A good Oral Hygiene habit is important in preventative dentistry, says a Weybridge dentist. The problem is that most people don`t realise that more damage is done while we sleep and while we are at work. The damage I`m talking about is the production of acid in the mouth that causes infections and tooth erosion. At night our saliva gland stops working when we sleep, this allows the bacteria to produce massive amounts of acid that erode the teeth and gums. We need to keep water by the side of the bed to sip through the night when we awaken for those brief few seconds, just keeping the mouth moist will help to neutralise the acid. The other problem is flossing, we never do enough of it and this gives the bacteria food to live off and help produce tartar and that destructive acid. During the day it is the same, if you eat a chocolate bar, sandwich or fast food meal then you will be leaving debris in your mouth. This gets in between the teeth and feeds the bacteria. That acid may not burn your mouth, but it is eroding away your gums and tooth enamel just the same, again swigging water and keeping and using a floss stick will help enormously. We all floss in the morning and that is good, if only we could also get into that same habit during the day that would go a long way to helping us keep our teeth longer.

Shepperton dentists have always stressed the importance of good oral hygiene when it comes to looking after your teeth. Brushing and flossing well on a daily basis can really help to make the difference and could prevent all manner of serious dental health conditions as well as keeping your breath fresh and your teeth looking their best.

The most important aspect of oral hygiene is definitely brushing. This should be carried out twice a day with a suitable brush. Dentists recommend using a brush that has a small head for maximum access to the most teeth. It should ideally have soft bristles to remove the most plaque and bacteria from the surfaces of the teeth. Brush your teeth for three minutes trying to angle the brush towards your gums. You must never forget that the health of your gums is just as important as the health of your teeth.

Next to brushing comes flossing. This is important because it is not always possible to clean the areas between the teeth of the small areas between the teeth and gums around their base. These are often the areas where decay and disease begin, so flossing daily will give you the best chance of avoiding these problems. Try to floss at least once a day using appropriate floss. Your dentist can recommend suitable brushes and flosses at your next check up.

Which brings us nicely to the third prong of the oral hygiene attack; the dental check up. No matter how clean you think you keep your teeth they are still at risk from bacteria and plaque. Seeing a dentists every six months will help to catch any signs of gum disease or tooth decay in its early stages when it is the most easily treated. Make yourself a check up appointment today.

Oral Hygiene advice is free, and anyone who ignores it does so at their own peril. It is a tried and tested preventative way of keeping our mouths, teeth and gums free from early decay and disease, says a Worcester Park dentist. Flossing is something that most people over look, yet it is so important in the prevention of all problems our teeth encounter. Flossing will remove most of the food particles trapped in between the teeth; this debris is full of natural and unnatural sugars and fats. The bad bacteria in our food lives off this debris and then dies, it is then deposited onto the enamel of our teeth and forms a hard material called Tartar. Tartar is the off white deposits that usually lay at the bottom and top of the teeth, sitting initially on the border between the root and the gum line. When this gets out of control it starts to eat away at the protective layers of gum that guard the root, when this happens infections will set in. One of the most devastating consequences is a receding gum line, this exposes the vulnerable part of the enamel and it wears down quite quickly. This will lead to the tooth breaking off and causing us more problems. The bacteria can also leak into the blood system and cause heart and other problems, and all for the sake of a few minutes flossing.

Many of us go to the gym or exercise regularly to keep our bodies in the best shape possible. However, the increasing number of patients developing gum disease and tooth decay in the UK would seem to suggest that we are not paying the same attention to our teeth. Many people seem to think that just a cursory brush of the teeth twice a day is enough to keep the teeth clean and healthy but this really isn’t the case.

Effective oral hygiene is really important to help you avoid dental health complications in the future. Just a few extra minutes a day could make the difference and help to prevent any unnecessary damage to your teeth and gums. Weybridge dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day for three minutes. Ideally this should take place after meal times, as this is when plaque is at its most damaging. Effective brushing will remove plaque and bacteria from the surfaces of the teeth, limiting the damage caused by enamel erosion from plaque acid. This will help to prevent decay, infection and ultimately tooth loss. You should ideally use a brush with soft bristles for the best cleaning and so as not to irritate gum tissue.

It is also very important to floss at least once a day. This helps to remove plaque from between the teeth and from around the base. These are areas that are notoriously very difficult to clean with a normal toothbrush. Flossing also helps to remove food particles that are trapped in between the teeth that attract bacteria and can be the cause of bad breath.

