Cheaper is often not better and can easily lead to additional problems!

With the Covid-19 situation and with just 3 months to the post Brexit trading arrangements, it probably isn’t surprising that most papers are forecasting tougher times to come for a lot of us in the UK. This won’t come as a surprise to some people who may already be looking at ways of cutting the cost of their outgoings. This might apply to planned cosmetic dental treatments too.

In this earlier blog we discussed the risks involved in choosing cheap dental implants by going abroad for treatment.

Planning to have dental implants, whether here or abroad, often means quite a lot of deliberation and research. There are other treatments though, which may be decided upon a lot more quickly and perhaps unsurprisingly, there are also a number of companies moving into these markets offering ‘cheap’ products.

Teeth whitening

At Bradley and Partners Dental and Implant Clinic in Canterbury, we offer a fast acting teeth whitening treatment for £350. This is one of the most cost effective ways of improving the whiteness of your teeth but even so, some people might be tempted to look at other options.

As we have mentioned before, teeth whitening toothpastes will offer little, if any, significant benefit and over the counter products are not as effective as those that we offer due to the limits on the amount of whitening ingredient allowed in them.

There are newer ‘self whitening’ products now on the market which are often seen advertised on social media and aimed at the younger market, perhaps hoping that the influence of programmes such as ‘Love Island’ will encourage people to buy. Again though, the success of these will be limited by their legal obligations and you shouldn’t expect miracles.

Perhaps the biggest danger is that some may be tempted to use illegal teeth whitening outlets. Although teeth whitening now has to be supervised by a qualified dentist, there are still places offering this treatment. Some of these operate just about legally, using loopholes to get around the law, whilst others just take their chances. In both cases, the staff are likely to be only partially trained if at all, and there have been a number of cases of teeth being badly damaged through the incorrect use of the whitening ingredient. This can lead to very sensitive teeth and, in some cases, even tooth loss.

For a really effective improvement in the colour of your teeth, our trained clinicians are your best, and safest, option for a nicer, whiter smile.

Teeth straightening

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Diet and lifestyle choices that contribute to obesity can also negatively impact your teeth and gums

Some of you may have seen a recent report suggesting that obesity increases the chances of dying from Covid-19 by 48%. Whilst this is headline making news, it has been known for some time that obesity poses a serious problem for our health more generally.

Linked with many medical issues, including heart disease and diabetes, there are strong arguments for a national strategy to reduce the extent of this problem.

What has largely been less well publicised is the harm that being overweight can do to your teeth and gums. Although any damage here may seem less serious than the heart for example, the reality is that teeth and gums that are in poor health can dramatically reduce the quality of life for people in this situation.

Diet

Anyone who has been around for more than 20 or 30 years will have seen a real change in the way that we eat. Although sweet and sugary foods were eaten years ago, the quantities and the way they are eaten have certainly changed a lot. Whereas cakes or puddings were eaten after a meal, this type of food is now widely available in the high streets. Add to that chocolate bars and sweets that are much more heavily advertised on TV, and there is little wonder that there is an obesity problem.

The same applies to our meals in general. In days gone by, we would have eaten three meals a day, with the vast majority of these being home made. Nowadays, we tend to ‘graze’ throughout the day, not allowing the enamel on our teeth to recover. In addition to this, many ready made meals are much higher in sugar than you would expect, even savoury foods.

Problems arising from obesity that affect oral health

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Why over-indulgence in alcoholic drinks can present a real risk for teeth and gums

As the country slowly emerges from lockdown, one of the most keenly awaited announcements has finally emerged and people in England are once again allowed to go to the pub from 4th July.

It won’t be the same of course, and both pubs and restaurants will have to operate differently to the way they did before lockdown. Even so, there will be many people who can’t wait for the taste of a freshly poured pint or gin and tonic.

However much you are looking forward to going to the pub again, we urge our Canterbury patients to remember that alcohol can be harmful to your oral health. In moderation, and with good oral care at home, this should not be a major problem, but drunk to excess or too frequently and it may lead to a number of dental issues that need to be treated.

