Bank House Dentistry News

For some people, regular six-monthly check-ups and hygiene appointments seem unnecessary and costly. However, it is important to attend a dentist for regular appointments so any potential problems can be identified early and appropriate action can be taken. Emergency treatments tend to require more work than a simple check-up and therefore cost much more.

If left untreated decay, often painless and not very noticeable at first, can damage or kill the nerves resulting in root canal treatments, or cause teeth to break needing crowns or extractions which can cost hundreds of pounds.

In the examination appointment the dentist will also check the gums and your general oral hygiene for signs of bleeding and gum disease using a special probe to test the depths of the pockets around your teeth.

Finally the soft tissues around your mouth and the tongue are checked for any ulcerations or lesions. Although any lesions in the mouth normally turn out to be benign, some pre cancerous and cancerous changes in the oral tissues can be found. It is good to find these in their early stages where they can normally be successfully treated.

Come and visit us for an examination in our Princes Risborough dental practice. Prevention is the best way to a longer lasting smile – and more money in your wallet!

Gum disease is very common. In fact in the UK it is estimated that half the population has some degree of gum disease and most people will experience it at least once in their lives.

Gum disease is caused by a build up of plaque on the teeth which is a sticky substance containing bacteria. Some of the bacteria are harmless, but some can be very harmful to the health of your gums.

It is very important to remove the plaque from your teeth by brushing them. If it is left, it will build up on your gums and cause them to become irritated and bleed.

If untreated, a condition called periodontitis can develop. This condition affects the tissues that support the teeth and hold them in place. Each year in the UK there are about six cases of severe periodontitis for every 100,000 people. If periodontitis is not treated, the bone in your jaw can recede and small spaces can open up between the gum and teeth. Your teeth can in time become loose and may eventually fall out.

If your gums are inflamed, painful or bleeding it is important to make an appointment to visit our dental practice in Princes Risborough, Bucks. We will thoroughly check your teeth and gums and prescribe you with the best treatment. If the disease is allowed to progress for a long time, treatment can become more difficult and sometimes irreversible.

Implants are the modern way to replace one or more missing teeth.

An implant is a prosthetic replacement for a natural tooth which is surgically positioned in the jaw bone beneath your gums. Over time the implant will fuse to the bone and will provide support for an artificial tooth to be mounted individually or attached to bridges or dentures.

There are three parts to the overall restoration. There is the implant itself – this is the part that acts like the root and is essentially a titanium screw which sits in the jawbone. Secondly, there is the abutment which is the middle piece that connects the implant to the third part – the overlying crown or denture.

Having an implant placed is often easier and less painful than having a tooth taken out and can be done using a simple local anaesthetic. During the procedure there will be no pain, but some discomfort can be expected afterwards for the next few days which can be eased with your usual painkiller.

Implants are very safe and well established and if they are well looked after (and if the bone they are fitted to is strong and healthy) you can expect them to last for many years.

Not everybody is suitable for an implant. Good candidates are people with good healthy gums and enough bone to anchor the implant.

If you have a missing tooth or teeth, if your denture is loose and uncomfortable or if you have a bad tooth that will need to come out and you are interested in your options, come to us in Princes Risborough, Bucks for your free consultation. We are one of Buckinghamshire’s leading implant dental practices.

Mouth cancer (also known as oral cancer) is where an abnormal group of cells develop on the gums, cheek, lips, tongue and more rarely the salivary glands. It is diagnosed in 5,000 people annually and kills almost 2,000 people each year – that’s one death every five hours.

Regular examinations with your dentist ensure you are checked for all the signs of cancer. Things to look out for are:

• Ulcers that do not heal within three weeks
• Red and white patches in the mouth
• Unusual lumps or swellings in the mouth

Awareness and detection saves lives. Dentists can often spot the early stages of mouth cancer and if diagnosed at an early stage, a complete cure is often possible.

Children of a young age cannot look after their own teeth properly, which means that as a parent it is really down to you to look after their oral health during at least the first six to seven years. This can be a delicate time for them as they go through some big changes in their mouths.

Firstly at around 6 months, the teeth will break through the gums and for some children this can be very painful. A few years later, at around the age of 7 years, their secondary teeth will start to put in an appearance. The baby teeth will become loose to make way for the secondary teeth push their way through. This is another milestone for a child, and at first can be quite stressful.

