Putting The Brakes On Deteriorating Oral Health

Even if your teeth and gums are unhealthy, our Wickford dentists can help to restore them!

‘Challenging’ is one word for the times that we are living in. The first lockdown was difficult, but for many, manageable, and even gave some of us opportunities for new discoveries such as country walks and even new business ventures.

With new restrictions coming into force though, more and more of us are perhaps wondering when it will all end.

This stress and anxiety is taking its toll not only on our mental health, but also very likely, our oral health too. Dental practices are doing their best to catch up on missed appointments from the first lockdown but restrictions mean that most can see fewer patients each day, prioritising the most urgent. This means that, as time goes by, some of us may find that our teeth and gums start to suffer in some way.

The present situation

We don’t know when, and we don’t know for certain, but scientists are optimistic that a vaccine will be available in the not too far off future which will help us all to get back to some sort of normality. In the meantime, we have to cope as best as we can. This applies to how we look after our teeth and gums too.

For those of you with a significant dental issue such as a toothache or sore or bleeding gums, we encourage you to call your local Cygnet dentists and we will do all that we can to see you as soon as possible. With a little care, and perhaps a little luck too, this type of appointment can hopefully be minimised.

To help with this, we encourage all of our Wickford patients to remember, and put into practice, the very basics of good oral health care.

1. Try not to eat or drink foods that are high in sugar and especially those that stick easily to your teeth.
2. Remember to brush your teeth both in the morning and the very last thing at night using a fluoride toothpaste.
3. Use dental floss. Many problems start in the areas between the teeth where a brush struggles to reach.
4. Drink plenty of water. This will not only keep you hydrated but will flush away some sugars and potentially harmful bacteria from your mouth.
5. Try not to do anything foolish that might damage your teeth, such as opening bottles with them!

There is no guarantee that these will mean that you have zero dental problems, but they will minimise the risk and certainly help.

Going forwards

As we start to return to some sort or normality, hopefully not too far in the future, it is highly likely that dentists will be called upon, more than ever, to get the nation’s teeth back to good health. One of the first steps will be to do all we can to ensure that everyone has a check up where we can examine their teeth, gums and general oral cavity. Inevitably, this will throw up problems that the patient probably didn’t realise they had. Not every instance of tooth decay, for example, leads to immediate toothache and can deteriorate quite a lot before the patient experiences it. Fillings to repair decay will be one of the most common treatments that we carry out once we have been able to examine everyone.

For anyone who is worried about the fact that their teeth don’t look as nice as before this all started, we will also be able to help to restore their appearanc with our range of cosmetic dentistry procedures.

Teeth that have suffered more damage may be able to be restored using porcelain crowns, or, if an extraction is required, to be replaced with dentures or, increasingly, with popular dental implants.

Those that have not been able to have their teeth whitened when they usually do, plus many of us who will have been drinking large quantities of tea and coffee while we work from home, may wish to consider our convenient teeth whitening treatment to brighten their smiles.

Now might be a time when we are expected to ‘hunker down’ as we all keep our fingers crossed that we come out the other side as soon as possible. There will be many challenges along the way, and as far as our oral health is concerned, we all, as individuals, need to do what we can to stay on top of it. Please do remember that we are here to help you as best as we can. Don’t think that you shouldn’t ‘bother’ us if you have a relatively minor toothache. This will almost certainly become worse if you do nothing about it; so in cases such as this, please do give us a call and we will see you as soon as we can so that you can have the appropriate treatment.

We look forward to the day when we can see as many patients as before the pandemic started and to ensure that all of our Wickford patients are able to have regular check ups so that we can monitor the health of your teeth and gums. If you would like to book an appointment to see one of our dentists or have any queries about your oral health, please don’t hesitate to call the Cygnet Dental Practice on 01268 733078.