Our Teeth – Newington Dental

It is too easy to take teeth, or even our overall heath, for granted. But as we were all taught in primary school, neglecting our teeth and health means suffering problems in the near future. Not brushing teeth today means bad breath tomorrow, and decay a few weeks later.

Perhaps the worst thing about dental problems is that once damage has occurred, it tends to get progressively worse. If we lose a tooth then the surrounding teeth tend to move into the space left behind. This means teeth falling out of alignment, perhaps followed by jaw problems caused by the misaligned teeth. So it is in our best interest to have any missing or damaged teeth replaced as soon as possible.

Implants – Newington Dental

A dental implant can replace an entire tooth, including the root. This is the next best thing to having our natural tooth back. Implants look, feel and function like a natural tooth; we will soon forget that the tooth has been replaced.

• Implants replace the missing tooth. This maintains the strength of the jawbone.
• Implants prevent the adjacent teeth from moving, so teeth will not fall out of alignment.
• Implants have a titanium post that bonds to the jawbone at a molecular level. This is a very secure type of join.
• Implants will not require the maintenance that dentures require, nor will they take time to get used to.
• Implants only need to be brushed and flossed twice per day, like normal teeth. They will never decay, but the surrounding gum must be kept clean to avoid disease.
• The procedure is safe, with minimal recovery time. Complications are rare, especially if the patient is on good health.
• Implants will last 20 to 30 years, often longer.

Newington Dental – What is a Dental Implant

Dental implants have two main sections. There is a metal post inserted into the jawbone, and there is a facsimile tooth made of porcelain or similar material mounted on this metal post. Because the post is made of titanium it will never suffer corrosion, and it will bond very strongly into the surrounding jawbone. This bonding takes a few weeks, so the tooth must not suffer too much stress, though problems at this stage are rare.

There are a few different materials used for the outer part of the implant tooth. One is porcelain, but more modern implants have used Zirconia and Lithium Disilicate. Some of these materials look exactly like organic teeth, some look less realistic. Back teeth molars might be made of less realistic looking material, but optimised for strength. Front teeth, which are visible when we smile, will use highly realistic material, yet still be strong.

Newington Dental

Dental implants are the next best thing to natural teeth. Implants look realistic and can last for decades.

Dental Newington Implants

A few generations ago missing teeth meant dentures. And for almost all people this was an inevitable part of growing old. But today we can have permanent replacement teeth. And while we would all agree that keeping our natural teeth is the best option, modern replacement teeth are almost indistinguishable from the original teeth. In fact, they might even look better.

Dental Implants are the best type of replacement tooth. They are bonded to the jaw with a metal post that connects at a molecular level, and they externally look and function like a natural tooth. Unlike other alternative replacement teeth, such as a bridge, they don’t require the surrounding teeth to be modified. And unlike dentures, which require glue to stay in, they are very much permanent.

Best of all, implants don’t require any special maintenance. they just need to be brushed twice per day and flossed, to prevent the surrounding gum from infection.

Dental Newington Implant Misconceptions

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Cost – Implants are expensive up front, but they last for the rest of your life. This is a saving in the long term.

Do they look real? – A modern implant looks and feels like a real tooth. You soon forget that you ever had a tooth replaced. Each implant is custom designed to suit the individual’s mouth.

There is a limit on the food you can eat – Quite the opposite. Older tooth replacement technology like dentures meant that eating was awkward. But implants free you up to eat virtually anything that normal people eat.

Implants are painful – Not a complete myth. Losing a tooth might have been painful. And implant surgery will require anesthetic. But if all goes well the procedure is not particularly painful.

The body might reject the implant – This is very rare. Unhealthy people have a small change of rejecting the implant. Smokers have a higher risk than non-smokers. But healthy non-smokers very rarely have any issue.

Cleaning – Implants will never suffer decay. But we should brush then twice daily to prevent gum disease.

Dental Newington

Implants are the ideal replacement for a lost or badly damaged tooth. They last a lifetime with regular brushing and flossing.

Newington Dental Athlete Advice

It may be a surprise to some that athletes tend to have poor dental health. Given how much athletes emphasis good health we might expect them to go to great lengths to look after their teeth. But even the athletes who are thorough about cleaning and flossing teeth still perform under expectation when it comes to dental hygiene. So what is the explanation?