Tooth decay

Most alcoholic drinks contain sugar, even the relatively bitter ones. Those that are aimed at the younger end of the market are likely to contain quite significant amounts and can be particularly harmful to your teeth. Sugar, in any form, can lead to caries, or tooth decay, which requires intervention and restoration, usually with a filling. If not discovered early enough, tooth loss is also a possibility. There is an additional risk of tooth decay as alcohol may cause us to brush our teeth less well than we usually do, or even forget to do it altogether before we go to bed at night.

At Bradley and Partners Dental and Implant Clinic we offer tooth coloured composite fillings for those who wish to retain a natural appearance of the teeth rather than having fillings made from the traditional amalgam material, which is much darker in colour.

Gum disease

Alcohol can also be a contributory factor in the development of gum disease as the sugars in it help to feed bacteria and help them to multiply. This is exacerbated by the fact that drinking alcohol, especially to excess, often leads to a dry mouth, providing the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive. If you have ever woken up and noticed a ‘gooey’ white substance stuck to your mouth after you have been drinking, much of that is made up of bacteria.

Try to drink sensibly and in moderation and make sure to hydrate well with water before you go to bed at night.

Oral cancer

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Operational changes you will see as we welcome you back.

The lockdown restrictions have seemed like an eternity to us as they may have done to you, especially if you have been suffering with a dental problem that is causing discomfort. So you will be pleased to know that as from 8th June, we have started to gradually open our practice to patients again.

This is good news of course, but it does come with quite a few new restrictions as well. This isn’t ideal, but is necessary to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and, of course, to protect our staff and patients. In today’s blog, we are going to take a look at some of the changes that you might expect when you arrive for your appointment.

Your appointment

Whilst we want to see all of you again as soon as we can, it is important that we prioritise those who have suffered a problem that was not urgent enough to be treated at an urgent dental centre. This could include problems like a toothache which, as anyone who has had one will know, can be very uncomfortable indeed. If you have had a problem for a large part of the shutdown period, you will, no doubt, wish to have it treated as soon as possible. If you require a non urgent appointment, we ask you please to be patient whilst we treat those most in need first.

There will be changes to how your appointment is kept, with a minimal amount of people allowed to wait in our waiting rooms. We have already covered a lot of this in our latest Covid-19 notice which you can see here.

PPE

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Tooth damage caused by bruxism and poor diet

Stress levels appear to be rising across the UK and perhaps it’s not surprising. Firstly there was the stress associated with potentially catching Covid-19, followed by the anxiety associated with being in lockdown for weeks on end. Finally, just at the time when things seem to be improving slightly, some are reporting concern at being encouraged to return to work in an environment in which they don’t feel entirely safe.

Perhaps anxiety is inevitable at times like these, but it remains a fact that stress can have a negative effect on our overall health and also on our teeth and gums.  In today’s Bradley and Partners Dental and Implant Clinic blog, we will take a look at two ways in which stress can affect our mouth health as well as offering some suggestions to help alleviate it.

How does stress affect our oral health?

There are two main ways in which our anxiety can be harmful to our teeth and gums. The first of this is Bruxism, or teeth grinding.

Although we may have seen characters do this in cartoons when something untoward happens, the reality is that for most of us, any teeth grinding tends to happen when we are asleep. This makes it very difficult to prevent, although mouth guards may be helpful in some cases. Grinding our teeth together for any length of time will inevitably have consequences and in more extreme cases, the teeth may even break or fracture. This is perhaps more likely where teeth have been previously weakened through damage or decay. Although this is dramatic, it is relatively rare and most of us who grind our teeth will suffer mainly from progressive enamel erosion.

As we grind our teeth together, the friction will slowly wear away the enamel layer of our teeth which helps to protect them from decay. Other problems associated with worn enamel include sensitive teeth and even root canal problems. There are options to restore teeth that have suffered in this way, such as crowns or dental veneers, but it is generally advisable that this is done when the patient has managed to stop grinding their teeth together.

The second way in which our teeth and gums can be harmed due to stress is when we let our diet slip and start to eat foods that are less ‘friendly’ for our mouths.

Most of us will probably admit to eating less than healthily when we are feeling under pressure. The chances are that we will start eating a lot more ’comfort foods’ including those that are high in sugar levels such as biscuits and sweets. In addition to this, we are likely to consume these products over a period of time, not allowing our saliva time to wash away much of the sugar. This ‘grazing’ method of eating is not good for our teeth even with healthier food, but with foods high in sugar, it greatly increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

Reducing stress levels

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