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Most people know that sugar is bad for their teeth, but it’s the bacteria in your mouth that feed on sugar and cause the damage. As bacteria consume sugar, they produce acid that attacks the tooth enamel, weakening it and eventually causing cavities. Many people are trying to cut down on their sugar consumption and are choosing artificial sweeteners instead.

While artificial sweeteners don’t contain any sugar and will not feed bacteria in your mouth, they can still negatively impact oral health. Many sweeteners have high levels of acid, and any form of acid will weaken your tooth enamel. Manufacturers add acids to artificial sweeteners and sugar-free drinks and sweets because it makes them taste better. If you want to have something containing an artificial sweetener, it’s best to choose chocolate flavoured products as these tend to have less acid than fruit flavoured drinks and foods.

However, there is one artificial sweetener that is good for your teeth and which is called xylitol. Xylitol can actually help reduce the risk of tooth decay by inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. Over time, using xylitol helps reduce the number of decay-causing bacteria that survive on tooth surfaces.

The start of a new school term is ideal for making sure your child has a healthy mouth. These three tips will help set you on the right path.

1. Bring Your Child to See Our Dentist

Contact us to book your child’s dental exam and cleaning. We will make sure their mouth is free from dental problems, and a dental cleaning ensures they have a clean mouth and fresh breath. If needed, we can talk about other preventive dental care procedures such as fissure sealants and fluoride treatments to help reduce the risk of cavities.

2. Choose School Snacks Carefully

Healthy snacks will make sure your child has plenty of energy to enjoy the school day without harming their teeth. Avoid packing granola bars and fruit leather as these are packed with hidden sugars. Instead, provide fresh fruit and crunchy vegetables, and cubes of hard cheddar cheese.

3. Make Oral Care Fun

Twice daily brushing and once-a-day flossing is essential for dental health, so make this task more fun by using stickers that your child can place on a calendar every day when they brush and floss. Get your child to choose a favourite two-minute song to play while they brush their teeth.

Over-the-counter and prescription medications can affect your oral health, and one common side-effect is dry mouth, a condition called xerostomia. With xerostomia, you produce less saliva, increasing the risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Saliva is an essential protective fluid that helps rinse away excess bacteria and food debris, and it helps your mouth maintain a more neutral pH level.

If you are affected by dry mouth, we can provide a prescription for a saliva substitute and talk about managing this condition. We may also suggest more frequent checkups and cleanings to help protect your dental health. It may also be worth discussing the problem with your GP to see if they can prescribe anything different, but you should never stop taking prescription medicines without consulting them first.

Oral thrush is a fungal infection that can affect people who use inhalers. If you use an inhaler, try to rinse your mouth afterwards to prevent this kind of infection. Cancer treatments, especially for the head and neck, can affect your saliva glands or have other side effects. If you need this treatment, make sure you see your dentist first. We can ensure your mouth is healthy and can liaise with your medical doctors to help you maintain optimal dental health.

Cosmetic dentistry is becoming increasingly popular, and there is a wide range of exciting treatment to help improve your smile. Some, such as teeth whitening, dental bonding and white fillings, and crowns, bridges and veneers, are relatively quick to complete. Others, like braces and dental implants, take longer but can provide results that last for years or life.

• Teeth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dental treatments and the most affordable. Choose from whitening in our dental practice, a procedure that only takes an hour or so. Alternatively, whiten in the privacy of your home with our custom whitening kit.
• Dental bonding uses tooth coloured filling material to change the shape or colour of teeth and mend small cracks and chips.
• Dental veneers are made from porcelain and can dramatically improve the appearance of stained, chipped or misshapen teeth.
• If you have old, discoloured fillings, replacing them can brighten your smile.
• Teeth that are damaged or decayed can be hidden and protected with beautiful all-ceramic crowns, while a dental bridge can fill an unsightly gap.

A cosmetic dental consultation with our dentist will allow you to discuss these procedures more fully so that we can provide a custom treatment plan.

Did you know it is world oral health Day on the 20^th of March? It’s a day when dental professionals worldwide try to raise awareness about the importance of good dental health. This year the theme is “Be Proud of Your Mouth”.

We think it is a wonderful theme and hope to inspire our lovely patients to focus even more on maintaining excellent oral health, and not just during March. While good dental health helps you enjoy all the benefits of a healthy and more attractive smile, it’s especially important for good overall health. Taking care of your teeth and gums can help reduce the risk of serious disease. There is a close connection between dental health and general health, and poor oral health has been associated with several major diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

Helping You to Be Proud of Your Mouth

It isn’t hard to get a mouth that you can be proud of, and we can help you attain your very best level of dental health simply with regular dental visits combined with excellent oral care at home. If you haven’t visited us for a while, this month is a great time to book that appointment.

These days, more and more children and young adults participate in sports. Unfortunately, the number of sporting accidents has also increased significantly, and young athletes are far more likely to suffer a facial injury and damage to their teeth and jaws when not wearing a well-fitting mouthguard.

