Minimising the risk of infection for patients and dentists at our Wickford practice.

Viruses are currently headline news and whilst most of us will have a viral infection from time to time, most of these will be usually relatively minor. Even with a relatively mild virus though, it is still important to take them seriously and limit the risk of cross infection.

As you would expect, the team at the Cygnet Dental Practice come into contact with a lot of patients each week and obviously we do all that we can to protect both the patient and members of our dental team.

What we do

Even before the current headlines, our dentists have always  taken the issue of cross infection seriously and worn the appropriate protection. All of our dentists will wear disposable face masks as well as disposable surgical gloves when treating a patient. These are safely disposed of after examining or treating each patient as viruses and bacteria may linger on them.

Understandably, most of the equipment and implements that we use are not disposable as they are very sophisticated and are therefore expensive. These are thoroughly sterilised though in order to kill any germs and bacteria that might linger on them. We will never use the same equipment on different patients without it having undergone this thorough sterilisation process in between.

Finally, our Wickford practice is kept thoroughly clean, not only in the general reception areas but especially the treatment rooms which regularly undergo a deep cleaning process to keep them as hygienic as possible.

Finally, you may have seen reports that there is a shortage of face masks following the present situation. Currently, this is not an issue for us but we will make alternative arrangements should it become necessary.

What can you do?

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Colds and related illnesses – we look at how these can affect your teeth and gums.

Whether on public transport, at work or in a supermarket, it is likely that you will have noticed an increased number of people coughing and sneezing all around you. Perhaps you have been fortunate to have avoided these illnesses so far, but there is little doubt that Winter is a time when many of us are struck down by various sickness bugs.

Some of these bugs can make us feel quite ill and reluctant to come up from underneath the duvet. It is important that we take care of ourselves when we are ill like this, with suitable rest. It is also important to be aware of the effect that illnesses like these can have on your oral health.

Colds and viruses can also have an immediate effect on our teeth and you may find that your teeth are causing you some discomfort. This is most likely caused by a buildup of pressure in the sinuses and other affected areas. There is usually no need to seek dental attention for this, but if you are concerned about any pain, the Cygnet Dental Practice is only a quick ‘phone call away.

Dehydration

As some of our Wickford patients will know if they have read our previous blogs, dehydration can have a negative effect on our teeth and gums, especially if this happens over an extended period of time. Saliva is important as it washes away bacteria and food particles from our mouths. Without it, bacteria thrive; some of which may contribute to problems like gum disease. Because we sneeze a lot when we have a cold, we lose fluids that way as well as sometimes not drinking enough if it is too much effort to get up from bed or the sofa. Although the saying that drinking water flushes the viruses from your system has been challenged, there is little doubt that it will make us feel better and is also good for our mouth health.

However difficult it may seem, do try to drink plenty of fluids, and especially water, whilst you are ill.

Our diet

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Wickford dentist, Dr Nabiha Farooqi, looks at how reducing our drinking can benefit our oral health.

Some of you will possibly acknowledge that you drank too much over the Christmas and New Year holiday and perhaps as a consequence of this, be taking part in Dry January, when you don’t drink alcohol for a whole month. Whilst taking part in this will certainly give your liver a bit of a well earned rest, just giving up for one month is unlikely to produce any long term benefits unfortunately.

At the Cygnet Dental Practice, we see a number of problems that have either been caused by or contributed to by regular or excessive alcohol consumption. Although we appreciate that many people do like to have a drink, there has to be a sensible approach to this.

A new approach to alcohol

As an individual, you will know how much you drink (although some may underestimate this amount). If you have a couple of glasses of wine or beer a week, you probably need to do nothing about this. Although no alcohol is thought to be the best option, a small amount such as this will do little harm to your health or your teeth and gums as long as you clean your teeth correctly.

At the other extreme, there will be those who drink excessively and are putting their health, and lives at risk. If you acknowledge this yourself, or have been told by loved ones around you that you drink too much, a good place to start would be to discuss this with your GP who should be able to offer help.

Most people probably fall somewhere in the middle with their drinking habits. Sometimes this may be a few drinks every evening after work, whilst for others, probably younger people, it may revolve around concentrated bouts of drinking, sometimes referred to as ‘binge drinking’.

