How can I best care for my family’s teeth?

Our teeth are very important to us yet we sometimes take them for granted. Without them, we feel self conscious when we smile and we have difficulty eating and speaking.

Prevention of dental problems is easy!

The best time to prevent a lifetime of dental problems is early childhood, when we can make a huge impact on our childrens’ lives. If we can make dental care and hygiene a priority early on, then our children have the best chance of maintaining a healthy mouth throughout their lives.

Children will benefit from:

• Healthy eating and avoiding large amounts of sugars and acids
• Eating structured meals during the day rather than regular snacking or grazing
• A routine of cleaning teeth morning and night
• Regular visits to the dentist

Your dentist has a part to play

Regular check ups with the dentist from an early age allows us to monitor the growth and development of your childrens’ teeth. There are a number of preventative treatments your dentist may prescribe as well as giving you the best advice on how to look after your teeth at home.

Fissure sealants

Food and plaque gets trapped in the pits and grooves of teeth and for children and teenagers, this is the most susceptible area of the tooth and the area we see decay most. We can prevent decay in these areas by placing fissure sealants.

A fissure sealant is a flowable resin material that ‘fills in’ all the deep pits and grooves found within teeth. This leaves a smooth surface that doesn’t catch or hold any food and significantly reduces the risk of decay to these teeth. The procedure is quick and easy and doesn’t require any anaesthetic. We recommend the best time to seal teeth is once they have erupted through the gum.

Topical Fluoride and Tooth Mousse

Fluoride is found in tap water and toothpaste to harden the surface of enamel, in turn, reducing tooth decay. Some patients will benefit from topical fluoride applied professionally from a dentist. This high concentration of fluoride applied directly to the teeth can promote greater remineralisation and hardening of the tooth for ‘at risk’ patients.

Tooth Mousse is another remineralising material that is often used to prevent, but to also reverse damage to enamel of teeth. Indication for use of Tooth Mousse include:

• Treatment of sensitivity
• Reversal of fluorosis lesions on teeth
• Use during orthodontic treatment to prevent ‘white spot lesions’ forming around the brackets
• Reversal of demineralisation from sugar and acids

Mouthguards

Dental accidents and injuries occur frequently in sport and the resulting treatment is usually costly and prolonged. Often, teeth are damaged beyond repair and extraction and replacement is necessary.

     Mouthguards can be made in your favourite colours

There is no reason why any child or adult playing a contact sport shouldn’t have a professionally fitted mouthguard. Some of the sports we commonly see accidents in include football, basketball, hockey and martial arts. Boil and bite and over the counter mouthguards rarely fit correctly and do more harm than good because they are usually floating around in the persons mouth.

Our professionally fitted laminated mouthguards are custom made and are available in a variety of colours. They are comfortable to wear and allow you to breathe properly during sport