Dental Hygiene in bristol

Dental hygiene and check ups in Bristol

Prevention is better than cure when it comes to your oral health.

Dental pain, as many of us know, is something that is best avoided at all costs. However, it is not just the pain that should be avoided but the deterioration of your dental health in general.

Our teeth are important and enable us not only to chew and eat our food effectively, thereby ensuring adequate nutrition, but to enable us to feel confident when we smile. With research showing that people who are successful in their career and relationships tend to be confident, ensuring that we take care of our teeth and smile makes sound sense.

Brushing and Flossing

It goes without saying that brushing and flossing our teeth and gums on a regular basis is key to keeping our teeth in great shape. Without this, we would be in constant need of invasive dental procedures simply to enable us to keep our teeth at all.

Whilst most people do this, some fail to ensure that they follow this up with regular visits to their dentist. To do this is to ask for trouble as, what may not be noticed when it is a minor problem, can be detected and treated by a dentist before the problem becomes more serious, if caught in time.

At Beau Monde Dental Care of Bristol, we have the latest technologies such as the intra oral camera which not only enable us to see what is going on in your mouth, but allows you to see too, should you so wish. Whilst some patients have no desire to see this, some do find it re-assuring to understand what is happening.

Preventative Check Ups

At your check up, there are a number of potential dental problems that we can spot and treat early on. If let unchechecked, such problems can escalate possibly until pain is felt.

Dental Decay

Dental decay is one of the most common dental problems and can be caused by poor dental hygiene or the consumption of sugars which will eat away at the exterior enamel of the teeth. By spotting any early signs of decay, we are able to fill this with a small filling before the area of decay becomes too large and may need more invasive treatment, perhaps even a crown fitted to ensure its stability and longevity.

Gum Disease

Gum disease often remains undetected for some time before major symptoms appear. Even brushing and flossing does not mean that you are guaranteed to be free of this. There are areas, such as the back of the rear teeth that are very hard to clean yourself; however as professional dentists, we are able to detect these areas and treat them as needed.

In many cases, treatment of gum disease will simply consist of advice about how to brush and floss more efficiently, or may involve a little professional cleaning at our Bristol dental practice.

Under no circumstances should gum disease be ignored as, if left, it can lead to periodontitis and, in some cases, tooth loss.

Oral Cancers

Around five thousand cases of oral cancers are detected each year and many of these are spotted by the dentist. This is logical due to the fact that we work closely in this area. If we spot anything that we feel may be of concern, we will advise you to see your doctor for professional advice.

It should be noted that we are not cancer specialists and unable to determine if what we see is a cancer or not. We would ask you not to be too concerned if we recommend that you see a doctor as our advice is purely precautionary and offered as we feel that it is much better to be safe than sorry.

Beau Monde Check Ups

When you visit our Bristol practice for your check up; we will discuss any concerns or queries that you may have and, by inspecting your mouth, will advise you of any treatments that may be needed.

New patients will also receive an x-ray at their initial examination which helps both you and us, to understand your mouth and assist in determining any treatment plan that you may need.

Prevention and Treatment of Gum Disease at Beau Monde Dental Care in Bristol

Although tooth decay is often perceived to be one of the biggest causes of tooth loss; the fact is that gum disease is often a major factor too, and one that is often overlooked.

In its early stages, gum disease, or gingivitis as it is also known, is relatively easy to treat. However, if left untreated, it will develop into periodontitis where the bacteria attacks the bone in the jaw that holds your teeth firmly into place. When this happens, the bone density decreases, causing your teeth to become loose and eventually fall out.

Symptoms

Gum disease may present a number of symptoms, or in some cases, none at all (which is why regular check ups are important). The most likely symptoms are sore or swollen gums, bleeding when brushing the teeth and bad breath. Whilst some of these may be obvious, others may not be as noticeable and, if you are in doubt, it is better to be safe than sorry and we recommend that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can arrange to check it for you.

Gum Disease Prevention

Gum disease (gingivitis) is relatively easily prevented and takes little more than a good oral health regime. Regular brushing and flossing of the teeth will give you a good head start to preventing it from occurring. You should, of course, ensure that you brush for a minimum of two minutes and ensure that your toothbrush, or the head of an electric toothbrush, is changed every three months to ensure that it is still efficient at removing the bacteria from your teeth and gums.

If you find flossing difficult, we do recommend that you persevere as this will help to remove any food debris and bacteria from between your teeth. If, after some time however, you find that you are unable to floss, please do contact us to discuss other options, such as interdental sticks, that are available.

You should also ensure that you are sufficiently hydrated, especially before going to bed. The bacteria that causes gum disease thrive in warm dry environments and ensuring that you are able to produce saliva will help flush the bacteria away.

Gum Disease Treatment

Although gum disease is easily prevented, it can still build up in areas that are difficult to reach. For this reason, and for your overall oral health, we recommend that you visit Beau Monde Dental Care in Bristol on a regular basis. As well as enabling us to monitor your overall oral health, we will be able to spot any potential build up of the plaque which causes gum disease. One of the most popular places for this to accumulate is at the rear of the back teeth, where brushing is often difficult.

When gum disease does occur, in many cases, we will simply be able to recommend ways to improve the care of your teeth, and this may be sufficient to clear the problem in itself.

Where the plaque build up is more problematic however, it may be necessary to 'scrape and polish' the teeth in order to remove the plaque. This is not an invasive treatment although it can cause a little discomfort and a local anaesthetic may be given depending on the severity of the problem.

In its more advanced stages i.e. when periodontitis occurs, it may be possible to save your teeth by performing a deep clean. This is similar to the above 'scrape and polish' but involves the scraping of the plaque from the tooth well below the gum line. This can be an uncomfortable experience and a local anaesthetic will be needed.

Depending on how advanced the periodontitis is, it may be that some teeth need to be extracted and replaced with dentures or other alternative. However, we will always try to avoid this where possible.

If you have displayed any of the symptoms of gum disease such as bleeding or sore gums, please contact us on 0117 330 3495 to arrange a consultation and allow the problem to be treated in its early stages before it advances to a more serious stage.

At Beau Monde, your local dentist in Bristol, we can help you. Contact us to have a confidential chat with one of our dentists and they will guide you through the steps to get your gums back to health.