Dentists in Northfield, Birmingham

Why is it important to keep your dental appointment?

Your regular dental visits are essential for the maintenance of healthy teeth and gums.  Not every oral health problem is visible or results in pain or discomfort.  You may see any changes or have any symptoms such as pain or bleeding gums – but this does not mean that you have a healthy mouth, teeth and gums.

Your dentist will assess your teeth and gum health, your diet and lifestyle choices and your previous dental history and then recommend how often you should have a dental check up – this can range from every 6 months to every 2 years.

During a check up your dentist will examine your teeth, your gums as well as the other tissues of your mouth.  The dentist will ask you questions about your diet (to establish how much sugar you eat and whether you have acidic food and drink such as fruit juices or cola).  The dentist will talk to you about your dental home care and will offer advice on the best care at home.

If you need dental treatment it is important to have that treatment done.  A small cavity now may turn into a large cavity or even a root filling if left and untreated gum disease can result in teeth being lost.

During pregnancy your gums are more likely to become inflamed.  Most pregnant women have some bleeding of their gums, especially while brushing or flossing.  The mouth produces more saliva during pregnancy because of the hormonal changes and increased blood flow throughout the body can cause swelling, sensitivity and tenderness of the gums.

If you are pregnant and you have not seen a dentist for a while, make an appointment.

A common misconception is that people who wear full dentures do not need to see the dentist.  This is FALSE.  It is important for everyone to see a dentist.  Patients with full dentures should have their gums and mouth examined regularly.  Wearing dentures can cause irritations such as thrush and early detection and treatment will help a speedy, controlled treatment plan and recovery.

We all have busy lives, and it’s easy to forget appointments.  This practice saw 200 hours of missed appointments in 2012.  That’s 25 days!  How many patients could we have helped in that time?  How many new patients who are struggling to find NHS care could we have invited to join the practice?

If you can’t make your appointment then please cancel it so we can offer it to someone else.

Because of the demand for appointments, and the time wasted on missed appointments this practice operates a system whereby fail to attends are recorded and a patient who fails to attend multiple appointments will no longer be seen.

So remember – dental checkups are important, especially if you’re pregnant and if you book an appointment and something comes up, that’s ok we understand – just let us know and we will book you a different appointment and offer your old slot to someone else.

Minimal Intervention . . what does it mean to you?

In the dental press there has been a lot of hype and buzz about “minimal intervention”.  But what is it . . . and what will it mean for you, the patient.

At Hilltop we are excited about the focus on minimal intervention, because it’s something that our dentists have been championing for many years.

Basically, the idea behind minimal intervention is to provide you with the tools you need to keep your mouth and teeth healthy.

For example, if you have the very early signs of dental decay starting in a tooth rather than drill out the decay and place a filling, why not try to halt the spread of the decay?

Good home cleaning alone will help, but that’s not the whole story, minimal intervention is about prescribing fluoride enhanced and re-mineralising toothpastes and mouthwashes.

Diet also plays a key role, do you have a sweet tooth, if you do chances are the decay is going to spread, but what if you swapped your usual sweets for sugar free?

There’s also a lot of talk about Xylitol, a sugar replacement that has been found to have properties that stop bacteria from growing in the mouth.  Xylitol can be found in most sugar free sweets and sugar free gum such as Wrigley’s Extra Ice so something as easy as chewing gum can help protect your teeth.

If you have a tooth that is being treated “minimally” then a “watch” would be placed on the tooth and any progress, or indeed remission of tooth decay would be carefully monitored.

With the correct care there is no reason why an early detected tooth can’t remain symptom and filling free for many years.

At our Birmingham Dental Practice our patients ask us how to care for their new dentures.  Here are a few facts, tips and hints to help you get the most from living with a denture.

NHS and private dentures are usually made of strong plastic called acrylic.  Metal dentures are made from stainless steel or cobalt chromium.

The first time you have dentures, whether its full dentures or partial dentures, you should eat softer foods for the first few days, avoiding sticky and hard to chew foods.  This will help you to get used to eating with your new denture.  Before long you should be able to tuck into your favourites as before.

Your new denture may initially give you sore spots on your gum; this is quite normal and usually easily cured.  Telephone the dental practice and tell the receptionist why you want the appointment, you will usually be offered an appointment the same day or following morning.  Wear your denture for a couple of hours before the appointment, even if it is sore to wear.  This way the dentist can see where the denture is rubbing by the red mark on the gum and can effectively adjust your denture to make it comfortable.

Don’t be disappointed if you have to make a couple of return visits for minor adjustments, this is not unusual and we are always pleased to ensure your denture is the best fit possible.

Initially you can leave the denture in all the time, to help you get used to it.  But after two weeks it is important to leave your denture out overnight.  It is important that your gums have the opportunity to “cleanse” themselves; this is done by the saliva in your mouth.  Failure to allow this self cleansing can lead to fungal irritations in the mouth called Candida.

