The period of time following treatment should be used to maximum effect, says Wickford dentist Dr Krupa Thakrar.

We have discussed before, the reasons why patients should not fear having a root canal procedure at the Cygnet Dental Practice. Although it is invasive, it is a long standing, and usually successful, method for restoring a tooth where the root canals have been infected.

This is done by removing the top of the tooth, extracting the infected material and cleaning out the hollow canals. Gutta percha is then used to fill the cavities, and, in most cases, a dental crown will then be attached to give the tooth both additional strength and a natural appearance.

In a nutshell, that is the procedure that is used to save the tooth. Equally important though is what happens after the procedure has been completed.

What should you expect?

Because many patients are in some pain when they need to have this treatment, there can be an expectation that, once the anaesthetic wears off, they will still feel some discomfort, even if not as bad as before. This simply shouldn’t happen though, as part of the procedure involves the removal of infected nerve tissue, meaning that the tooth is in effect, a ‘dead’ one that feels no sensation.

You may experience a little tenderness in the surrounding area but this should not be too significant and should soon go of its own accord. You may wish to take some suitable painkillers afterwards though, if you are especially sensitive to discomfort. If you are still in discomfort, a week or so following the treatment, please contact our Wickford practice to have it checked. In the highly unlikely event that you are in significant pain following the procedure, please call us as soon as possible.

Recovering

Read more ›

The rise in coffee consumption in the UK could pose a challenge for the health of our teeth suggests Cygnet Dental Practitioner, Dr Nabiha Farooqi.

At the moment, it seems that we don’t hear much good news about the economy at all. One area though that seems to be ever expanding is the omnipresent coffee shop. Even the smallest town now appears to have least one, with Wickford being no exception. The British  simply can’t get enough of this product, but does this popular beverage pose any threat to our oral health at all?

One of the appeals of coffee, of course, is the quick energy burst that the caffeine provides. This is a naturally occurring substance that is present in a number of plants, including tea leaves. There are also other recognised benefits of caffeine such as its anti inflammatory and antioxidant properties. There are even some sources which claims that drinking coffee might lower the risk of some oral cancers (reference 1 below).

One of the problems with some of these findings though is that to have any significant effect, between 4 and 6 cups of coffee a day need to be drunk. This can lead to other side effects such as increased heart rate and ‘the jitters’. It could also have an effect on your teeth and gums too.

Caffeine and your teeth

Whilst caffeine might reduce the risk of gum disease, it could, potentially, cause damage to your teeth if you drink a lot of it. ‘Caffeine’ addicts may become agitated and jittery if they drink too much of it, and some have argued that this leads to an increase in bruxism (teeth grinding), or perhaps rather, the intensity of it. As we know, this is a habit that can be very harmful and destructive to our teeth and it is best if we moderate our caffeine intake to help to prevent it.

The other most visible effect that coffee has on our teeth of course, is staining. Especially when strong and intense coffee drinks, such as espressos, are drunk, the dark staining properties are soon very visible for all to see. A teeth whitening procedure can be used to reverse this, but for those who prefer to prevent it in the first place, coffee is probably not the beverage for them.

The sugar threat

Read more ›

Oral restoration options at the Cygnet Dental Practice.

For most people, having a healthy set of teeth is not overly difficult. With good home care and regular dental visits, most of us will go through life with relatively healthy teeth, perhaps having a few fillings and even the odd extraction.

On the whole though, our oral health does not affect our lives too significantly. This is not the case with everyone though, and some people seem to be ‘plagued’ with poor dental health throughout their lives.

Some of this may be down to long term poor oral health care or even long term medical issues. Others may just be unfortunate to have very poor quality teeth due to genetics. This can have a major impact on people’s lives, both from a practical viewpoint, but also from a mental health perspective too. Being so embarrassed about our teeth can lead us to avoiding social events, or even people, altogether.

In today’s blog, we take a look at the treatments that we have on offer that can help our local Wickford and Rayleigh patients restore their teeth and get their oral health back on course.

