Posts tagged “teeth and gums”

Looking out for your mouth in West London

October 26th, 2011

Teeth and gums aren’t the easiest thing to care for on a normal day, especially if the slightest of problems crop up, but if you avoid the pitfalls, you should get through life with a healthy mouth. Looking after your mouth is an art-form and is similar to the way you should look after your body too because both work in unison and go hand in hand. Excellent oral hygiene can get you through the rough waters and save you from extreme problems such as gum disease and tooth decay in west London. Dental check-ups are imperative to help you out when you fall foul of your dental hygiene and your dentist can brush you down and send you on your way if need be. But unless you live with a dentist, they are not going to be there on a day-to-day basis; so it’s down to you to get your act in order with a good healthy oral set-up. The products are out there and you should take advantage of what is on offer in the shops. You should also confront your dentist and discuss what is right and how to care for your mouth.

Take care of your teeth every day, say dentists in West London

September 8th, 2011

Make taking care of your teeth part of the daily routine of your life and you can look forward to a great many years of excellent oral hygiene. That is what dentists in the West London area and up and down the United Kingdom are telling their patients. Once you have routinized your dental hygiene routine, you should not even have to think about it anymore and your teeth and gums will reap the benefits.

It should start first thing in the morning when you wake up and brush your teeth. It is essential that you brush at this time because over night your teeth are especially exposed to plaque bacteria as saliva production falls. During the day you might want to brush after meals or following a sugary snack. If this is not convenient then you can also chew gum to dislodge food debris, freshen breath and stimulate saliva production.

Brush your teeth again in the evening so that the plaque from your meals is gotten rid of from your teeth and so that your mouth is nice and moist for when you sleep. Be sure to floss after every time you brush. This crucial part of daily dental hygiene helps to stop cavity formation between the teeth and guards against the likelihood of gum disease.

Regular visits to your dentist in West London complete the picture of a good oral hygiene routine.

The problems of the TMJ in the City of London

July 25th, 2011

All dentists in the city of London are aware of the relationship between your teeth and the rest of your body. Keeping your teeth and gums healthy and free from complications can protect your body from diabetes, liver problems and heart disease later in life. But apart from this, one of the prime directives behind dental treatments is to also ensure that you have a healthy occlusion in your mouth- the way your jaws meet or ‘bite’ together. This is to limit the amount of stress placed upon the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We probably take for granted the way we chat and chew during the day and all these actions bear down on two tiny jaw joints held in place by a series of cartilage and muscles. Keeping the bite true is the first way of protecting this joint. The second way is to address any signs of teeth grinding. If these problems go unchecked, the joint can become worn overtime, causing the jaw to click and become inflamed when using the mouth for the most basic of functions. Further damage can lead to tinnitus in the ears, headaches and damage to the neck and upper back. Initial treatments for the occlusion will involve correction of the teeth with a brace or an aligner; grinding can be checked by stress management and gum-shields. But if the damage to the jaw has already set in, surgery will be required to reverse the damage done, where possible.

The Need for Regular Dental Check-ups in Central London

March 8th, 2011

Dental check-ups should be a regular occurrence if you live in central London to retain the health of you teeth and gums, keep your mouth looking fresh and to keep your body healthy too. Good hygiene through brushing and flossing at home should be enough to keep going between check-ups. But such are the lure of fast foods, smoking and drinking these days, it’s easy to take your eye off the hygiene prize and leave your mouth vulnerable to dental ‘nasties’. Problems can get out of hand very quickly in the mouth; gum disease and plaque being two of the main players. If you miss a regular check up, these can lead to cavities and tooth loss in the long run, let alone the long term problems they can cause throughout the body such as heart disease and oral cancer. When you have a check-up, a dentist has a set of guidelines and procedures laid down to stop these problems setting in. They will first check for any signs of plaque or gum disease, and then remove them. A simple x-ray will reveal any signs of tooth decay so that again, the dentist can rectify the problem with a simple filling. It’s time when you can have your teeth thoroughly cleaned, de-scaled and polished. But most of us are quite happy to get in, get done and get out when it comes to dentists, missing out on the perfect opportunity to discuss any problems we may have with our teeth. It’s a chance to discuss all manner of issues from our home oral hygiene habits to cosmetic treatments available to us.