When you are not wearing your denture keep if safe in beaker of water.  The water prevents the denture from “drying out” which can cause it to shrink.

To clean your denture, use a denture brush and denture paste, such as Dentucreme.  Ordinary toothpaste is too abrasive and may scratch the surface of your denture, which may lead to the denture being stained by food and drink such as tea and coffee.  Sterident can be used, but take care not to put the denture into boiling water as this can cause the denture to “bleach” (lose its colour) or worse become weak prone to cracking or breaking.

Remember to brush your denture all over, not just the teeth, and try holding it over a sink of warm water, that way if you should drop it the water will cushion the fall, making it less likely crack or break on the sink.

If the worse happens and your denture cracks, breaks or even loses a tooth, it can usually be repaired quickly and effectively.  Bring your denture to the dental practice (before 9.00am if possible) and we will return it to you at around 9.30am the following day.  These repairs are usually free of charge.  In some cases we can repair your denture the same day!

By looking after your dentures and your mouth, you should not need to replace your denture for 3 years; but you feel they are looking a little stained or discoloured we can arrange to have them professionally cleaned for you for a small fee.

As always if you have any questions, telephone us on 0121 475 2321.

Did you know that . . .

 76% of people don’t feel confident to smile in a photograph

48% of people make judgements about people by the look of their smile

77% of people think a good smile helps psychologically

67% of people think a good smile helps romantically

How do you see other people’s smiles, and how do they see yours?  If you are not happy with your smile then now is the time to change it.

A smile makeover is not as difficult as you might think, a few simple steps can transform a smile . . .

             Remove unsightly stains with a scale and polish

            Whiten teeth with power whitening or home whitening

            Replace old discoloured fillings

            Reshape teeth to appear straighter

            Close gaps

 Any of the above treatments can on their own change your smile, and most need no injections.

 Make an appointment now and see how your smile can become your greatest asset.

Top tips for a healthy smile

1.  Brush after breakfast and before bed with a small headed toothbrush and toothpaste.  Carefully floss your teeth before bed to remove any trapped food (if you find flossing difficult then try an interdental brush or floss pick).  Don’t forget to gently brush your tongue to remove any bacteria.

2.  Don’t “scrub” at your gums, brushing too hard can cause gum recession and sensitivity, brush the teeth and then with the brush at 45° angle brush where the teeth meet the gums.

3.  If you enjoy sweets, chocolate or other sugary snacks, eat them in one session, after a meal, rather than snacking throughout the day as snacking increases the sugar contact with the teeth.

4.  Remember that tea, coffee, red wine and foods with dark colourants such as curry can stain  teeth.

5.  Don’t brush your teeth within one hour of eating fruit or drinking fruit juice as the fruit acid temporarily softens the enamel.

6.  Remember every time you eat something sweet the acid in your mouth attacks your teeth for a whole hour.

7.  So if you keep drinking from screw top bottles every so often it’s a lot worse for your teeth than drinking it all at once.                                                   

8.  Be careful when buying whitening toothpastes over the counter as they can be harsh and may “scratch” the tooth enamel which makes the tooth more vulnerable to staining.

9.  Do you always seem to need fillings?  You could try a re-mineralising toothpaste which strengthens the tooth enamel.

10.  Don’t let your mouth go dry, it encourages bad breath and as saliva is a natural re-mineraliser a dry mouth can leave the teeth more prone to decay.

THE MANAGEMENT OF ORAL AND FACIAL PAIN DISORDERS

Toothache and similar dental problems are readily diagnosed and respond to simple treatments and do not recur.  Other pains may develop as a reaction to stress or without any obvious cause.

Facial Arthromyalgia (also called tempro mandibular joint dysfunction syndrome)

This is a dull ache with occasional severe attacks affecting the jaw joint and its associated muscles.  You may experience clicking in the joint which extends into the head and down the neck.  Ear symptoms such as a sense of fullness or buzzing and dizziness are also possible.

Atypical Facial Pain

This is usually a dull ache or throbbing pain affecting the checks, eyes, jaws and all non muscular parts of the face.  It can affect both sides and be associated with some form of headache.  The pain may come and go bit may be worse when you are tired or under stress.

Atypical Odontalgia

This is a pain or severe discomfort in the teeth or in a tooth socket after an extraction, in the absence of any usual dental cause.  The pain is often made worse by dental treatment and can move from tooth to tooth.

Oral Hypaesthesia (burning mouth syndrome)

This is a group of problems which include a burning or altered sensation in the tongue or gums or a nasty taste.  This is often relieved by chewing.  You may notice a sense or increased or decreased saliva or unpleasant taste in the mouth.  It may be difficult for you to wear dentures or tolerate new fillings, crowns or bridges, dispute many attempts to help you.

