A New Year ‘Spring Clean’ For Your Smile

With the new year well under way, let’s take a look at some key ways to improve your smile.

Christmas is, as they say, ‘done and dusted’. Most of us are now back into the routine that we had before the festive break with all of the pros and cons that that brings. Old habits start to creep in, sometimes despite new year resolutions being made. At this time of the year we like to take the opportunity of this first blog of the year to offer a quick reminder of some of the things you can do to have a healthier and more attractive smile in the current year.

We will take a brief look at both the health of your teeth and gums and also, for patients of the Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre who are  looking to have a more attractive smile, what you can do about this. The new year may have already started but it is never too late to make a new year dental resolution, and stick to it of course!

Healthier Teeth

This is a good time of the year to take stock of some of the basics of good tooth maintenance. Are you brushing with a worn out toothbrush for example? Many of us grow a little too attached to a toothbrush and seem reluctant to throw them out. Did you know that toothbrushes, and electric toothbrush heads should be replaced every three months so that the bristles stay suitably firm and effective at removing debris and bacteria from our teeth and gums. Step one then, check your toothbrush and replace it if needed.

When you brush your teeth, make sure that you really are brushing for a solid two minutes. Try timing yourself a few times, you may well find that you are falling short. Remember too, to spit but don’t rinse. This allows the fluoride in the toothpaste to strengthen the enamel on your teeth better than if you rinse the toothpaste away. If you do this because you don’t like the taste of your toothpaste, try changing brands, as long as it contains fluoride of course.

Healthier gums

We could have included this above as it also helps to prevent decay in between your teeth, but using dental floss is also a great way to help prevent gum disease. Food and bacteria can easily become trapped between the teeth and around the gum line and can be difficult to reach with toothbrush bristles. There are numerous flossing instruction videos online to practise to, but if you do find it difficult, don’t give up and make sure to ask the hygienist at our Epsom dental practice to show you how to do it correctly.

Speaking of dental hygienists, make sure that you have six monthly appointments to have your teeth professionally cleaned with a scale and polish procedure. This is a great way of removing hardened tartar/calculus from the teeth and gum line and will help you to maintain healthy gums, avoiding the problems associated with gingivitis and periodontitis especially.

Get a check up

One of the first things that you should do this year is to make sure that you have regular check up appointments booked to see one of the dentists at our practice. This is essential for maintaining a healthy mouth. Any small issues can be treated in their early stages if you do this and should hopefully avoid the need for more extensive and intensive treatment for bigger problems which might well occur if you skip your check ups.

In addition to this, dentists are trained to monitor the oral cavities for potentially serious issues such as mouth cancer. We can’t diagnose this, but if we see anything we are concerned about, we may refer you to your GP for further investigation. This is purely precautionary and a referral does not mean that we think that it is cancer and could be caused by less serious things. It always pays to check early though as, in the rare instances where this may be the case, early treatment is likely to produce a better outcome.

A whiter smile

One thing on many people’s ‘new year resolution’ list this year is likely to be to improve their smile. How this is done will depend on any issues that you currently have with your teeth. Some issues, such as crooked teeth, will require potentially lengthy orthodontic treatment, but others will be able to improve their smile much faster through the use of the teeth whitening techniques that we have at our Epsom practice.

This procedure uses the widely recognised Zoom2 chairside method which takes approximately one hour and is carried out in house.  To do this, your gums will be protected and a whitening gel placed on the tooth surfaces. This is then activated with a special light which speeds up the process. You will be able to listen to music or read if you wish during this hour. When the time is up, the gel will be removed and your teeth will have been whitened approximately by up to eight shades.  This is a non-invasive and affordable treatment and a great and fast way to achieve whiter teeth.

We also provide porcelain dental veneers for patients with more significant discolouration or staining. An initial consultation will allow us to examine your teeth and recommend the best approach for you as an individual.

A belated ‘happy new year’ then from all of us here and we hope that you found this blog to be useful. If you would like any further information or, perhaps, to book a check up or teeth whitening consultation, you can do so by calling the Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre on 01372 720136.