City of London dentists help beat dental anxiety

December 9th, 2010

Regular visits to your dentist are the most basic measure to ensure that your teeth and gums remain in excellent health. Giving your dentist the opportunity to thoroughly examine your mouth twice a year means that painful conditions are far less likely to develop and you probably won’t have to undergo invasive surgery. Yet many people feel anxious about going to see their dentist for a variety of reasons.

If you are afraid of needles then going to the dentist is just another thing that you probably won’t want to do. Childhood memories of painful procedures can make you feel reticent about making the appointment too. These feeling can be hard to overcome, especially if you have had them for a number of years.

Personality clashes with staff can make it more difficult to visit the dentist too. It can be very awkward if you have had a past disagreement with your dentist or a member of staff who works there. You many feel that your dentist was unsympathetic to your needs and not want to visit again, in case the same problem should present itself.

It is very important to realise that dental practice has changed a lot in recent times. One of the primary concerns of modern dentists is to make sure that patients feel relaxed in the surgery and often use DVDs and soothing music to achieve this. Pain free gels can render injections far less uncomfortable and modern technology means that generally the time which you will need to spend at the dentists for a procedure is drastically reduced.

Finally, it is crucial to bear in mind that if you feel that your dentist is not treating you the way feel you should be treated and that this is bringing on dental anxiety, you ought to find another dentist. Communication with your dentist is vital so talk to your City of London dentist today if you have any issues with dental anxiety.

Central London dentist uses pioneering Waterlase technology

February 19th, 2010

It seems that every year there is another breakthrough in the world of dentistry that provides patients with safer and easier treatments. The latest in this line of developments is a new dentistry tool called Waterlase. This pioneering new technology can be used for a variety of treatments on both the teeth and the gums making treatments much more comfortable than has previously been possible.

Lasers have been used for a number of years now in dental treatment because of the advantages they have over other equipment. Because lasers use heat the chances of infection are greatly reduced. They also have a cauterising effect, which means that wounds are sealed immediately after incision so that there is reduced blood loss and recovery times are vastly improved.

Waterlase was first used in the US at the very end of the 90s and has been successfully used across the country by thousands of dentists. The technology is now being more and more widely used in the UK and represents a genuine technological shift in the future of dentistry. Waterlase is even being used as an alternative to the much-feared dentist’s drill in many procedures. Waterlase removes the need for pressure and vibration to achieve the same results as the drill and uses a fine mist of water to limit the affects of heat in the mouth.

Waterlase is an incredibly accurate tool that is being used right now by Central London dentists to treat patients with a variety of complaints. Ask your dentist about the possibilities at your next appointment.

Is finding a Dentist that cares for you, as well as your mouth, really that hard asks a City of London dentist

February 4th, 2010

585983_blogWe 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.

Why Dental Hygiene is Crucial for Overall Health Dental Checkups by a West London Dentist

January 15th, 2010

A dentist in West London has spoken out about the importance of due diligence in oral hygiene, and follow up dental checks. Just being regimental in your daily care of your teeth and gums isn’t enough to ensure that you keep disease at bay, a patient needs to still have regular check-ups, at least 6 months apart, to ensure that the risk and progress of any dental and gum problems are minimised. We’ve all heard the expression “Its not Rocket Science”, and dental hygiene along with regular check-ups certainly do come under that category. At a check up your dentist will follow a set routine of checks; these will include looking at the gums which are a protective layer that cover the most sensitive part of a tooth. The base of a tooth is also important as it is here that bacteria will have the most devastating effect on the enamel. Gum disease is not curable; it is only possible to keep the progress at bay. This is best done with excellent oral care on a daily basis. However, this needs to be combined with those twice yearly check-ups. At the check up the dentist will remove any tartar build up that even the most rigorous of brushing, flossing and mouth washes fail to combat. Many people simply follow the advice of their dentist and that is most commendable, but you also need to speak to your dentist about any other problems you may be having. These can include sporadic spells of sensitive teeth, bleeding from the gums, infections that last a few days or longer, ulcers or anything that occurs during the 6 months interval. Make a note of it and tell the dentist when and how often the problems occur, they may be good at their profession, but dentists don’t do `Mind Reading` as part of the training!