Phantom Bite Syndrome

This is an unpleasant awareness that your teeth do not meet comfortably.  It does not respond to your dentist balancing the occlusion.

These problems often last long periods of time and will come and go, especially when you are under stress.  The situations that particularly affect us are long term problems such as difficulties with our children, material strain, work, housing, being lonely, ill health in members the family or more upsetting events such as bereavement, divorce or moving house.  It may surprise you to know that getting married, being promoted or having a baby are also events that put us under stress.  Children may develop such pains as a result of parental disharmony or poor adaptation to school.

Other related problems such as tension headaches, neck ache, migraine, chronic low back pain, pelvic pain or painful periods, stomach pains (especially irritable bowel) and itchy skin are experienced by some patients.  All of these problems suggest that widespread pains occur in certain individuals with susceptible body chemistry.

Treatment

In order to make a diagnosis, we need to take a full and detailed history and sometimes do blood tests and x-rays

It is important that you understand that the diagnosis of the pain does not mean that we think you are imagining the pain.  The pain is real and arises in cramped muscles and dilated blood vessels.

We usually prescribe antidepressant medication for this pain, NOT because we think you are depressed but because we have shown that this medication helps prevent the pain in non depressed patients.

You will need to take the medication for some months to ensure relief.  It is not addictive and has no severe side effects, although depending on the medication prescribed some patients may initially experience drowsiness, dry mouth or constipation.

If you have any queries please ask your dentist.

ACID EROSION OF YOUR TEETH

We get a lot of questions about acid erosion at our Northfield Practice, especially since there are a lot of products being advertised on TV to help with this problem.  So, we thought we would put together a small Q&A blog of our own which we hope you find useful.

What is acid erosion?

Tooth erosion is different from tooth decay in that the bacteria in the plaque are not involved.  Instead acids from some foods and many drinks attack the enamel on the surface of the tooth directly.  If this happens often or, over a long period of time, it can gradually wear tooth enamel down and can eventually cause shallow depressions to develop in the teeth.

Although mild erosion may not give rise to any symptoms, in severe cases erosion can make the teeth more sensitive and cause pain after consuming hot or cold foods and drinks.  The teeth may also become unsightly.

  Who is affected?

Erosion is becoming an increasing problem in both adults and children.  Baby teeth have thinner enamel and dentine layers than adult teeth and these are worn away more quickly by contact with acid.

The teeth may become smaller and have smooth “saucer” shaped depressions.  Frequent fizzy drinks, fruit juices and acidic food will cause tooth erosion.

Another cause of erosion is chronic vomiting, where gastric acid from the stomach comes into contact with the teeth.  This can occur in several medical conditions including eating disorders and even during pregnancy.

Erosion can also be seen in people suffering from a hiatus hernia who have frequent reflux of gastric acid into the mouth or indeed people who suffer from chronic indigestion or “heartburn”.

What types of food and drink contain acid?

• Any type of fizzy drink for example cola or lemonade
• Citrus fruit drinks such as orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit even if diluted
• Any sour fruit such as lemons and plumbs
• Vinegar
• Pickles, such as onions and gherkins.
• Yogurt
• Cider, dry wine and some larger beers
• Herbal teas
• Vitamin C Supplements

How can acid erosion of the teeth be prevented?

Always limit acid foods or drinks to mealtimes only and finish the meal with a little cheese or milk (this will neutralise the acid more rapidly)

Avoid acid foods and drinks immediately before going to bed and during the night

Fruit juices and squashes should not be given to infants from a feeding bottle as a comforter

Do not “swish” fizzy drinks around the mouth before swallowing

If acid enters the mouth, rinse with water and do not brush your teeth.  This will wear away the softened tooth more quickly

Avoid tooth brushing after a meal including something acidic.  It is better either to clean your teeth before the meal or to delay tooth brushing until bedtime that day, or before breakfast the next morning

What will my dentist do about erosion?

Try to establish the cause by asking questions about your health and diet.

Fluoride mouth rinses and varnishes may be recommended by your dentist to help with sensitivity to hold and cold.  A desensitising toothpaste may also be advised.

The dentist will discuss the treatment options with you.

If this Q&A blog has left you with more questions, then give us a call.  If you are worried about your teeth because of acid erosion or any other dental problems, then call and arrange to have a dental examination.  If this blog has answered your questions and put your mind at ease . . . glad we could help.

Hilltop dental Spa; for all your dental needs including;

                         Emergency NHS dentist

                        Smile Makeover

                        Crowns, Bridges and Dentures

                        Male and Female Dentist

                        New Patients Welcome including Children

As you know we are based in Northfield (B31) but you can join our NHS practice from any location within Birmingham and we have patients from Longbridge, Selly Oak, Bournville, Weoley Castle, Kings Norton, Kings Heath, Barnt Green, Wythall, Rednal.  Everybody is welcome.