If you or another family member does suffer a dental injury, please contact us immediately for assistance and advice. Certain injuries, including knocked out or partly avulsed teeth or teeth that have been pushed into the gum, need urgent dental care. Others may be less urgent, but we can still book an appointment to ensure you get dental care promptly.

Why Choose a Custom Mouthguard?

Ideally, it is better to purchase a custom-made mouthguard from our dental clinic if you or your kids participate in any sport where you could take a blow to the mouth. While you can buy mouthguards over-the-counter, they provide less protection and tend to be far less comfortable to wear, so there is a temptation not to use the mouthguard. Our mouthguards are designed to fit perfectly, are durable and easy to care for and do not affect breathing or speech. They are made from a tough, durable material that is taste and odour free.

Damaged adult teeth cannot grow back, so it is worth protecting that smile.

Enjoy your Easter treats with our easy tips.

Buy Better Quality Chocolate in Smaller Quantities

Instead of bulk buying cheaper chocolate, choose quality over quantity and savour each bite. Remember, darker chocolate is a bit healthier as it contains antioxidants.

Share the Joy

If you do buy too much, you don’t need to eat it all! Instead, share your Easter goodies with family, friends and work colleagues.

Finish a Meal with Chocolate

Have a protein-rich or high fibre meal before eating chocolate, so you are satisfied with a smaller portion. It is also healthier for your teeth because you produce more saliva during a main meal, helping to wash away the chocolate more quickly.

Look for Wholegrain Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are a delicious seasonal treat but look for wholegrain buns with more vitamins and minerals and more fibre.

Have a Little Chocolate Each Day

Researchers have discovered that people who regularly eat chocolate tend to have a lower body mass index than those who don’t normally indulge. But the key is only to eat a little; look for small hollow chocolate eggs so you can enjoy a small portion, rather than larger eggs where it is tempting to eat the lot.

Dentures are an easy and affordable way to replace missing teeth, but if they don’t fit properly, they can rub uncomfortably and make it difficult to eat the foods you love. There are several reasons why dentures may not fit, and often it’s because they haven’t been maintained correctly.

You should only clean your dentures in lukewarm water and store them in water to keep them damp overnight. If you clean your dentures in water that is too hot, it can warp them. Failing to store your dentures and water will allow them to dry out and they can change shape, and become increasingly fragile.

Over time, your jawbone changes shape due to bone resorption. These changes can cause dentures to become increasingly ill-fitting. It might also be that your dentures have reached the end of their life. Usually, you can expect dentures to last between five and seven years when properly maintained.

If your denture is ill-fitting, make an appointment to see us because we can help you. We can check the condition of your dentures. If needed, we can reline the fitting surface, so they fit more securely or remake them entirely. Alternatively, we can discuss other ways to stabilise loose dentures, such as using dental implants.

Dental veneers are an excellent way to help perfect a smile, hiding small cracks and chips in teeth or teeth that are extensively discoloured. However, there are some common myths about treatment that we’d like to debunk.

Myth 1 – Veneer Treatment is Painful

Receiving veneers should not be painful as we thoroughly numb your teeth before preparing them, making sure you remain entirely comfortable during treatment.

Myth 2 – The Entire Tooth Needs Reshaping for Veneers

Treatment is relatively non-invasive, and the dentist will only need to remove a tiny amount of tooth enamel from the front surface of the tooth, leaving the rest of the tooth intact. Sometimes even this isn’t necessary, and the entire tooth remains fully intact.

Myth 3 – Veneers Look Unnatural

Well-designed veneers should look perfectly natural, and we take extensive care to design and make each veneer in a shade and style that complements your appearance. When a veneer looks unnatural, it’s often because it is too big and bulky and in a shade that is too white.

Myth 4 – Veneers are Only for Cosmetic Purposes

Veneers are largely used for cosmetic purposes, but they can also be useful in covering teeth that may be chipped or cracked slightly, restoring the tooth and protecting it.

Dental x-rays are a very useful diagnostic tool. They show dentists areas that are invisible to the naked eye, including tooth roots and the contact areas between teeth. X-rays allow dentists to make a quicker and more accurate diagnosis and detect potential problems more easily.

While x-rays do emit some radiation, modern digital dental x-rays are far safer. For example, a set of four digital dental x-rays exposes you to about 0.4 mrem, whereas people consume approximately 5 mrem from drinking water each year. If you smoke, this exposes you to approximately 1300 mrem every year. Additionally, we take extensive precautions to protect you whenever you need a dental x-ray, including covering you with a lead apron and providing thyroid protection.

When you first visit our dental practice, we will need to take a complete set of x-rays to provide us with a good overview of your dental health. From then on, we only take x-rays when necessary, so a healthy adult may only need x-rays every couple of years or if you have a specific dental problem that needs closer examination. Children need more frequent dental x-rays because their teeth and jaws are growing rapidly, but we still only take x-rays when necessary, and the benefits far outweigh these minimal risks.