Make an appointment

Whatever the reason for your poor oral health, it is never too late to do something about it. Whilst we may not be able to give you a new set of natural teeth, there are many procedures now available that make a great job of restoring damaged teeth and, where that is not possible, replacing them with a realistic alternative.

Before any of this is possible though, the patient has to take the first step and make an appointment to see one of the dentists at the Cygnet Dental Practice for a thorough examination. This will enable us to discuss an effective treatment plan for your own particular situation. The first step will be to treat any issues of immediate concern such as decaying teeth or gum health issues. Once we have achieved a good level of general oral health, we can then start looking at restoring your teeth to a condition where they are both functional and visually appealing.

Restorations

Read more ›

A look at some of the challenges and tips for better oral health through flossing.

It is the start of a new year, and perhaps no better time to start to make changes to our lives. There are many pieces of advice that we offer our Wickford patients to help them to have better oral health, but perhaps one of the most simple of these is the introduction of dental floss into their daily routine, for those who currently don’t do it.

There is every chance that you don’t use dental floss at this point. Nearly four in five of us don’t do this, yet it is a simple task that takes very little time, yet really can contribute significantly to a healthier mouth.

Types of flossing

Before we look at the ‘hows’, it is worth acknowledging that there are now a variety of methods available. Not only the string type of floss that most of our patients are probably familiar with, but also inter-dental sticks and even water flossers. Whilst all of these have their advocates (and opposers), the view of our Cygnet Dental Practice team is that the standard ‘string’ type of floss is more than adequate for the job.

Starting to floss

We know, from patient feedback, that some people really do find it a struggle to floss between their teeth. It is true that it can be a little fiddly initially, but most people soon get the hang of it and it is certainly worth persevering with. If you really do struggle after watching tutorial videos etc, then pop along to our Wickford dental practice. We will be only too happy to offer our help and advice!

When you start flossing, it is worth remembering that you only need to do so in the evening (though some may wish to remove stubborn food directly after a meal too) and should be done, ideally,  after you brush your teeth. If you can only brush before though, or find that much easier to do, it is much better to do so than not to floss at all.

Initial bleeding

Read more ›

How a healthy mouth contributes towards this important process.

Many patients tend to think of teeth as solid objects, whereas they actually consist of several layers. The exterior enamel layer is hard and offers the necessary strength to chew and bite our food.

The layer beneath, the dentin layer, is softer and porous and allows ‘access’ to the nerves which are stored in the root canals of the tooth. It is the enamel layer which we see when we look in the mirror though, and what many of us may be unaware of is, that when we eat, we lose some of the minerals from this layer, causing it to soften just a little.

This softening is not something that our Wickford patients would notice, but for a short period of time, with the loss of some of these minerals which include calcium and phosphate, our teeth are a little more vulnerable to problems such as decay and acid damage.

A word about brushing your teeth

Before we move on to discuss the remineralisation process, it is probably a good time to mention that, due to the softer nature of our teeth following a meal, it is a good idea to allow at least 30 minutes to lapse after we have finished eating before we brush our teeth. If we brush before then, the enamel is softer and more vulnerable and may result in some enamel erosion. Doing this on a regular basis can cause significant long term damage to our teeth.

What happens during remineralisation?

As we lose minerals from our teeth when we eat, so these are restored afterwards, or at least where our overall oral health is good. The minerals that are used to restore the enamel of our teeth are contained in our saliva. Finishing a meal with something that promotes good saliva flow is an excellent idea as this will help to speed up the remineralisation process. Cheese is ideal for this as it not only stimulates saliva flow but helps to reduce the potentially tooth damaging acid environment in our mouth as well.

It is also important that we stay well hydrated in order to keep a healthy saliva flow. This should be done by drinking sufficient water, not only in hot weather, but in cold too. High sugar drinks are not a suitable replacement for water and their high acid levels are also likely to contribute to further mineral loss.

Signs of demineralisation

Read more ›