Month: August 2023

What You Should Know About Your Child’s Oral Health

When you become a parent it’s important that you are keeping a close eye on your child’s oral hygiene. In this post, we will outline some of the developmental signs you should look out for as well as how to approach their first trip to the dentist.

Early Oral Care For Children

Even before your children have grown their first teeth, it is vital that you get into the habit of cleaning their gums to help remove bacteria and any food particles in the mouth. You can do this by using a soft washcloth and warm water, massaging the gums gently with your finger. This will also help your child get used to the feeling that will be similar to when they start brushing their teeth.

Once their first teeth have started to erupt, you can start to use a soft infant toothbrush and some toothpaste. Avoid using toothpaste that contains fluoride until your child is at least two years old. Use a similar motion to using the washcloth to brush the teeth, using a small amount of toothpaste.

Stages Of Tooth Development

As your child grows, their mouth will undergo many changes. The first teeth that emerge are the front incisors on the bottom jaw in the first 6-10 months, followed by the top incisors. The canines usually appear towards the end of your child’s first year, followed by the first molars around 6 months later.

The second molars will appear at about 2 years old and the third molars at around 6 years.

At around 6 years old, your child will start to lose their baby teeth, in a similar order to how they appeared.

These developmental markers are very general as every child will develop at different rates.

First Dental Visit

When your child’s first teeth have become visible, it is time to take them to the dentist. Visiting your dentist at an early stage will make sure that they become familiar to your child early, making it a more comfortable experience for your child as they grow up.

The first visit to the dentist is a good time to ask any questions or point out concerns that you may have regarding your child’s oral health. This will allow the dentist to discuss these issues with you and give any advice.

Make It Fun

One of the biggest challenges that parents will face is the problem of overcoming their child’s fear of the dentist. If your child is unaware of a trip to the dentist and what it entails, it can make it more scary for them. The best way to approach an upcoming appointment is to inform them in the weeks leading up to the appointment. Explain to them how important it is to have strong, healthy teeth, and how their dentist can help them look after them. Give them an idea of what might happen during the appointment so that they know what to expect.

Starting Your Kids Down The Right Path

Your child’s oral health needs to be kept on top of to ensure that you can notice the early signs of any problems that you need to discuss with their dentist. Developing an oral hygiene routine early will be extremely helpful in ensuring that your child continues the habits into their adult life.

How To Look After A New Dental Crown

If a filling is no longer sufficient to repair a tooth, a crown may be the next option. A crown may also be required after a root canal procedure to seal the tooth. If your dental crown is effectively cared for, it should cause no problems and last many years.

Although a crown can’t suffer from decay, it is still important that you are caring for it properly to ensure it lasts as long as possible.

Daily Cleaning

Whilst the crown itself will not decay, the tooth it is attached to could, which could put your crown at risk of becoming loose. The underlying tooth may change shape if it becomes decayed, meaning that you may need to have a new crown made.

Gum Disease

It is essential to clean your teeth well, not only to protect your crown, but to prevent gum disease. If you are not using floss or interdental brushes, we would recommend that you start now.Although, when flossing be careful that the floss does not become wedged under the crown as it may dislodge it. In addition to this, we would recommend regular appointments with your hygienist who will provide a scale and polish to help keep your mouth free of gum disease.

If you fail to look after your gums effectively, you could develop periodontitis which is a form of gum disease. It results in bone loss in your mouth, so the structures that support your teeth deteriorate, making them loose. It would be very disappointing to have a new crown placed, only to later lose the tooth due to gum disease!

Small Changes

Along with keeping a strong oral hygiene routine, there are a few other changes you could make to improve the lifetime of your crown:

  • Avoid sticky, chewy foods which could pull off the crown.
  • Try to chew using the other side of your mouth.
  • Avoid hard foods, such as raw vegetables, which could dislodge or break the crown.

The best way to look after your crown is to maintain great oral care and treat your crown as you would your natural teeth, the tooth beneath the crown still needs protection from decay and gum disease. Crowns are still susceptible to cracking and wear and tear so be careful when eating hard foods.

If you are interested in having a crown, please call us on 01723 670500 to book an appointment.

What Are Your Tooth Whitening Options?

Whitening Toothpastes

The idea of whitening toothpastes has been around for over 50 years, but the science involved has improved drastically. Previously they were extremely abrasive and harmful to your teeth as they removed stain and enamel layers. Modern versions are much more tooth friendly and can help to maintain whiter teeth if used regularly. However, they rarely whiten to a huge degree.

Whitening toothpastes contain detergents and a mild abrasives to gently scrub the staining from the surface of the enamel.

