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Most people take saliva for granted and swallow it without even thinking about it, but it can provide valuable information about your oral health and overall health. Each day, we swallow nearly two litres of saliva, and it’s a liquid that has important properties. Spit has buffers neutralising acids, reducing your risk of tooth decay. It washes away food particles and bacteria, helping to prevent gum disease. However, there are lots of reasons why you may not produce enough high-quality saliva.

Dry Mouth

Dry mouth is a common problem, and many medications reduce saliva production, causing this issue which is called xerostomia. Sometimes, your GP can adjust your medications to help fix the problem.

Oral Thrush

Oral thrush is a yeast infection that can turn your saliva cream-coloured or white, and it’s caused by an overgrowth of Candida albicans, a type of fungus. Medication can help to clear up this condition.

Systemic Conditions

A reduction in saliva production is sometimes associated with systemic diseases and particularly Sjogren’s syndrome, which is an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks the saliva glands.

If you don’t produce enough saliva, ask us for help as we can provide useful advice on how to maintain a healthy mouth and you might benefit from more frequent professional cleanings.

TMJ disorder can develop if your upper and lower jaws are not in the correct relationship to each other, placing stress on your facial muscles and your jaw joints, called temporomandibular joints. It’s a problem that can cause inflammation and jaw pain, chronic headaches, earache, and you may clench and grind your teeth, an issue called bruxism. Facial pain can spread into your neck and shoulders. If you have noticed jaw or facial pain, we can help you.

Treating TMJ Disorder

Neuromuscular dentistry helps to realign the jaws correctly, reducing the stress on your facial muscles and your joints, which in turn reduces the inflammation and pain. TMJ disorder frequently causes bruxism, so one way we can help you is by providing a custom mouthguard worn during sleep. The device is designed to fit over your teeth, placing your jaw in a more relaxed position and preventing you from clenching and grinding. Another possible treatment is Botox injections. Botox helps facial muscles to relax so your jaw is more able to rest in the correct position. It is a nonsurgical procedure that produces minimal discomfort and Botox is administered using very fine needles. The effects last for several months.

A healthy and attractive smile is such a huge asset, and your teeth and gums deserve a little tender loving care. You don’t need to spend a terrific amount of time or money maintaining a healthy smile.

1. Practice good oral hygiene as if you are dedicated to keeping your mouth healthy, it will show. Make sure you brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss once-a-day, and it’s a simple routine that will only take you a few minutes every day.
2. Visit us regularly as professional preventative care is essential. We can carefully screen your teeth and gums for any changes in your dental health, and if needed, will provide suitable preventative or restorative treatments. Regular hygiene appointments keep your mouth super clean, reducing your risk of gum disease and tooth decay.
3. Eat healthily and if you have a sweet tooth, make sure you enjoy your sweet treats as part of the main meal. Every time you eat sugar or carbohydrate-rich foods, bacteria in your mouth will thrive, so the more frequently you snack on these foods, the greater the damage to your teeth and gums.
4. Drink more water as it hydrates and lubricates the body and helps to keep your mouth clean and fresh. Also, your body needs plenty of water to produce saliva.

Many families are looking forward to Halloween, but if your kid wears braces, they do need to take care. They can still enjoy this celebration, but it is important to avoid certain foods and snacks that could damage braces.

Sweet Treats That Are Best Avoided

Sticky sweets like caramel, gummy bears and taffy are incredibly difficult to remove from braces and can get stuck in between brackets, bands and wires. Very hard sweets like lollipops, sweets containing nuts, chocolate covered pretzels and caramel covered apples can all be problematic for braces and can easily break wires and loosen brackets. Popcorn is often overlooked but can be very hard, especially if you inadvertently bite on an unpopped kernel. Also, pieces of popcorn can become painfully lodged between teeth and braces.

Sweet Treats to Enjoy with Braces Safely

Even though certain things are off the menu, there is still lots to enjoy. Treats that can be eaten safely include peanut butter cups and chocolates that will melt easily and don’t require much chewing. Baked goods such as pumpkin cake or pie, or ice cream and milkshakes are all safe to eat with braces. Alternatively, you could decide to skip the sweet treats entirely and to hand out small toys, stickers, crayons and other inexpensive items. These will be a nice treat for all those kids wearing braces this Halloween.

The thought of all those Halloween goodies can be scary, but with a little creativity, it is possible to include some healthier options in the mix.

• Fill up your kid with a healthy meal before trick or treating, which can reduce the temptation to eat too much of the sweet stuff.
• Purchase or make a smaller collection container for your child to take around and encourage them only to take one sweet treat from each house.
• Instead of driving kids around, walk from house to house so everyone gets some exercise and you’ll also get to appreciate all the Halloween decorations more easily.
• Check all edible items carefully before letting your kid eat anything. Discard items that are beyond their sell-by date or which look questionable.
• Talk to your child beforehand and decide how many sweets they can take and eat and encourage them to think about the consequences of eating too much!
• If you have too many treats, donate them or freeze some favourites, or use them in baking.
• If you are staying at home and are handing out treats, include healthy choices like nuts or pumpkin seeds, sugar-free chewing gum, snack boxes of dried fruit and fresh juicy clementines or oranges decorated to look like Jack O’ Lanterns.

