to get rid of food debris, and keep down the build up of tartar says a West London dentist. Imagine your house having a clean floor with dirty skirting boards, which would look so out of place that it would be very obvious. Well that’s exactly what flossing is, it is the cleaning of the areas that the main method of cleaning miss, you wouldn’t vacuum a carpet and leave dirt around the sides, so why clean your teeth and not floss? It’s not as if it’s even a hard or time consuming exercise. Tartar will build up around the sides of your teeth if flossing isn’t done on a regular basis, this is generally chipped off the tooth when we get our 6 monthly check up, but to prevent the build up in the first place is the sensible thing to do. Flossing is as important as brushing and rinsing properly, even more so, as brushing and rinsing does not remove most of the food residue in between the teeth. This food is attacked by bacteria which feeds on it and then as a by-product, produces harmful acids that damage the enamel on the front of the teeth. Bacteria can then penetrate deep into the tooth and cause infections, if the problem continues we either end up losing the tooth or getting a root canal treatment, neither of these are worth avoiding a few minutes a day that flossing requires. Washing the mouth with water throughout the day will also help to keep down acid build up, but be sure to have a little floss first. Flossing isn’t just for the morning and the evening, it should be done after each meal throughout the day to be fully effective and keep diseases of the gums at bay.
April 17th, 2010
All parents have a parental duty of care to their children, and quite rightly so says a W1 London dentist. Starting off early in life is a good basis for getting our children into a healthy regime of oral care. Dental diseases can start in children very young, and so it is important that they realise the importance of having good teeth and healthy gums. We teach our children so many things about life to prepare them, first for school, then their teen years, then adulthood, mainly we will be teaching them to not make the same mistakes as we did. However, some lessons need to be passed on as not all of our life’s experiences are bad ones. Teaching our children simple routines like how to brush our teeth properly, flossing and getting into the habit of having a conscious mind about oral hygiene, will go a long way to living up to our parental duties says a dentist with a practice in W1 London. Gum disease is a major problem in the U.K. and one of the causes is a lack of parental control in dental care that is of course on top of a bad diet which includes too much sugar, salt and saturated fats. Once gum disease takes a hold the teeth begin to suffer, and a circle of deterioration is hard to stop, all it really needs is for good parental control in the early learning years. The expression `A stitch in time saves nine` is not heard so much these days, but it is a very true one. Children are quick learners, but you have to bring some fun into it if you are going to get a result. Making the cleaning of our teeth a family affair will instil in our young ones a happy medium that they will associate with all through their lives, and healthy teeth and gums is a result of all the effort.
April 12th, 2010
Gum Disease is a major problem that causes us not just dental problems, but social and personality problems as well says a dentist from W1 in London. One problem exasperates another once we have contracted a gum disease; such as the advanced disease Gingivitis. Once the problem takes a hold it is almost impossible to cure, the best we can hope for is a prolonged delay in the deterioration of the gums. Acids and bacteria are the most common causes of bad breath from diseased gums, although liver and gastric problems, along with a poor diabetes regime will also add to the problem. When we eat or drink something pieces of debris get lodged in between the teeth, the bacteria in the food and our mouths then react with the sugars, fats and chemicals in the debris and this is what produces the odour. The bacteria then infects the gums and disease sets in. As the fleshy part of the gums die off the bacteria gets to congregate around the exposed part of the tooth, and tartar builds up. Tartar is the hard off white substance that we has a rough edge to it, your dentist will generally scrape this build up off when you get your 6 monthly check up. The best way to eliminate bad breath caused by gum disease is through a good regular oral hygiene regime, every dentist has a hygiene nurse and it takes just a few minutes to get good advice. Brushing throughout the day, flossing after every meal and the use of a good mouth wash will all go some way to beating bad breath caused by gum disease. Try carrying some flossing sticks with you and drink a regular amount of water throughout the day, both of these simple measures will go some way to beating the problem and making you more confident and socially acceptable.
March 7th, 2010
Although brushing your teeth is vital to protecting your teeth from the danger of tooth decay and gum disease, it is important to remember that there is more to dental care than just brushing your teeth everyday.