Athletes don’t usually smoke or eat junk food (as we understand it) to any significant degree. But there are aspects of their training and lifestyle that compromise their dental health.

Sport Drinks
This is possibly the main culprit. Athletes over the last 20 years have picked up on the sports drinks trend. They also tend to use energy gels and energy bars. These products contain far more sugar than is generally known. And when they consume these products before a game or training, the sugar stays on their teeth for several hours. Brushing the teeth a few hours latter will not help, it is too late. The sugar has already done the damage. Professional athletes who train or compete several days a week may be steadily ruining their teeth every time they take a sports drink.

Dry Mouth
Heavy exertion will cause a dry mouth, especially if we start breathing through the mouth when running or training in any fashion. The dry mouth leads to increased bacteria, and this badly affects teeth and gums. Using a sports drink only makes matters worse as the sugar feeds the bad bacteria.

Using water instead of sports drinks would go a long way to reducing, perhaps preventing, the problem.

Swimmers
While swimming will not give us a dry mouth it will cause problems because of the chlorinated water. Water that is un-chlorinated tend to be just as bad, being made unclean by the many people swimming. This is hard to prevent. We cannot completely avoid swallowing water when we swim. But gargling clean water (bottled water) afterwards will help to some degree.

Newington Dental

Talk to your dentist about preventing dental problems. We encourage a proactive approach.

Dental Veneers at Dental Newington

Teeth can suffer many different types of imperfections. Often these imperfections are simply a matter of appearance, such as staining or minor chips. Occasionally the teeth might be misaligned to the point where it affects our ability to eat or speak. Veneers can often fix the cosmetic issues of teeth, and may even fix at least some functional issues.

Dental Newington – Porcelain Veneers

A veneer is a little like a crown, except that it only covers the front of the tooth. This means they are less expensive and easier to fit. Yet in many cases, where the tooth isn’t too bad, veneers are very effective. They are ideal for a situation where a whole row of teeth need alteration.

White Teeth – If our teeth are stained, or dull in colour, or simply do not match our skin complexion, then veneers can help. Porcelain veneers have a clean white, or if you prefer off-white, appearance. So they look like neat, ideal, natural teeth. And as a bonus, they are basically stain resistant, so they are unlikely to change over time.

Chipped and Cracked Teeth – A porcelain veneer can change the shape of the tooth. So any damage, if it is not too severe, can be corrected. The result is smoother, straighter teeth when you smile.

Pitting and Grooves – Like stains, surface imperfections in the tooth surface can be covered up with veneers. The results are stronger, better looking teeth.

Widely Spaced Teeth – This surprises a few people, but if there are larger spaces between the teeth the porcelain veneers can help. The veneers can be made slightly wider than each individual tooth, giving small neat spaces between teeth.

Over or Under Bite – Perhaps the upper jaw and lower jaw do not meet correctly when your mouth is closed. The veneers can effectively bring the row of teeth on one jaw slightly forward. This will correct slight over or under bite.

Strengthen and Protect – Veneers make teeth stronger, so they are far less likely to be damaged.

Dental Newington

You deserve the best smile possible, and the best in dental health. Talk to us about veneers, crowns, and other dental treatments.

Teeth Situation from Dental Newington

For the past few generations we have most believed that we lose our teeth as we inevitably grow old. It was not widely known that people from earlier centuries mostly kept their teeth into their old age. This was because centuries ago they had a reasonably healthy diet with very minimal sugar. This type of diet is difficult today; we have sugar and processed food on a regular basis. But this does not mean we have to resign ourselves to bad teeth. With good care we can keep our teeth in good condition well into our retirement.

Each year many people lose some or all of their teeth to preventable conditions. This is quite unnecessary. Good practice would go a long way to preventing this. But even those people who know what to do often neglect to look after their teeth.

– 20% of people don’t brush twice a day.
– 75% of people don’t floss daily.
– Most children drink carbonated soft drinks weekly, often daily.
– Half of all adults consume too much sugar. Children are often worse.
– Two thirds of people only go to the dentist when there is a dental problem.
– Only 27 % of people have regular dentist appointments.

