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Most children enjoy sweets, and Halloween is the perfect time to indulge that sweet tooth. However, eating too many sugary treats increases the risk of cavities and toothache. So we’ve put together some ideas for alternative tooth-friendly treats.

Sugar-Free Gum

Sugar-free gum is great for teeth because it helps promote saliva flow. A good flow of saliva helps to wash away harmful bacteria and leftover food particles. Saliva is also essential for helping the mouth to maintain a more neutral and healthier pH level. If you can, look for a brand containing xylitol, a natural sweetener that disrupts the action of harmful bacteria in the mouth, preventing them from thriving.

Choose Chocolate over Sticky Toffee

Chocolate is preferable to sticky and hard sweets because it melts easily and is washed away more quickly by saliva. In contrast, sticky toffee or hard sweets can hang around teeth for much longer.

Inedible Treats

As an alternative to traditional Halloween sweets, why not hand out inedible treats such as small toys like vampire teeth or bouncy balls. Glow sticks are great for increasing the visibility of little trick-or-treaters. When given a choice, many children will prefer a toy to sweets.

Your mouth is host to hundreds of different strains of bacteria. While most are harmless, others can cause disease, especially as your mouth is the entrance to your respiratory and digestive tracts.

Usually, if you follow a good oral care routine, these bacteria are kept under control. However, suppose you are a little lax about brushing and flossing your teeth regularly. In that case, harmful bacteria can soon build up to such levels that they cause infections, including tooth decay and gum disease. Another health risk is dry mouth, a condition where insufficient saliva is produced. A good saliva flow is essential for helping to neutralise the acids produced by bacteria, and without it, the risk of oral disease increases substantially.

Over the past few years, there has been substantial research into the connection between oral health and overall health. Studies suggest that poor oral health, specifically gum disease, an inflammatory infection, could be linked to other serious health problems. These include cardiovascular disease, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, diabetes and dementia.

Luckily, it is relatively easy to maintain good oral health with regular visits to our dental practice for checkups and cleanings. In addition, when we can detect gum disease early, it is entirely reversible.

Seeing your infant get their very first tooth is a significant milestone, and they come through in five distinct stages.

1. Children are born with a complete set of 20 teeth underneath their gums, ready to come through when the time is right.
2. Typically, a child’s baby teeth or primary teeth begin pushing through the gums around six months. The upper and lower front teeth are the first teeth to push through, followed by the lateral incisors.
3. From 10 months to 14 months, your child’s first primary molars begin to erupt.
4. When your child is aged 16 months to 22 months, their canine teeth begin to erupt. These are the teeth that come through between the incisors and molars.
5. At age 25 to 33 months, your child gets their large second molars that come in just behind the first molars.

As soon as your child gets their first teeth, you need to start brushing them carefully. It’s also a great time to book their very first dental visit, just so we can check your child’s teeth are erupting as expected, and we can give you plenty of information on how to care for those precious first teeth.

A healthy buddha bowl is just the thing for a light supper.

Ingredients

150g brown rice

70g peeled and grated carrots

120g shredded kale

80g finely chopped red cabbage

3tsp Tamari

2tsp maple syrup

2tsp olive oil

1tsp sesame oil

1tbsp sesame seeds

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Thinly sliced avocado

Instructions

1. Cook rice according to instructions, drain and set aside. Make the dressing by mixing the maple syrup, lemon juice and zest, one teaspoon each of olive oil, sesame oil and Tamari.
2. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and add the kale with one teaspoon of olive oil and sesame oil. Increase the heat to medium and saute for several minutes until just cooked. Add two teaspoons of Tamari, turn the heat down to low and continue to cook for another minute.
3. Make the bowls by covering the base with rice before adding the carrots, red cabbage, and sesame kale. Next, add half an avocado, then drizzle the bowl with dressing.
4. Top with your choice of protein.

Serves 2

Over the past few years, it has become commonplace for everyone to sport a white and seemingly healthy-looking smile, and there are a plethora of products available over-the-counter or online. However, please don’t forget that teeth whitening is a dental treatment and is best carried out under the supervision of a dental professional.

The products you can buy are quite different from the professional strength products we use. Also, these over the counter products have the potential to harm your teeth when overused or used incorrectly and can harm your dental health if you have untreated issues like cavities or gum disease. Everyone’s teeth will whiten slightly differently, and if you have dental restorations like crowns, bridges or veneers, or white fillings, these will not change colour.

When you come to see us for a teeth whitening treatment, we carefully check your mouth, ensuring you are suitable for this procedure. If you have any dental problems, we can provide suitable treatment beforehand, and we can also advise you on the type of results you can reasonably expect from teeth whitening. The products we use are extremely high quality, designed to minimise undesirable side-effects like tooth sensitivity, and they contain ingredients that can help protect your teeth, like fluoride.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps to protect and strengthen your tooth enamel and is extremely effective when used correctly. Dental fluorosis is a condition that occurs when teeth are exposed to too much fluoride while still developing, resulting in lacy white flecks or even brown stains discolouring tooth enamel. Usually, dental fluorosis is completely harmless, leaving only white spots or lacy flecks over teeth, and it may require no treatment whatsoever. However, if dental fluorosis has caused unsightly stains on teeth, several treatments can help to improve the appearance of these teeth cosmetically.

