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Five Tips to Improve Your Hygiene Routine

Wednesday, May 10th, 2017

shutterstock_528465388If you’re keen to steer clear of decay and keep gum disease at bay, a good oral hygiene routine is a must. If you’re not sure if you’re doing enough at home, here are 5 top tips to improve your daily regime:

  1. Brush twice a day, every day: do you ever have days when you can’t be bothered to brush your teeth and all you want to do is fall into bed? If so, try and find the energy to stay up 2 minutes longer and your teeth and gums will thank you forever. It’s really important to brush your teeth twice a day, every day. It only takes 2 minutes to make a massive difference to your oral health.
  2. Set a timer: many people don’t spend long enough cleaning their teeth, and setting a timer is an easy way to make sure you’re doing a thorough job. If you don’t have a brush with a timer, you can set an alarm on your phone or even brush along to a song.
  3. Use fluoride toothpaste: fluoride is a mineral, which helps to protect the enamel and reduce the risk of decay. Using fluoride toothpaste can help to strengthen your teeth. When you’ve brushed, don’t rinse, as this will wash the fluoride away.
  4. Brush gently: It’s understandable to assume that the harder you brush, the better the job. However, this isn’t the case when it comes to your teeth. If you brush too aggressively, you can wear away your tooth enamel, increasing the risk of sensitivity and cavities.
  5. Floss: brushing is really important for good oral health, but you can’t possibly reach every part of your mouth with a toothbrush. Flossing is a way of targeting areas that can’t be cleaned with a brush, such as the cracks between your teeth. Try and floss once a day.

Dental Hygiene – How we stop dental problems before they occur

Friday, January 27th, 2017

It’s well documented that dentists love the saying, ‘prevention is better than cure.’ It’s always better to prevent dental disease if possible. Thshutterstock_409712314is saves you from unpleasant symptoms like swelling and tooth pain, keeps your smile looking good and reduces dental bills. The good news is that most dental diseases are preventable, and good oral hygiene will stand you in good stead for trouble-free teeth. Here are some simple hygiene tips that could make all the difference to your teeth and gums.

Brushing and flossing

It takes just a few minutes each day, but it could make the difference between losing your teeth and developing sore gums and having a healthy smile for years to come. Brushing is essential for good oral health because it prevents plaque formation. Plaque is a sticky film-like substance, which forms when saliva, food debris, and bacteria combine. Plaque sticks to the enamel, and it can also irritate the gums. When you brush, you dislodge food particles and bacteria. You also polish your teeth to prevent staining and give your smile that extra sparkle.

When you’re brushing at home, take care to do a thorough job, but be gentle. Brushing vigorously can damage the enamel. Use a brush with a small head, and angle the brush, so that you can clean along the gum line. Set a timer to ensure that you brush for 2 minutes each time. We recommend waiting an hour to brush after eating to avoid enamel erosion.

Flossing should never be used to replace brushing; it should be used in addition to cleaning your teeth. When you floss, don’t pull at the tape, as this can harm your gums. Gently guide the floss through the cracks in your teeth.

Seeing your dentist

If you have any questions about oral hygiene, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are happy to offer tips and answer questions. We also strongly recommend regular check-ups, and annual sessions with the dental hygienist.

Choosing your Toothpaste in Leeds

Friday, January 25th, 2013

There are a lot of things to take into account when it comes to caring for your teeth at home in Leeds, finding the right toothpaste is one of the ingredients in this. The market is flooded with different types and choosing may get a little confusing at first, but when you think about it, that is such a bad thing either. You can find toothpastes for all occasions and all conditions so this can only be good for your oral health. Sensitive gums require toothpastes that will reduce the sensitivity when it comes to drinking and eating hot and cold. Other toothpastes offer pro-enamel protection for the surfaces of your teeth. You can also buy powdered pastes that are abrasive enough to remove the stains left by nicotine. But the incredible range of toothpastes goes on. Tooth whitening is big box office right now and the toothpastes on the market do a great job in putting that sheen back onto the surfaces of your teeth. Then we move into the world of alternative herbal remedies. Most toothpastes contain fluoride and this is a mineral that has started to come under some attack over the years, so a whole range of toothpastes have sprung up that are fluoride free. Choice is always good, but making a choice is hard so you should talk candidly to your dentists about all the choices available to you.

The truth about Fluoride in Leeds

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

If there is one subject that will split the opinions of dentists in Leeds and that is the use of fluoride and some think that there is just a little too much getting into our bodies. Apart from the obvious way which is in toothpaste, our drinking water is full of fluoride and it is considered, by some, that too much of it can be detrimental to our health. Once in the bloodstream, it can leave deposits in the brain and cause what is known as fluorosis. In rare cases, children, who tend to swallow more toothpaste than they brush with, have been known to die from it. But then, these are rare cases and unless your addicted to the stuff, the effects are really minimal and rather sounds like a bit of too much PC scaremongering, and from a dentists and patients point of view, ignoring just how good fluoride is for our teeth. One of the things we are trying to do with our teeth is to stave of plaque and tartar from forming, so that we can steer well away from things such as tooth decay and gum disease, and by cleaning regularly with a toothpaste that contains fluoride, it has been shown that it strengthens our teeth’s enamel. It regenerates it with minerals and ensures that it is strong in the fight against tooth decay. For those out there that have their doubts, there are fluoride-free toothpastes- these maybe good for children, but only by protecting our teeth can we keep our mouths healthy and fluoride has a proven track record in this area.

Ask Leeds dentist about the safety of fluoride

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Fluoride is an element that naturally occurs in both water and food and has a beneficial impact on the teeth. So much so, that for the last eighty years or so we have been adding it to drinking water as a preventative measure against tooth decay. As well as this there is also a range of fluoride toothpastes and supplements that people use in areas of low fluoridation of the water.

In recent years there has been some controversy surrounding the presence of fluoride in the water and the supposed benefits. This has also led to many people being unsure as to whether they should be supplementing their, or their children’s diets with fluoride. Dentists recommend that you should never give fluoride to children under the age of six or let them use toothpaste with fluoride, as it can be hazardous in large levels. It is also true that fluoride can cause a condition called fluorosis, which causes discolouration of the teeth ranging from small white specks to larger brown discoloured patches. This happens when teeth are in their developing years before the age of six and cannot be removed.

Different areas in the UK have differing levels of fluoride in the water so it is probably best to find out how much is in your water supply. Your Leeds dentist will be able to tell you how much is in the local supply and give you an idea if you need to be supplementing your diet with fluoride or using a different toothpaste.