At this time of year sales of sweets are soaring in preparation for the sugar-fest that is Halloween.  But it is only once a year, and with a bit of planning, you can have your cake, or sweets and enjoy them too.

Chew on Chocolate

Chocolate is soft and melts easily, but it is better to chew it and not suck it. When you suck on chocolate, it takes longer to melt and is in contact with teeth for longer, increasing the risk of cavities. Generally, chocolate is a good choice for Halloween treats because it won’t last very long in the mouth.

Slurp Don’t Sip Fruit Juice or Fizzy Drinks

Fruit juices and fizzy drinks are terrible for teeth, but the sooner you guzzle them down, the better as it reduces the time your teeth are bathed in sugars.

Sticky Sweets are Worst for Teeth

Sticky sweets like caramels, taffy and toffees are terrible for teeth. They take ages to eat, and once you finally swallow the last sugary fragment, you can be sure plenty more remain trapped on and between your teeth.

After eating anything sweet, rinse your mouth with water and wait half an hour before brushing. It allows acidity levels to normalise in your mouth, reducing the damage to your pearly whites.

When you meet someone new, your smile is one of the first things they notice, but it takes a bit of dedication to have a healthy and attractive smile. We’ve listed a few easy tips to help improve your dental health and the appearance of your smile.

1. Floss every day, as flossing removes plaque and food debris between teeth and just underneath your gum line, where a toothbrush cannot reach. Daily flossing prevents gum disease and tooth decay.
2. Book twice-yearly visits to our hygienist here at One Smile. Routine dental cleanings help to keep your teeth and gums in great shape, removing plaque and tartar buildup that can otherwise cause gum disease. Also, having your teeth cleaned professionally leaves them looking sparkly and your mouth feeling beautifully fresh.
3. Quit smoking as it stains your teeth and increases your risk of developing gum disease. Smoking gives you bad breath and is terrible for your health on many levels.
4. Reduce your consumption of coffee, tea and red wine as these drinks can stain your pearly whites. Otherwise, drinking through a straw can reduce the staining effect on your teeth.
5. Drink plenty of water as it’s great for your smile and body.

If spring leaves you with the urge to clean, think about spring cleaning your oral health routine too. It’s an excellent time of year to book your regular checkups and hygiene appointments and especially as the summer months can be busy for many people. Regularly seeing our dentist should be part of your preventative dental care routine and is an easy way to maintain a healthy mouth. Some of the advantages of preventative dental care are outlined below.

Reducing Plaque

Regular dental visits and cleanings remove plaque and tartar from your teeth. If plaque is left to build up over your teeth and gums, it increases your risk of gum disease, cavities and other dental problems.

Reversing Early Gum Disease

Early gum disease is called gingivitis and is entirely reversible with improved oral care. We can professionally clean your teeth and provide advice on how to brush and floss more effectively. If you don’t treat gingivitis, it will soon progress into periodontal disease, a condition that destroys gum and bone, causing tooth loss.

Protecting Your Overall Health

Your oral health is closely linked to overall health. When your mouth is free from dental disease, it protects you against serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease and other systemic diseases. Also, we can screen regularly for oral cancer, as early detection can lead to a far better long-term prognosis.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies like hay fever, you know all about the unpleasant side-effects including coughing, sneezing, having a stuffy nose and itchy, watery eyes. What’s not so well-known is the potential effect on your dental health as allergies can increase the risk of tooth decay, gum disease, bad breath and sore throats.

Frequently, hay fever causes sinus pain, and when your sinuses are full of mucus, the additional pressure can press down on your upper back teeth, potentially causing toothache. One way to tell if it is true toothache is to take antihistamines to relieve the symptoms. If the tooth pain remains, it’s best to come and see us here at One Smile, in case the toothache is due to an infection.

Other problems include dry mouth and especially if you need to breathe through your mouth. Medications like antihistamines can frequently cause dry mouth as a side-effect. When your mouth is drier, it loses the protective effects of saliva, increasing your risk of cavities, bad breath and gum disease. If you have dry mouth, make sure you drink plenty of water, and some people like to chew sugar-free gum or suck sugar-free sweets. Also, remember we can provide you with additional advice and care to reduce the impact of hay fever on your dental health.

Every August marks the Australian Dental Association’s annual oral health promotion event and which aims to educate and encourage Australians to look after their dental health. This year the campaign focuses on a new initiative to track oral health here in Australia. It is tempting to think that most Australians have pretty good oral health, but unfortunately, this isn’t the reality. Some 65% of the population hasn’t seen a dentist in the last two years. Around half the population only brush their teeth once a day, and nearly 40% never floss. Nearly three-quarters of young people eat too many sugary foods.

These are worrying facts that we would love to change. Our practice is warm and friendly, and we particularly welcome people who haven’t been to the dentist for a while, perhaps because of dental fears or phobias. With the proper care, we can help people overcome these feelings and provide education on the best way to look after teeth.

The good news is that once you have healthy teeth, maintenance is easy with these tips:

• Visit us regularly for checkups and cleans
• Brush your teeth at least twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste
• Floss daily, but if you hate flossing let us show you how easy it can be
• Eat a healthy diet and limit your sugar consumption