It may also be a good idea to use a tongue scraper a few times a week to rid the tongue of harmful bacteria. This will also help to prevent unpleasant bad breath. Most importantly however, you must remember to visit your dentist regularly for a check up appointment. Seeing your dentist every six months will help to keep your teeth and gums as healthy as they can be, giving you a life free from dental complication.

Bad breath is a social problem that will lose you more friends than anything else in life, says a Surbiton dentist. The problem usually arises out of a lax or badly orchestrated oral hygiene program, although eating spicy foods heavily laced with garlic, raw onions and chillies will also give you bad breath. Bacteria builds up in the mouth, and the odour is a by-product of the reaction between bad bacteria and those food bits. Rinsing will cure the problem temporarily, but you can’t beat a good and vigorous brush, floss and rinse every time you eat. It often isn’t possible to do this after every meal, and then flossing at least will help a lot in eliminating it. Cupping the hands and sniffing is a waste of time, the nose is filled with the odour and cannot usually detect it, and a bad taste will normally be a good indication of the problem. Sugar in coffee or tea, and these drinks themselves will encourage the production of acids and this will increase the smell quite quickly. Chewing will produce not just a minty taste and smell, but it will also produce saliva that will quickly neutralise acid build up and therefore bad breath. Smoking will also give you a bad breath problem, as will a beer breath the morning after a drinking session, the two combined will make it even stronger and harder to get rid of. It isn’t a good idea to keep disguising the problem; you need to work at eliminating the cause in order to have some long term relief. Giving up smoking and excessive drinking will not only make you healthier, but it will make your breath healthier as well. Flossing every time you clean your teeth, along with using the proper brush and brushing method is a must to keep your mouth healthy and your breath clean.

Braces aren’t designed for easy access to the teeth surfaces when they need cleaning; says a Weybridge dentist. Food residue get into the most smallest of places, and most braces have all the hidey holes that bacteria thrives in. The result of a bad or lax regime in cleaning your teeth and braces will be bad breath, stains and more visits to the dentist. The solution is quite simple though, and there are some very good devices to help you overcome the problem. Rinsing first will help to dislodge any bacterium that has built up in the night, when we sleep our saliva glands stop working and that gives bacteria a better chance to breed. Flossing is important as well, so floss with extra care and vigour to dislodge food residue and bacteria build up. Then comes the brushing, and this needs to be done with more visual contact than usual, making sure that you get in between the teeth and around the braces. Whether you use a hand brush or an electric one there are extra brushes you can get to help with braces. A proxabrush is what you are looking for in the chemist shop, these are designed to allow you to get under the braces and under the solder edges to remove that plaque. When flossing, remember that you need to also floss in between and under the wire, it will take a little longer, but it will reap you big rewards in the end. Remember that you will also need to see your dentist every 3 months as opposed to every 6 months on normal visits; they will rid you of any tartar build up. This will make your breath fresher and keep it fresher for longer, but drinking water throughout the day will also help a lot with acid production.

It is the contact points between teeth and chewing surfaces that are most prone to tooth decay, because food particles and plaque easily get stuck in those areas. Plaque is the filmy substance that coats our teeth attacking the enamel. An accumulation of mucus, decaying food matter and bacteria, plaque increases the acidity of the pH in the mouth which gradually erodes tooth enamel causing cavities and gum disease (also known as gingivitis). Food particles and bacteria in the mouth are also one of the man causes of halitosis, or bad breath, as it is more commonly known.

This happens because the food particles that get stuck, in and between teeth, are decayed by the bacteria present in the plaque. This causes the release of foul smelling sulfurous deposits that are expelled when you breathe out. Worcester park dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day with an appropriate toothbrush and flossing at least once a day to combat bad breath and tooth decay. Brushing and flossing helps to fight plaque, which can eventually turn into tartar and removing by a dentist.

Brushing and flossing are the two most important weapons in the war against plaque, but some conventional toothbrushes find it hard to get to those hard to reach places. This is why flossing is so vital to get to those tricky between teeth areas. There are several types of floss including dental tape and superfloss. Your dentist will be able to recommend the most suitable kind for you.

You might also consider using an interdental brush. These brushes are designed to get to the parts that other brushes can’t reach. Single tuft brushes are particularly good at removing trapped food particles from between the teeth. A Worcester Park dentist can show you how to effectively use interdental brushes. Toothpicks and sticks are also useful to remove any unwanted particles.