Daily dental hygiene is crucial to keeping your teeth free from plaque and food debris that cause decay, disease and bad breath. Dentists recommend that you brush twice a day with a soft-bristled brush for at least three minutes. Using a brush with a smaller head will also allow greater mobility allowing you to clean teeth more effectively. However, as well as brushing dentists recommend that you also floss at least once a day. Flossing is important because it cleans the areas in between the teeth and below the gum line that are almost impossible to clean by just brushing.
Flossing also removes food trapped between teeth that decays and releases foul odours, the main cause of over ninety per cent of cases of bad breath. It is also true that the hard to reach areas between teeth are often the location of the first signs of decay, especially if you are not flossing regularly.
Other tools that are useful for daily hygiene as recommended by dentists are tongue cleaners and inter-dental brushes. These also help to remove more bacteria, helping to keep the mouth as clean as possible. But without a doubt the most important thing to remember is that even if your are using all these tools and techniques you still need to be seeing a London W1 dentist at least every six-months to make sure your teeth are as healthy as possible.
January 18th, 2010
Flossing was devised to eliminate plaque build-up, plaque is the dead bacteria that forms into tartar around the base of teeth. This tartar prevents the effect that brushing has on the teeth, without that protection our teeth will become brittle and break off before they are due to. Getting plaque removed every 6 months with a dental clean up is fine, but by then the damage is already irreversibly done. Flossing, says the Central London dentist, is done for an important reason and that reason is a preventative one. Imagine a corner of your garden being invaded by aggressive wild pigs, if they aren’t moved on they will destroy your garden, if when they die you leave the carcass to rot it will smell and cause more damage, as will all their natural waste if not removed daily. Now bring in the RSPCA to move them on and the problem is solved, a healthy smelling corner of your lovely garden is recovered to the satisfaction of all. Now, let’s think of flossing in that same way, the floss is the RSPCA and twice a day it moves the problem (pigs) on. Simple isn’t it, so why aren’t we doing it enough? Its mostly down to a lax attitude to our oral care, we are sometimes so engrossed in our day that we forget. Now at least when you next see a meal, you’ll remember that vision of the wild pigs and be reminded to floss your teeth at least twice a day. Drinking water and brushing after each meal is also a good way to keep bacteria build up at bay, carry a few flossing and tooth pick sticks with you in future. It takes just a few minutes to clean between the teeth after a meal.
January 9th, 2010
A dentist in London W1 has praised the importance, and necessity, of dental hygienists in his surgery. They are the front line troops in our fight to keep our teeth for the longest time possible; even though they actually work against the principles of business within a dental practice. They do this by teaching us how to keep gum disease and teeth damage down to a minimum, which means less work for the dentist and less revenue for the business. So why do dentists provide this service? Well, the answer is quite simple really; it’s all about prevention and customer satisfaction. Dentistry as a profession is as old as the medical profession, but without the regard we normally give to doctors. A hygienist is the first person we usually meet on a visit to the dentist, which lets face it is a fearful experience at the best of times. This goes back to the old days when pain relief was a figure of fiction and wishful thinking, today dentistry is a profession that embraces all that science has to offer, such as gels to numb our gums before we even get the jab. A hygienist is a highly trained professional in the field of dentistry prevention and the care of our gums, just as a dietary nurse is to a Diabetic. Flossing, brushing and general day to day care of our teeth will slow down and often prevent infection, and this is all down to what we learn from our unsung heroes at the surgeries called Dental Hygienists. They prepare reports for the dentists which are based on the skills they learn in training, these reports are vital to a dentist on decisions they make when treating us. A change in oral care is often all it takes.
July 12th, 2009
Flossing is a technique used to clean the teeth to remove plaque that accumulates between the teeth and the gum line. If the plaque is not removed periodically it increases the growth of oral bacteria that can cause tooth decay, gum disease or any other form of periodontal disease. Flossing is performed using a dental floss, which is essentially a bundle of nylon filaments or plastic fibres.
It is very important to floss your teeth in addition to brushing every day to prevent the build up of plaque. Floss can reach those spaces around your teeth and gums where a toothbrush cannot. It is important to learn the right flossing technique from your London W1 dentist or you can end up bruising your gums. These tips given below may guide you on the right way to floss;
• Break approximately 18 inches of dental floss.
