Top 15 Tips for Looking After Your Teeth

As you may be aware, looking after your teeth is important for ensuring a healthy, white smile. Unfortunately, with the easy accessibility to more and more harmful products, we are seeing a rise in the number of people heading to the dentist with a problem with their teeth. A lot of the time, however, this can be avoided by simply knowing how to prevent it in the first place.

Read below for Midlands Smile Centres 15 DO's and DONT’s to looking after your teeth.

1)    Do – Choose your brush carefully

Most people don’t take much time to look into this, and why would you? A toothbrush is a toothbrush, right? Well on closer inspection you’ll find that there are a variety of different toothbrush all aimed around correcting different problems. Next time you're looking at a new toothbrush, take into consideration what you're looking for. A simple change such as this can help to keep your tees in good order without costing you a fortune.

2)    Do – Use sugar-free gum  

 

Believe it or not, sugar-free gum does wonders for dental health. Making sure you have a pack on you wherever you go could make a  big difference to your teeth. The use of chewing gum helps to increase the volume of saliva in your mouth which in turn helps to neutralise acid levels in the mouth and on your teeth. This helps to prevent further damage to your teeth. And of course, the other added bonus of chewing gum is fresh minty breath everywhere you go.

3)    Don’t – Ignore a dental problem

If you notice something isn’t right with your teeth and gums, go and see your local dentist. There’s nothing to be afraid or embarrassed about. The most important thing is your health. Avoiding and ignoring problem will only cause further problems for your mouth and can lead to much more problematic issues later in life.

4)    Do – Floss your teeth

Now, I bet you're sick and tired of hearing this, but it really is a great way to keep your teeth clean. Flossing your teeth on a regular basis is a good way of ensuring you reach every surface on your teeth. This simply cannot be achieved with brushing alone. This simple task can be complete anywhere and will have a significant effect on your teeth.

5)    Do – Use mouthwash

Just like using floss, mouthwash is able to reach places that a normal toothbrush may have missed. This will guarantee that your entire mouth is as clean as possible. Mouthwash is also great at eliminating bad breath and sustaining a minty taste throughout the day.

6)    Don’t - Use your teeth as tools

Some of the stories we get told about the cause of broken teeth are astounding. Your teeth are for eating, and eating only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose, such as a bottle opener. Trust us when we say it’s not a pleasant experience when something goes wrong.

7)    Do – Vary your diet to include foods that are good for your teeth

There are a large number of foods out there that are not only tasty, but are also great for keeping your teeth clean. Like chewing gum, some food can help to remove acid from your mouth. While it is certainly more important to make sure you clean your teeth regularly, you should think about this during your next trip to the supermarket.

8)    Do – Wait an hour after eating before brushing

You might be surprised by this one but waiting for about an hour after eating before you brush your teeth, does have a positive effect on your dental hygiene. When eating, sugars and acids will weaken enamel. If you then choose to brush your teeth immediately afterwards, tiny pieces of enamel will be swept away by your brush.

9)    Don’t – Drink too many sugary drinks

Many fizzy drinks contain an obscene amount of sugar, this sugar attaches itself to your teeth and cause a multitude of problems. In order to combat this, zero-sugar alternatives can be a tasty substitute. If you must have a full sugar drink, try putting in some ice cubes to dilute it first. 

10)    Do – Have regular dental check-ups

We are fully aware that this is not appealing to everyone and the thought of going to the dentist is one that most don't like to think about. But going to the dentist really is the best way to get regular advice on keeping your teeth in the best shape. You can also be sure to find any problems quickly before they become more serious and require extensive treatment.

11)    Do – Brush your tongue

Most people know that this is something you should do and it is more than often included in many people's cleaning regime. This is because it helps to provide fresh clean breath throughout the day. Did you know however that it has another brilliant benefit? Brushing your tongue helps to remove harmful bacteria from your mouth, which in turn helps to maintain the healthy condition of your teeth.

12)    Don’t – Use the same toothbrush for too long

More often than not most people will overuse their toothbrush. This is normally because they don’t know how long a toothbrush lasts. There are some obvious signs to look out for, one of which is when the brush bristles begin to bend and fail. More often than not a good rule to live by is change your toothbrush or brush head every 3 months. This way you can ensure that your brush is doing its job properly and your teeth stay clean.

13)    Do – Use an electric toothbrush

Many dentists will tell you that an electric toothbrush is much better than a manual brush, and this is because an electric toothbrush can help get a better coverage of your teeth and gums, offering as much as 21% more plaque removal after 3 months. Investing in your own electric toothbrush is a very good way to improve your dental health.

14)    Do – Drink water

While water isn't the most exciting drink on the menu, it’s a fantastic way to keep your teeth clean. Simply drinking water helps to neutralise the PH levels in your mouth and remove food that may be stuck in-between your teeth and gums. Not to mention this can also have a great effect on your general health as well. It's also much better for you than sugary drinks. 

15)    Don’t – Rush your Brush

Now, this is important. If you take nothing else from this blog at least listen to this. We all know that you should brush your teeth a minimum of twice a day for 2 minutes, but many of us struggle, either due to being in a rush, or just forgetting. Brushing twice a day for 2 minutes is a very important factor of dental health, so make sure you leave time for doing this. 