As with most areas of oral hygiene, prevention is the key to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Effective brushing and just a few extra minutes of care a day to clean between your teeth, could save you a lifetime of appointments and painful procedures.

It is estimated that roughly 70% of bacteria present in the average human mouth live on the surface of the tongue. Thriving on the protein-rich areas of the tongue they multiply rapidly and are then transported around the rest of the mouth by saliva. The bacteria contribute significantly to periodontal problems such as tooth decay, gum disease and recession, and even tooth loss. Bacteria on the tongue are also one of the major contributing factors to halitosis or bad breath. When the bacteria decay they release volatile sulfurous compounds that release a foul odour that causes bad breath.

Bacteria on the tongue has also been linked to a number of larger systemic problems that can occur in the body including cardiovascular problems, pneumonia, osteoporosis and has been attributed to causing diabetes. Dental health professionals and other physicians have linked the bacteria on the tongue to these wider problems and emphasise the importance of a clean tongue as a major factor in oral and general well-being.

Tongue cleaning devices have been used since ancient times and form a significant part of both Chinese and Indian natural medicine. Modern tongue cleaners can help to remove some of the 500 million types of bacteria that can live on the average human tongue, fungi such as candida (the cause of oral thrush), as well as decaying food debris caught in the grooves of the surface.

Tongue cleaning can also help treat the 90% of cases of halitosis which are said to originate on the tongue. Surbiton dentist can provide you with further information about the use of tongue cleaners and when it is appropriate to use them. Regular tooth brushes are often not sufficient for thorough cleaning of the spongy surface of the tongue. Dentists recommend using a specially designed tongue cleaner.

Dental hygiene is of utmost importance for the complete well-being of our body. Research studies have shown poor oral hygiene to be linked to various diseases like stroke, heart disease and diabetes. It has also been proven that poor oral health can lead to low birth weight babies in pregnant women.

These are some tips given by a well-known Surbiton dentist to protect your teeth and gums;

1. Brushing – There is no short cut to this tip. It is very important to brush everyday in the morning and at bedtime. Take time to brush and do not make it a hurried affair. The correct brushing technique goes a long way in protecting your teeth and gums from harmful oral bacteria that cause plaque, cavities, dental caries and other forms of tooth decay.
2. Diet and lifestyle – Consume foodstuffs that cause minimum damage to your teeth. Excess consumption of soft drinks causes corrosion of the tooth enamel. Eating ice cubes and popcorn kernels can also damage your teeth. Do not drink tea or coffee too hot or too cold as this will cause excessive staining and discolouration of the teeth.
3. Flossing – Flossing regularly with a good dental floss helps to remove plaque deposits.
4. Smoking – This causes staining and discolouration and smokers are also more prone to developing gum diseases.
5. Medications – Many drugs also cause tooth and gum diseases as a side-effect.
6. Regular check-up – Routine dental check-ups can detect tooth decay or gum diseases in the initial stage itself and appropriate treatment can be followed.

Take good care of your teeth and gums for a healthy and beautiful smile.

Smoking has an immense detrimental effect on oral health causing oral cancers, gum diseases and poor wound healing apart from causing plaque, tooth decay and dental caries. Studies have shown that smokers are more prone to losing their teeth faster than non-smokers.

Of all the medical practitioners, dentists can play an important role in aiding a person to quit smoking. Since most smokers suffer from periodontal disease, a dentist is always approached for regular check-ups which give them a chance to help kick the habit. Recent research studies have shown that quitting smoking along with gum treatment gives a person healthier gums.

Dentists in Sunbury can also perform the twin role of a smoking cessation counsellor which is very helpful for people who are chain smokers. A dental practitioner or a dental hygienist can hold counselling sessions and is at a much better advantage to advice people on the harmful effects of smoking like development of oral cancer, severe periodontal disease and tooth decay which ultimately leads to premature tooth loss.

Dental practitioners must also educate their patients that poor oral health caused by smoking can lead to other diseases like heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other respiratory problems. It is a common fact that patients often listen to their doctor’s advice, hence the brief time spent with the dentist can actually be turned into an advantage by talking to the patient about the health benefits of giving up this dreadful habit. Showing pictures of periodontal diseases in other smokers can also be helpful in gaining the patient’s attention and promote smoking cessation.