Possible treatments include teeth whitening, although this may not always be very effective for more severe staining. Another option is to have teeth bonded, where we coat the tooth surface with composite resin in a shade that blends in beautifully with your natural teeth. Dental bonding usually lasts for several years before the composite resin begins to discolour. The rate of discolouration depends on your lifestyle habits. If you want something more long-lasting, we can provide porcelain veneers. A veneer is a thin porcelain shell custom-made to fit over the tooth and bonded onto the surface. It typically lasts ten years or more with proper care.

Springtime is when many people start to suffer from allergies. If you are affected, do you know how it can impact your oral health? Allergies can cause several oral problems, including sore throats, dry mouth, and toothache.

During allergy season, many people begin to experience toothache because mucus builds up in the sinuses, placing pressure on the upper back teeth. Usually, sinuses are designed to drain upwards, but when allergies impact them, this becomes more difficult. However, if you suffer toothache in a different area of your mouth, come and see us just in case you have a tooth infection.

Allergies can also make it more difficult to breathe through your nose, so you tend to breathe through your mouth more often. This can cause dry mouth, where your mouth feels dry and sticky instead of moist and comfortable. When your mouth is drier, it allows harmful bacteria that can cause tooth decay and gum disease to thrive. If you are affected, make sure you drink plenty of water or chew sugar-free gum or sweets.

When your nose is blocked, mucus from the nose drains down the throat and can irritate these tissues. Some people find a soothing hot drink is helpful or suck on sugar-free throat lozenges.

Ready-made puff pastry ensures this recipe is a breeze to prepare.

Ingredients

4 x 200g salmon fillets

2tbsp bread crumbs

500g puff pastry

2tbsp butter

1 chopped shallot

85g cream cheese

140g baby spinach

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 minced garlic cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Heat butter with garlic and shallots in a pan over medium heat and cook until shallots are translucent.
2. Increase the heat and add the white wine, letting it cook for about five minutes before adding the cream cheese. Then, continue to cook for another minute.
3. Add the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and spinach and cook until the spinach is just softened.
4. Unfold the puff pastry on a floured surface and cut two sheets in half, giving you four pieces.
5. Place a piece of salmon in the middle of each piece of pastry, leaving four or 5 cm around the edges.
6. Divide the spinach mixture into four and spread on top of the fillets.
7. Make an egg wash with the egg and a tablespoon of water, brushing it around the edges of the puff pastry.
8. Fold over the puff pastry and place it on a lined baking sheet.
9. Crosshatch the top of each Salmon Wellington before brushing with more egg wash.
10. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Serves 4

Are you currently considering a smile makeover and wondering what the benefits might be? Most people want smile makeovers because they are unhappy with the appearance of their teeth or perhaps are unable to eat comfortably.

Common reasons for seeking a smile makeover include being embarrassed about crooked or overcrowded teeth, having cracked or chipped teeth, or teeth that are discoloured. In addition, smile makeovers can address other problems such as missing teeth, unsightly gaps between teeth and other issues like loose dentures.

Investing in the appearance of your teeth can affect you in numerous ways, and some treatments can benefit dental health. For example, when you see us for a smile makeover, we assess the look of your teeth and your dental health. Restoring missing teeth not only improves appearance but helps protect your existing teeth and ensures you can eat more comfortably. Likewise, repairing worn and broken teeth protects and preserves them while improving your smile.

Additionally, when you have a healthy and attractive smile, it can boost self-confidence. When you feel great about your teeth, you are more likely to socialise with other people and make friends and build relationships.

We plan each smile makeover extremely carefully, taking the time to listen to you to learn your desires, devising a custom treatment plan to suit your needs.

Everyone knows sugar is bad for teeth, and it is well-known for causing cavities. This is because when you eat sugary foods, the leftover particles feed bacteria found in dental plaque. These bacteria create acid as a byproduct, which in turn weakens tooth enamel. Repeated exposure to these acids eventually wears through the tooth enamel, causing cavities in teeth.

Another risk is gum disease, as the harmful bacteria found in dental plaque thrive on a sugary diet and, in addition to producing acid, produce toxins that infect and inflame the gums. A sugary diet can weaken the immune system, so it is less able to fight infections like gum disease. Consequently, gum disease can worsen and gradually destroy the gums and other structures around teeth, so they eventually loosen. Gum disease is the most common cause of tooth loss. It is also associated with other serious health conditions. For example, gum disease can increase the risk of developing Type II diabetes. Heart disease has been linked with gum disease, some kinds of cancers, and respiratory diseases.

If you are worried you are consuming too much sugar, please ask us for practical help and advice. If necessary, we can review your diet with you and help you make healthier low-sugar choices.