A regular teeth-cleaning routine is essential for good dental health. Follow these tips and you can help keep your children’s teeth decay-free:

• Start to brush your baby’s gums with a soft toothbrush at bath time, or even let your baby have a go themselves as long as you supervise them. This establishes brushing their teeth as part of the washing routine.
• Children under the age of three can use a smear of family toothpaste containing at least 1,000ppm (parts per million) fluoride. Toothpaste with less fluoride is not as effective at preventing decay. Children between the ages of three and six should use a pea-sized blob of toothpaste containing 1,350-1,500ppm fluoride. Check the toothpaste packet for this information or ask your dentist.
• Make sure your child doesn’t eat or lick the toothpaste from the tube.
• Brush your child’s teeth for at least two minutes twice a day, once just before bedtime and at least one other time during the day. Encourage them to spit out excess toothpaste but not to rinse with lots of water.
• Supervise tooth brushing until your child is six or seven years old, either by brushing their teeth yourself or, if they brush their own teeth, by watching how they do it. From the age of seven or eight they should be able to brush their own teeth, but it’s still a good idea to watch them now and again to make sure they brush properly and for the whole two minutes.

Making sure they brush properly

• Guide your child’s hand so that they can feel the correct movement of the brush.
• Make tooth brushing as fun as possible, using an egg timer to time it for at least two minutes.
• Don’t let children run around with a toothbrush in their mouth as they may damage their mouths or choke if they fall over.

Taking your child to the dentist

Once you’ve established a good tooth-brushing routine at home, the next step is the first trip to the dentist. These tips can make this a lot easier:

• Take your child with you to your dental appointments when they’re as young as possible so they become familiar with the environment and get to know the dentist.
• Your child should also have a check up as early as possible, and at least once by the time they’re two. This enables the dentist to help prevent decay and identify any health problems at an early stage.

Porcelain veneers are a form of cosmetic dentistry. They are a thin layer of porcelain prepared to fit over the front surface of a tooth, making your teeth look natural, healthy and beautiful. They give you an opportunity to rejuvenate your smile and no longer worry about gaps, cracks and discoloured teeth.  Veneers can also be used to protect a damaged tooth surface.

To fit veneers, your dentist will need to prepare the front surface of the teeth. Next, an impression is taken and sent off to the lab that will make the veneers which will take about two weeks. While you are waiting for the veneers to be fabricated, your dentist will fit you with some temporary veneers to protect your prepared teeth. The next appointment is the fit of the veneers, the dentist will try them in and shown you. They can then be cemented to your teeth, given you a new, improved smile.

Nowadays porcelain veneers are designed to last a long time and so with proper care you can have a smile to be proud of for many years. To make your veneers last as long as possible visit your dentist on a regular basis, and maintain a good oral hygiene programme. Veneers can typically last anything between 5 – 30 years before they need replacing.

At our practice in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, we offer a free cosmetic consultation so call us to see how we can improve your smile.

While it is normal for young children to get loose (mobile) teeth, in adults, it can be a sign that you have a major problem. The most common cause for loose teeth in adults is gum disease and if you let this condition continue without treatment, the bone that holds the teeth in place will eroded away. Without this support, a tooth will become mobile.

Gum disease however, is not the only cause of mobile teeth. There are several causes; here they are listed in relative order of frequency.

• Gum disease. This is the leading cause not only of tooth mobility but also for loss of teeth. Periodontal disease is the more severe form, where the gums recede back and the bone is also dissolved away. Factors that lead to this common condition are lack of oral hygiene, smoking, diabetes and lack of regular dental examinations and cleans.

• A localised infection, or abscess. An underlying infection in the gum will make a tooth loose.

• Trauma. If a tooth is knocked, then it may become loose for a few days. It may tighten up again by itself, depending on how severe a blow it receives. There is a risk of nerve damage and an abscess occurring later so it is best to get it checked out.
• Bite alignment problems. If a tooth lies out of line then it may receive more force from your bite than it can handle, and in turn, may become mobile.

• Bruxism (grinding or clenching) Similarly to the bite problems mentioned above, the excessive forces from grinding or clenching your teeth can make them loose.

Even if you only have one loose tooth, there may be others that are heading the same way. If you have gum disease that you ignore, you may be looking at a lot of dental treatment, including extractions, dentures or implants.

Missing teeth can have a significant impact not only on one’s appearance and self confidence, but also on the overall health of the mouth. When a tooth is missing, the other teeth have to take a lot more pressure which can lead to the decline of the rest of the mouth. You also lose the ability to chew your food as normal which can force you to avoid certain foods that you enjoy.