Please visit the MSC website today or get in touch over the phone now to find out what we can do for you!

The Right Treatment to Help You

Problems with your teeth are something that will inevitably come-up from time to time. Luckily, we at Midlands Smile Centres are on-hand to help you. MSC are staffed from a team of highly skilled and experienced dentists who can be relied upon to help you with whatever dental issues that you may need professional assistance with.

Continue reading for an insight into some of the tooth-related problems you could face and for an overview of the issues that MSC can alleviate for patients such as you.

An Overview of Dental Issues and How We Can Help

Crooked/Misaligned Teeth

Not necessarily something you would notice due to the pain or discomfort it would cause you, misaligned teeth can still create a problem for people due to the aesthetic impact that they have. Crooked or misaligned teeth affect the way a person's smile looks, and this can lower their confidence as a consequence.

Our answer at MSC to this problem is our fine range of orthodontic treatments. We provide a choice that stretches from the traditional types of braces that you would expect to the more impressive invisible braces that we can offer you.

Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth can often be a noticeable cause of pain and discomfort. If you do experience some level of pain related to this wisdom teeth, our dentists can assist you. Our dentists will decide whether or not to remove your wisdom tooth/teeth with the possible use of an X-ray aiding their judgement. Other extractions can be performed by our dentists also.

Irregular Shaped Teeth/Discoloured Teeth

Teeth serve a purpose, but they are also a fairly conspicuous part of how we look, and imperfections in the way we look can be problematic for some of us. Irregular shaped or discoloured teeth may be responsible for certain people out there to feel uncomfortable about their smile or their overall look. There may also be some individuals who do not realise that this imperfection can be alleviated, and some that are so accustomed to having irregular shaped or discoloured teeth that they have forgotten about this issue, an issue which can be addressed relatively easily.

What we offer to combat this problem is veneers. Veneers are thin layers of material- usually porcelain- that are placed over individual teeth to hide their undesirable appearance. These layers of porcelain are tooth-coloured meaning that they have a natural look and will blend in with the surrounding teeth. Simple and effective, this form of cosmetic treatment makes a noticeable difference to your smile and at MSC, with as few as one or two veneers you can expect to see a huge improvement in the way your teeth look.

Lost Teeth

Whether through playing sports or some other sort of accident, having teeth knocked-out is considered by us to be an emergency. If you do lose a tooth in a certain situation, here's what we would advise you to do: put the tooth into a container of milk, seal it and bring it with you. (Don't clean or wash the tooth.) One of our dentists may be able to reinsert the dislodged tooth.

If, however, you lost your teeth some time ago and currently have a gap in your teeth which has been there ever since the tooth came out, the gap can also create some awkwardness. This is due to the less-than-perfect appearance it creates in addition to it not being ideal on a practical level.

The skilled dentists at Midlands Smile Centres are able to make this flaw in your smile a thing of the past. We can achieve this by implementing our dental implant treatment. Made-up of a false tooth and a titanium implant that is attached to the jawbone, single dental implants will not only help restore the natural charm of your smile but will be a comfortable and versatile addition to your mouth as well.

For those patients who have more than one tooth missing, you can opt for another of our treatments such as denture implants and implant supported bridges if these are suitable for your situation.

Yellow/Stained Teeth

Various aspects of our diet and daily dental care can be attributed to the causing of yellow and stained teeth. There are things though that can be done to counter-act this, and MSC are the people to see for these solutions.

One of our cosmetic dentistry treatments types that is sure to correct this imperfection for you is our teeth whitening treatment. At Midlands Smile Centres, we offer Enlighten tooth whitening, a system that incorporates whitening gel and specially made, close-fitting trays that are to be filled with the gel and worn on your teeth overnight. These trays need to be worn for two weeks to produce the cosmetic results that are important to you.

Another method we use to help those with stained/yellow teeth is airflow treatment. Similar in some ways to a scale and polish, MSC's airflow utilises a pressurised jet of water, air and sodium bicarbonate to clean your teeth. The airflow jet will polish your teeth as well. Also able to clear your teeth of plaque and reach into periodontal pockets, our airflow treatment can reduce tooth sensitivity and does not include chemicals so it won't cause any irritation or burning.

General Pain And Emergency Dentistry

There are various causes of dental pain, and all of them are likely to make you consider getting a dentists appointment soon. If you are experiencing some form of dental pain and it does not cease following 30 minutes after taking pain relief and brushing and flossing teeth, then you should contact MSC on our Emergency Treatment number- 07960344510. (You do not need to be an MSC patient to access our emergency dental treatment.)

However, pain is not the only reason that you should contact MSC straight away.

Here are some other reasons that you should get in touch with us immediately:

-A broken crown. This could lead to eventual tooth loss.

-A broken tooth or filling. This can result in eventual tooth loss.

-A lump on your gum line that is next to the root of your tooth. This could be an abscess.

-A tooth that has been knocked out.

-A lost tooth. Without treatment, the wound in your gum is at risk of infection, abscesses and other problems.

-A loose or partially dislodged tooth. Our dentist may be capable of reinserting it.

Get in touch with MSC today to see how we can help you!!