For those who drink regularly or heavily, the start of a new year is a good time to look at how you can cut down on your alcohol intake.

Broken teeth and emergency dental appointments

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A few festive suggestions for gifts that can improve your oral health.

It is now officially December, and few of us can have avoided the obvious signs that Christmas is just around the corner.

While some of us may be last minute shoppers, many will be planning what to buy their friends and relatives for Christmas presents already.

At the Cygnet Dental Practice, we thought that we would make a few suggestions of presents that we consider to be tooth friendly. Some of these are especially ideal as stocking fillers, whilst others may involve a slightly larger outlay.

In no particular order, here are some of the suggestions that our Wickford dentists came up with.

Toothbrush

Although perhaps not the most glamorous of Christmas presents, a new toothbrush is one that can really improve oral health. Too many people are believed to be using a toothbrush that is too old to be effective and with bristles that are so worn that they don’t clean the teeth of food and bacteria sufficiently.

For families that still use a manual toothbrush, this is a good opportunity to switch to an electric toothbrush. These are now widely acknowledged to provide better cleaning and are especially useful for young children where the rotating bristles do much of the work that small tired arms sometimes don’t. Where children are concerned, there are also a wide range of brushes now available with different colours and characters from their favourite cartoons and TV shows.

Sweet and chocolate alternatives

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Wickford dentist, Himesh Patel, offers advice to anyone considering doing this.

There is a reasonable chance that many of us, as children, will have had one or more of our first wobbly teeth pulled out by a parent or relative.

Some of these will have been done gently, whilst others may have been done using more aggressive methods, the type of which you may have seen on YouTube and the like.

But there are a number of good reasons why you shouldn’t aggressively remove a loose tooth, whether as a child or indeed an adult. Let’s take a closer look at why in today’s Cygnet Dental blog.

Children’s wobbly teeth

Children tend to lose their ‘baby’ teeth anywhere from around 4 years old. Whilst most will lose the rest at a regular pace from then on, some of us may still have a few of them even into our teens. A wobbly tooth to a child can be an inconvenience and cause problems for them when eating if it stays like that for some time and doesn’t come out quickly. For this reason, (and the fact that we are probably getting pestered because they want money from the tooth fairy!), it is not unnatural that we may want to speed up the process.

Where this is the case, you should make sure that you have clean hands and very gently manoeuver the tooth a little. If it does not come away from the gums very easily, please don’t use force. Doing so could cause tissue damage to the gum and may prove to be very sore for the child too. If the tooth does not come away easily, just give it a little more time.

Although some of the videos available on how to pull out a child’s tooth in unique ways may seem amusing and may appeal to some of you, please don’t do this. It can cause significant trauma to the gum tissue and, where it doesn’t work as planned, can be quite traumatic for the child too.

If your child has a tooth that is causing problems because it won’t fall out even though it feels ready, please allow one of the Cygnet Dental team to remove it safely for you.

Adults

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This frustrating problem can have a number of potential causes.

We probably all know what a toothache feels like. It can range from a mild throbbing sensation to an excruciating pain that causes us to reach for the phone to make an emergency dental appointment to get it addressed ASAP.

Even a mild toothache is a fairly certain sign that something is wrong and hopefully few of us would choose to ignore it.

Pain isn’t the only sensation that we can feel with our teeth though. A less usual, but not uncommon one, is when our teeth start to itch.

This can be frustrating as we can’t really scratch our teeth like we can, say, our head if it itches. Itching teeth are not only be irritating but could also be an indication of a genuine dental problem that needs resolving. In today’s blog, our Cygnet Dental Practice team look at some of the potential reasons why our teeth might start to itch.

Structural damage

If any of the internal structures of a tooth have been damaged, this is likely to cause some sensation. While most of us would probably presume that this means a toothache, it can also lead to an itching sensation, at least initially. This may just be the start though and if left untreated, further discomfort in the form of a toothache may well follow not too long afterwards. For this reason, we recommend that you let one of our Wickford dentists take a look if you find that your teeth start to itch at all.

Foreign objects

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