Dental hygiene prevents a lifetime of teeth problems say Central London dentists

October 4th, 2009

When it comes to dental hygiene, prevention really is better than cure. Nothing is better for your teeth than maintaining a regimented routine of oral hygiene. By spending just a few extra minutes a day to keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy, you could avoid a lifetime of painful and costly dental procedures. Ask any one who has suffered from tooth decay, gum disease or who has suffered form a serious toothache and they will tell you that that extra few minutes brushing and flossing are definitely worth it.

Dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day, in the morning after breakfast and in the evening before bed, using suitable toothpaste (ask your dentist about fluoride content) and a suitable brush with appropriate bristles. They also strongly recommend flossing your teeth at least once a day. These are the two main front-line defences against a whole array of painful and unpleasant dental problems.

By not brushing and flossing regularly you are allowing bacteria to build up in a filmy substance called plaque which surrounds the teeth, attacking the enamel and causing cavities. If these cavities are allowed to penetrate to the root of the tooth it can cause an infection that will be very painful and can eventually lead to tooth loss. It is also possible for the infection to spread to other teeth in the mouth and even infiltrate the bloodstream causing serious health problems such as heart disease.

It is an unpleasant thought, but the mouth is in fact one of the dirtiest places in the human body. Its warm and moist conditions make it ideal living conditions for the 500 million or so bacteria that live there. If this bacteria is not properly controlled by cleaning it will thrive and cause health problems.

Good oral hygiene also eliminates unfortunate social conditions such as yellow teeth and bad breath. Over 90 per cent of cases of bad breath are caused by poor dental hygiene. Food and bacteria trapped between the teeth break down releasing foul smelling sulphurous compounds that are the cause of bad breath. Brushing and flossing help to remove the bacteria and keep your breath fresh.

A good dental hygiene routine, accompanied by the all important six-month visits to the dentist can help you maintain a happy and healthy mouth. Look after your teeth and they can last you a lifetime. Ask your Central London dentist about how to correctly brush your teeth and which brush is most suitable for your teeth and gums.

Learn the Correct Way to Brush from your London W1 Dentist

July 18th, 2009

Brushing your teeth is all it takes to keep dental ailments at a safe distance. It is a procedure that has been imbibed in us since our very childhood and is the first thing we do apart from answering nature’s call. But if everyone was indeed brushing properly then dentists would run out of business. But that is not it and London W1 Dentists are getting more clients by the day.

So who is to blame for dental ailments? The answer is in you; quite literally. Most of us are unaware of the correct way to brush our teeth which is the main culprit behind several ailments. There is a specific method and equipment that is supposed to be used right from the way you brush to the amount of fluoride which is present in your toothpaste. We consider these minute details to be insignificant but we fail to realize that these minute aspects of oral care play an integral part in maintaining healthy and proper teeth and gums.

Most of us do the mistake of moving our brush across the surface of the teeth in a lateral motion when the correct way is to hold the brush in a vertical manner and then move it in a vertical manner. Excess of fluoride in your toothpaste causes more damage to your enamel than improving it. The enamel is sensitive and hence a high amount of fluoride is always harmful.

There are several other tips that you can get from your dentist which is why it is pertinent that you go for periodic dental checkups. So no matter what your age is it is never too late to learn how to brush properly.