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The holidays are a time to celebrate, and these celebrations often revolve around food and plenty of seasonal treats. There is certainly no harm in indulging once in a while, but it’s worth knowing how the holidays can affect dental health. So here are our top tips for the holidays.

Stick to Your Normal Brushing Routine

Other routines might go out of the window, but it’s worth sticking to your normal daily routine of twice a day brushing and once-a-day flossing. Even if you are super tired at the end of the day, it only takes a couple of minutes to clean your mouth thoroughly. If you are out for the day, be sure to pack a travel toothbrush and toothpaste so you can freshen up on the go.

Use Appropriate Tools to Open Packages and Presents

When opening packets or presents, use the appropriate tools and not your teeth. The same goes for trying to crack nuts with your teeth, as this can prove a painful and expensive mistake.

Get Up To Date with Your Dental Checkups

If it’s been a while since you visited us, book your checkup now. We can make sure your teeth are strong and healthy, and free from dental problems before the festivities begin.

Both Santa and the Tooth Fairy are magical figures, appealing to the imagination of young children, and both can be great teaching tools when it comes to good oral hygiene. The Tooth Fairy is well-known for visiting the homes of small children who have recently lost baby teeth, leaving a small gift in the form of money or another trinket in exchange for the tooth.

Children start losing baby teeth between ages five and seven, but parents need to start teaching them good oral care well before then. One way is to incorporate the Tooth Fairy into stories and teeth brushing routines, gently reminding your child that the Tooth Fairy wants teeth that are strong, healthy and cavity-free. When you can get small children excited about the thought of the Tooth Fairy and the anticipation of a visit, it’s easier to begin forming lifelong oral habits.

When it’s time for the Tooth Fairy to leave their gift, try to make it personalised, along with a note congratulating your child on their good oral habits. Another way you can reinforce good oral hygiene is by encouraging Santa to leave tooth-friendly gifts instead of sugary treats. These might be a novelty flavoured toothpaste, or a toothbrush with your child’s favourite cartoon character, or kid-friendly mouthwash.

Your wisdom teeth are right at the back of the mouth and are the very last to come through during the late teens or early 20s. However, sometimes they can cause problems, often because the jaws aren’t big enough to accommodate these latecomers.

If your wisdom teeth have yet to come through and you regularly visit our practice, you can trust us to keep an eye on their development. Digital dental x-rays help us check the position of these teeth, and we can tell if they can erupt properly or if they are likely to become stuck in the jawbone, a problem where they are referred to as being impacted. Sometimes wisdom teeth will only partially erupt, and because they are trickier to keep clean, they can become infected or decayed. Other times, wisdom teeth will try to come through sideways through the gums or underneath the adjacent teeth.

Problem wisdom teeth can be painful, but other times they may cause few if any symptoms. Possible symptoms include an aching sensation at the back of your mouth or noticing swelling and redness as your wisdom teeth try to come through. If we can see your wisdom teeth are causing problems or pain, we can ensure they are removed as comfortably as possible.

Dental implants are a long-term solution for tooth loss, but people investigating this treatment need to have good dental and medical health and ideally should not have any signs of periodontal disease (severe gum disease). Advanced periodontal disease can be tricky to treat as it may become chronic, requiring ongoing care to control it. However, severe gum disease often causes tooth loss, so does this mean patients with gum disease can’t have implants?

The short answer is probably not. A dental article published some years ago found the survival rates of dental implants in people with periodontal disease were little different compared to those without this condition. Anyone visiting our practice is carefully assessed for suitability. We review your medical and dental history to determine if implants are the best treatment and provide a good chance of long-term success. One issue with severe gum disease is that it can destroy the jawbone, leaving inadequate bone for implant placement.

When this is the case, a special type of implant may be needed called a zygomatic implant that uses the cheekbone instead of the jawbone. Another option is to have a bone graft to build up the missing bone in the jaw, which could help people who have had severe periodontitis successfully treated.

We often see patients with tooth cracks, but while some are serious, other types may not need any treatment. There are five different types of tooth cracks which are:

• Craze lines
• Split tooth
• Vertical root fracture
• Cracked tooth
• Cusp fracture

Craze lines are microfractures only affecting the enamel. They can be a sign of bruxism (tooth grinding and clenching) or the result of another form of trauma. If treatment is needed, it’s probably only due to aesthetic reasons, but it may be important to prevent bruxism to protect the teeth in future. A split tooth is more serious and can extend from the tooth crown to below the gumline. Sometimes it is possible to salvage the tooth, but often it must be removed.

A vertical tooth root fracture is most often associated with previous root canal therapy. Unfortunately, this is another frequently hopeless case where the tooth will need removing. A cracked tooth may be salvageable depending on the location and depth of the crack. Sometimes a tooth can be restored with a dental filling or crown, or other times it may need root canal therapy. A cusp fracture can cause tooth sensitivity, but depending on the extent of the fracture, there’s a good chance the tooth can be restored with a dental crown or another type of restoration.

If you are considering dental implants, you have come to the right place. In this blog post, we will discuss everything you need to know about dental implants. We will talk about what they are, how they work, and the benefits of getting them. We will also discuss the cost of dental implants and how to finance them. If you are considering dental implants, this is the perfect place to start!

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are a type of prosthetic tooth root that is placed into the jawbone to support replacement teeth. The implant itself is made from titanium, which is biocompatible and integrates with the surrounding bone over time. Once in place, dental implants can support single or multiple crowns, bridges, dentures, or other prosthetic devices.

How Do Dental Implants Work?

During the dental implant procedure, your dentist will surgically place the implant into your jawbone in order to secure it in place. Over several months, your body will begin to heal around the implant as new bone tissue grows and fuses with the implant’s titanium post. This process is known as osseointegration and it is what makes dental implants so secure. Once the implant has successfully integrated with your jawbone, your dentist will be able to attach a replacement tooth or teeth to the implant.

The Benefits of Dental Implants

There are many benefits to getting dental implants, including:

• Improved appearance – Dental implants look and feel just like natural teeth, giving you back your smile.
• Improved speech – Implants can improve clarity when speaking due to their stability compared to other prosthetic devices.
• Improved chewing ability – Implants are firmly rooted in place and are designed for long-term use, allowing you to enjoy all of your favorite foods without worrying about them coming loose.
• Improved comfort – Unlike dentures, implants don’t require adhesives and won’t slip out of place while you are eating or speaking.

Cost of Dental Implants

The cost of dental implants will vary depending on the type of implant, the number of teeth that need to be replaced, and other factors. Generally speaking, however, the average cost for a single implant is around $3,000. For multiple implants or more complex procedures such as full-mouth reconstruction, the cost can range from $15,000 – $30,000.

Financing Dental Implants

If you are considering dental implants but are worried about the cost, there are several financing options available. Many dentists offer in-house financing plans with low monthly payments and no interest charged. In addition, there are several third-party lenders that offer loans specifically for dental procedures. Be sure to do your research before making a decision on any type of financing plan.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are considering getting dental implants, knowing the facts is key to making an informed decision. This blog post has provided you with all the information you need to know about dental implants including what they are, how they work, and the benefits of getting them. We have also discussed the cost of implants and how to finance them.

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.

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.