Internal whitening

Teeth can darken for a variety of reasons, such as external trauma. When a tooth experiences trauma, the pulp becomes nectrotic (dead). Blood is released as a result of the inflammation and tubules in the teeth become stained black. Non-vital teeth usually respond well to external bleaching, however it is sometimes necessary to whiten the tooth from within the root canal.

Supervised Home Whitening

Dentist-supervised home whitening is the safest, most popular, well researched whitening procedure. The first step is an assessment and diagnosis, coupled with good quality photographs showing the closest matching shade tab.

This method requires the manufacture of custom made trays by a laboratory.

In Office Whitening

The dentist will apply a fine layer of the bleaching gel and leave it for a period of time before using the suction to remove it and repeating the process.

To further speed up the process, the dentist may shine a special light at your teeth once the gel has been applied. This procedure takes less than an hour and can brighten your smile by upto 6-7 shades.

What Is Causing Your Mouth Pain And What Can You Do?

Mouth pain has many possible sources, including injuries, sores and certain diseases. Keep reading to learn the potential causes of your mouth pain.

Injury

You may experience some pain in your mouth if you have had an accident, such as falling over and biting your your lip or tongue. This can cause discomfort and tenderness on the inside of your mouth.

Similarly, you can injure our mouth by biting into food that is too hot. This could result in the roof of your mouth becoming burnt.

Dry Mouth

The salivary glands in your mouth produce saliva that helps to keep your mouth hydrated. If these glands stop producing as much saliva, it causes dry mouth. This can lead to mouth sores or a rough tongue.

In most cases, dry mouth is caused by dehydration but there are other causes, such as certain medications and cancer treatments.

Herpes Simplex Virus

HSV is the virus that causes cold sores

Although cold sores are usually associated with the lips, if you have only recently been infected with the virus, you may develop painful lesions on your tongue, gums and throat.

other symptoms of the virus include:

  • A sore throat
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • A fever
  • Muscle aches

Other Infections

As well as HSV, there are other diseases that can cause painful lesions to occur in your mouth:

  • Chickenpox
  • Shingles
  • Hand, foot and mouth disease
  • HIV
  • Infectious mononucleosis

Oral Thrush

Oral thrush is a fungal infection and anyone can get it but you will be more prone to infection if you have a weakened immune system or underlying health conditions.

Oral thrush can appear as cream-coloured lesions in many places within your mouth.

Oral Cancer

Oral cancer can affect many areas of the mouth including:

  • Roof of the mouth
  • Insides of the cheeks
  • Back of the mouth
  • Tongue
  • Salivary glands
  • Gums

Some of the most common symptoms include:

  • Painful lesions that won’t heal
  • Lumps or growths
  • White or red patches inside the mouth
  • Pain or difficulty swallowing
  • Numbness in the lower lip, face, neck or chin.

Risk factors include:

  • HPV infection
  • Heavy alcohol consumption
  • A weakened immune system
  • A family history of cancer
  • Being male

Home Remedies For Mouth Pain

  • Take an over the counter painkiller like ibuprofen or paracetamol.
  • Make a saltwater rinse.
  • Apply ice.
  • Avoid spicy, acidic or salty foods.
  • Drink more fluids.
  • Avoid smoking.
  • Brush and floss your teeth gently.

For more information on other causes of mouth pain, click here.

If your mouth pain doesn’t subside with over the counter medication, call us on 01723 670500 for advice.

What To Expect At A Dental Check-Up

Some patients find it difficult to come to the dentist, but by knowing ahead of time what to expect, it can help to calm your nerves.

Arriving At The Practice

When you first arrive at Newby Dental Practice, you will be welcomed by our friendly receptionist team into our relaxing waiting room. You may be asked to fill in a medical form.

During Your Check-Up

Once it’s time for your check up, you’ll be take through to the dental surgery. They will start with a quick chat to answer any questions or concerns you might have. This will allow your dentist to thoroughly check your mouth, whilst keeping a close eye on anything that has been bothering you. You should let your dentist know if you have been experiencing any pain, sensitivity or unusual sensations and they can advise you on any treatment that you might require.

During the check-up, you’ll be asked to lie back comfortably in the chair so that the dentist can begin a thorough check of your teeth, gums and mouth. They are checking for plaque, gum disease, tooth decay and the early signs of mouth cancer. Your dentist may also take an x-ray to check for any underlying problems.

Once the check-up has been completed, your dentist will advise you of any treatment that you might require and let you know when you will need another appointment. Our reception team will then get them booked for you.

If you need to book your next check-up, call us on 01723 670500.