Luckily there are treatments available for loose teeth. The treatment for a loose tooth does of course depend on the cause, so the first action to take is to get in contact with us here at the Bank House Dental Centre in Princes Risborough for an assessment.

Dry mouth, clinically known as Xerostomia, is caused by a decrease in saliva production and is a common condition suffered by many from time to time. Sometimes however, it can be prolonged which can severely affect the sufferer’s quality of life. It has been estimated that as much as 20% of the adult population may be suffering the effects of dry mouth.

Temporary dry mouth can be because of anxiety, stress, vitamin deficiency or smoking. Prolonged dry mouth usually leads to a marked deterioration in oral health, often resulting in the loss of teeth and affecting the general well-being of the person.

The most common cause however, is the 500 commonly used drugs where dry mouth is a side effect. The causes of long term or irreversible dry mouth can include radiotherapy, head & neck surgery, Diabetes, Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis to name but a few.

Apart from its more obvious role of lubrication and cleansing, saliva is the body’s oral protection mechanism against the introduction of infection into the body via the mouth as well as playing a fundamental role in protecting the teeth and oral tissues from disease. Where there is a reduced saliva flow, the lack of salivary protection can lead to severe oral symptoms causing considerable distress and discomfort to the sufferer.

Oral examination may reveal a split or cracked tongue, swollen gums, gingivitis, increased dental plaque, dental caries, oral thrush or ulceration.  Any or all of these problems can arise as a direct result of a lack of saliva – although you may not be aware of the cause.

Typically, dry mouth sufferers complain of symptoms such as a ‘burning’ mouth, abnormal taste sensations, and bad breath, difficulty in speaking and eating and inability to retain dentures.

Treatments for Dry Mouth

• Chew sugar-free gum

• Limit your caffeine intake.

• Don’t use mouthwashes that contain alcohol because they can be drying.

• Stop all tobacco use if you smoke or chew tobacco.

• Sip water regularly.

• Try over-the-counter saliva substitutes. Look for ones containing carboxymethylcellulose or hydroxyethyl cellulose, such as Biotene Oral Balance.

The presence of plaque and scale will cause the gums to become inflamed and if left unchecked, the deposits will begin to destroy the soft tissue attachment of the gum to the root surface of the tooth creating a ‘gum pocket’. This is the next stage of gum disease and is called periodontitis.

Non Surgical Periodontal Therapy (NSPT) is a course of intensive treatment targeting these gum pockets over 5mm in depth. The goal of this treatment is to significantly reduce the risk of the gum disease progressiong and involves deep scaling of the root surface called root planing.

A local anaesthetic is usually given in the area to be treated which can make the experience more comfortable for the patient. The mouth is treated in quadrants and sometimes two quadrants can be treated in the same session depending on the severity of the disease.

The appointments usually last about an hour each. Once completed, a follow up appointment is required to assess healing which is usually 6-8 weeks later. Three months after NSPT has been performed there will be a final appointment for one hour where the pockets will be re measured and further root planing performed.

Before embarking on a course of NSPT the patient needs to be aware of the commitment involved for the treatment to succeed. A personal oral hygiene regime must be maintained at home as the plaque must be removed every day to control the progression. It will be necessary patients with periodontitis to return for checkups four times a year to ensure a decreased likelihood of progressive disease. These appointments however, are usually only 30 minutes in length and will involve measurements of pockets, scaling polishing and oral hygiene instruction.

Fear and anxiety of visiting the dentist is a very common problem, affecting 25% of the population. Unfortunately this means that lots of people avoid coming to the dentist altogether which can eventually lead to serious problems and more expense in the future.

Some people are nervous due to having a negative or painful experience in the past which they do not wish to repeat, others because of the lack of control that they have during their treatment. Many people are put off from horror stories heard from friends or colleagues.

Making sure you visit a supportive dentist will make it much more likely that you will have a comfortable experience. Getting to know your dentist before having any treatment is crucial. Following this, starting with simple procedures at your own pace will help ease fears and build confidence. At the Bank House Dental Centre, we see many people who have previously sufferred from dental phobia. We can take things at your pace and also carry out treatment under sedation.

Whatever you do, do not suffer in silence! Stopping dental visits can cause your oral health to suffer and can result in much more lengthy appointments. Your dentist is trained to deal with nervous patients and will be happy to help.