Teeth Advice from Dental Newington

Most dental advice is straightforward, it is just that people are negligent. And despite what we might think we cannot miss a nights brushing and try to make up for it latter on.

– Brush daily with Fluoride Toothpaste – Do this for two minutes. Press lightly, but cover every part of every tooth. – – The brushing action removes plaque and food debris. The toothpaste helps kill bad bacteria. We need both the brushing action and the toothpaste.
– Use a soft bristle toothbrush, as this causes less abrasion of tooth enamel.
– Replace the toothbrush every 3 months or at the first sign of wear.
– Small head toothbrushes seem to be better at reaching the back teeth.
– Electric toothbrushes seem to be effective, and people often like using electric toothbrushes.

Brushing Technique

1- Apply a pea sized amount of toothpaste to the brush.
2- Start at the back of the mouth, with the bristles touching the gum line.
3- Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle, and brush back and forth.
4- Move the brush to clean the outer tooth surface, inner surface and top of all teeth.
5- Don’t rinse. Let the toothpaste stay on the teeth for 30 minutes, as the fluoride helps harden the tooth enamel and fight bad bacteria.
6- Brush your tongue if it looks coated. This is often a cause of bad breath.

Floss –

30% of the tooth surface is between the teeth. We need to clean this lest we suffer decay and gum disease.
It is best to floss either after brushing or after using mouthwash. This is because flossing can cause gums to bleed. If there is bacteria in the mouth it can enter our bodies where the gums are bleeding. But if we use toothpaste or mouthwash first we kill 99% of the bacteria.

Diet –

A toothbrush gets rid of most of the sugar in our mouth, but not all of the sugar in our bodies. We need to keep sugar in our diet to a minimum if we are to have health teeth and gums. This is difficult as there is sugar in most processed foods and drinks.

Drink water whenever possible. This keep the mouth clean and goes a long way to reducing dental problems.

Dental Newington

Good habits and regular dental appointments will keep teeth in the best condition possible. We can have good teeth even in old age.

Reviewing old Advice with Dentist Newington

We were usually taught some basic dental advice by our parents. Most of this remains valid, the only real issue being whether we stick to what we were taught. But sometimes the old advice becomes obsolete in light of new discoveries. So we might find that even though we are dedicated, we are getting some things wrong.

Only Brushing Once per day – Some of us know that we need to brush in the morning to get rid of the bad breath we have accumulated overnight. But we would do better to brush the night before, to prevent the bad breath occurring. Leaving bacteria and food debris overnight in the mouth invites problems, including decays, gum infections and bad breath. So brush morning and night.

Brushing Too Hard – This is one that our parents’ generation got wrong. Tooth enamel is thin, and if we brush too hard, especially with a stiff bristle brush, we will wear away the enamel after a few years. This leaves us with teeth that are sensitive to hot and cold temperatures.
Brush thoroughly, but gently.

Rushing the Process – We should spend two minutes brushing, twice a day. Three times a day is also fine. Anything less than this, and we are probably leaving plaque and bacteria on the teeth.

Not Flossing – There is some debate here, but in the end we have to realise that 30% of the tooth surface is between the teeth. We have to clean this, or we will suffer gum infections and tooth decay. A Waterpik is a good option, but floss is an old yet effective method.

Disinfect first – If we have bleeding gums we risk getting bacteria in our bloodstream. This bacteria in the blood can cause serious long term illness. We can greatly reduce the risk if we use mouthwash or brush our teeth before flossing. These should kill bacteria, so that any bleeding (perhaps from flossing) should not pose a risk.

Brushing too Soon – This is another idea that our parents got wrong. Many foods and beverages will temporarily soften tooth enamel. If we brush when the enamel is soft we will steadily wear it away. Instead of brushing after we eat, we should wait 30 minutes. Drink water and perhaps sugar-free chew gum to clean teeth after eating.

Approved Products – There are toothpaste and toothbrushes that are Dental Association approved (ADA) available in most stores. Avoid anything in ‘dollar shops’ or discount barns that do not have this approval. Even if they have the same brand name they often have different ingredients. Use trusted products only.

Dentist Newington

Regular daily brushing and regular dental appointments will keep our teeth in the best health possible. Avoid many problems by looking after your teeth.