Dental Hygiene

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The key to keeping your teeth, mouth and gums healthy is by practicing a consistent thorough oral hygiene routine every day. We recommend:

  • Brush your teeth twice a day, for at least two minutes (each time)
    • Use a fluoride tooth paste (helps in the battle against tooth decay – for children’s teeth – check the packaging carefully as too much fluoride as a child can lead to fluorosis (ask us for advice and we will tailor it towards your child’s age)
    • Don’t forget to brush the tongue – this is a haven for bacteria
  • Floss at least once a day (or use interdental brushes to get the spaces between your teeth)
  • Use a mouthwash daily (ask your dentist for advice on what ones to use)

By keeping on top of your oral health at home you can drastically reduce your dental bill by practicing preventative dentistry (the best cure is to prevent the problem from happening).

Professional Dental Hygiene Appointments

As well as maintaining your own oral health at home, coming in for a professional clean (every 6 months unless advised to come in more often) is recommended. Sometimes you may not clean as effectively all over your teeth which does allow bacteria to grow, which leads to plaque and eventually tartar. This is when conventional brushing alone is not enough. We use professional tools to help tackle these stubborn deposits and we are able to see those hard to reach places to help you get back on track to achieve dental health.

Why Is It Important To Remove Plaque/Tartar?

These substances will actively attack and irritate your teeth, gums and mouth. This can lead to a whole host of problems in your mouth with bad outcomes. For example;

  • Plaque/tartar leads to a cavity in your tooth (hole)
  • The hole lets bacteria go inside the tooth and irritates the nerve of the tooth (pain/sensitivity)
  • Root canal treatment is used to save the tooth (the bacteria and nerve of the tooth is removed and then the tooth is root filled to stop further bacteria from entering)
  • If the tooth cannot be saved, then the tooth will need to be extracted  (worst case scenario)
  • This leaves a subsequent gap in your mouth and you will need to consider your gap management options

As you can see it can spitball down a chain of events which eventually leads to tooth loss (and this can lead to further tooth loss through bone resorption). Not only is this bad for your dental health but each step along this journey will have an associated cost. So it will always work out best for you in terms of saving money and time to keep on top of your oral health and have your professional cleaning.

If you would like to book in for a thorough clean, please do not hesitate to either call us or fill out the short form below.