• Wind majority of the floss around your middle finger of the left hand and wind the remaining around the same finger of your right hand.
• Tightly hold the dental floss between the thumb and forefingers leaving an inch of floss in between.
• Insert this between your teeth and gently guide it in a rocking motion taking care not to jerk or snap the floss
• Be gentle when you reach the gums and curve in a C-shape against the adjacent tooth
• Scrape both the sides of all the teeth
• Take care to clean around the edges of implants if any are present.
Your gums may bleed initially when you start flossing; but this will stop once the plaque is broken down. But if the bleeding continues, consult your dentist to check if your flossing technique is correct.
August 17th, 2008
I once read an anecdote where a person had to talk to a teller through a small hole in the window. And since they had a hard time hearing each other, they had to speak close to that hole. Unfortunately, the teller had halitosis. So, that person wanted to speed the conversation up in order to breathe fresh air once again. Hilarious, isn’t it. Unfortunately, it commonly happens and a lot of them are not aware that they have it.Halitosis is basically known as bad breath. It is often caused by the accumulation of bacteria in the oral cavity from particles of food left inside. When you have a tooth decay or dental caries, it may also lead to bad breath. Bleeding gums or gingivitis can also be a cause of halitosis. This is one of the reasons why dentists always advise their patients to clean their teeth and tongue thoroughly through brushing and flossing. Mouthwash or gum can help mask the odor but it does not treat the underlying condition.
How do you get rid of this bad breath that will not only affect the health of your body but your social status as well? First is treating the tooth decay and gingivitis. If you need to have a tooth extracted because of its decay, then you have to do it. And always keep your mouth clean and fresh by regular brushing and flossing.
Do these steps and you are on your way to that perfect smile and fresh breath, including keeping the air of London smelling clean.
June 21st, 2008
Plaques and tartar are very common in young adults of west London, which is the main source of infection affecting the gums and teeth. Though regular brushing and flossing are effective in preventing the formation of plaques, once it has formed any amount of brushing and flossing would not help removing it. For this you would need the help of a dentist or dental hygienist, who will do a deep cleaning of your teeth removing the plaques and tartar that have accumulated over time. By deep cleaning, your dentist means scaling and root planing of your teeth, which is a very common conservative procedure used in treating periodontal diseases. Even if you don’t have any gum or teeth infections, you can undergo this procedure as a preventive measure. If you have any inflammation of gum or periodontal tissue, your dentist might recommend scaling and root planing as the first step of treatment plan. This is a conservative procedure to remove the thickened calculus, which is also known as tartar, and plaques are removed along with bacteria collected below the gumline. Sometimes, your gum might have developed pockets where bacteria collect leading to gingivitis, periodontitis, and later tooth loss. Hence, when you visit your dentist, he will check for presence of gum pockets using a periodontal probe. If it can go beyond 3 mm depth, it means you have gum pocket and it could trap plaque and bacteria inside. Therefore, it is better to do scaling and root planing to remove the plaque and tartar from the tooth surface by scaling. The scaling procedure requires numbing the area of work and your dentist would be using some strong local anaesthetics for that purpose. For scaling dentists in London, use sonic or ultrasonic scalers and hand instruments such as periodontal scalers and curettes. By using these instruments dentist would blast off the hard rock like tartar with the vibrating blunt metal surface of the instrument while frequently cooling the area with a spray of water, which would remove the debris from the procedure. After scaling the root surface including the area below the gumline, root planing is done to smoothen the rough surface by removing the rough cementum and dentine along with calculus and microorganisms. Once the surface has become smooth, the gums can easily heal without any irritation and attach to the tooth surface effectively removing gum pockets. The smooth surface makes it difficult for microorganisms and plaque to develop. You might have some sensitiveness for two or three days after the procedure, hence you should avoid exposing your teeth to extreme temperatures. Till your gums heal properly, you may experience some bleeding or pain while brushing and flossing for which over-the-counter pain killers are helpful except aspirin, which will increase bleeding. But do remember to keep the followup appointment with your dentist and maintain proper oral hygiene
