Oral Health and Age – What you Need to Know

As you age so do your teeth. This shouldn't be a surprise when you think that your permanent teeth start pushing through from around the age of eight or nine and they are with you throughout your life, at some point they have to start aging with you.

Oral Piercings Have Negative Impact on Oral Health

Oral Piercings Have Negative Impact on Oral Health

Before you have your tongue, lip or cheek pierced, there are a few things you should know. Mainly the fact that what most people don't realize is that piercings can have a negative impact on your oral health, which can result in you spending more time at your dentist than needed.

The first things you will find when you pierce in or around your mouth is that you may find it difficult to chew, swallow and speak. This is completely normal due to a foreign object, which may be giving you some discomfort has moved into the space. Your mouth is imperative to your health, it is what you use to nourish your self and you need to be able to swallow. You may find, especially after  tongue piercing, that your speech is affected for a couple of days to a few weeks.

Infections

As with any piercing the risk of infections increases. Whether you have your ears pierced, your belly button pierced or your tongue pierced you need to keep the area clean and free of harmful bacteria. You may notice some pain and swelling, which should clear up soon after the piercing. In the event you don't get any relief within a few days, make an appointment with your doctor or dentist to ensure the site isn't infected.

Damage teeth and gums

Next you will find, especially with tongue piercings, that your gum, teeth and any previous fillings may be damaged. As you speak, eat and swallow, the stud may move around your mouth, knocking against your teeth and gums in the process, in turn this can cause significant damage. Remember your stud is made of strong metal which is hard inside your mouth and therefore increases the risk of chipping or cracking teeth.

Nerve damage

When the piercing is done it is very easy for the piercing to damage a nerve. This can go two ways, it can either numb the area completely as the nerve has no feeling or it can have the opposite effect, leaving you in unbearable pain and not knowing which way to turn to find relief.

A dentists nightmare

While you may think your new piercing looks cool, you need to remember that it is your dentists worst nightmare. It can make working inside your mouth exceptionally difficult, it can make it harder to reach problem teeth or use certain tools.

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After School Snacks That Are Healthy for Teeth

There is so much emphasis on oral health in children throughout the United Kingdom lately, that I thought I would take this opportunity to share some healthy after school snacks you can rely on that are tooth friendly.

The number of children being admitted to hospital within the UK each year is reaching serious levels and this has been a concern for dental professionals for some time now. In most instances it is down to parents not understanding what foods their children should and should not be eating, allowing children foods which promote dental decay. As you can imagine, this has put a strain on the NHS and has forced certain hospitals to extend their operating hours as a result.

Tips for Dentists to Ensure Patients Attend Routine Appointments

Over the years, I think one of the hardest things I have had to face daily is getting my patients back through the door for their routine appointments. Depending on their current oral health oral health, routine appointments can be set anything from six months to a year or more.

Speaking to my patients, I have identified that those who don't have pain and feel that they don't have issues tend to cancel or postpone their appointments, because they don’t' see the reasoning behind visiting the dentist if there is nothing wrong.

Five Reasons To Attend Your Routine Dental Appointment

One of my biggest concerns is the number of patients who miss their routine dental appointments. When a patient comes in to see me or one of the team at Langley Dental Practice, we set them up a routine appointment right there and then. We find that making the appointment is the easy part, getting them in for the appointment is a whole different story.

Many patients can't see the benefits of visiting the dentist if they don’t' have any dental issues or pain, but the fact of the matter is that we provide patients with routine appointments for a number of reasons.

Home Remedies to Reduce Tooth Ache Until you Can See Your Dentist

One of the worst experiences is waking up in the middle of the night with severe tooth ache. For some reason it never happens when the dental practices are open and you have to sit in agony until the clock strikes 9am to get on the phone and make your emergency dental appointment.

There are a few home remedies you can take advantage of, using items you already have sitting in your kitchen cupboard. While these will numb or reduce the pain, they are not long term solutions, but they may be able to offer some temporary relief until you can make and visit your dentist first thing in the morning.

Oral Health Advice for Diabetes Patients

Diabetes is becoming a serious concern in the United Kingdom with thousands of people being diagnosed on an annual basis. Diabetes can be effectively managed through diet, exercise and controlling blood sugar levels, but at the same time, it has a negative impact on oral health.

Oral health

Anyone who has been diagnosed with diabetes, whether it's type 1 or type 2, stand an increased risk of periodontal disease and dry mouth syndrome. Periodontal disease is a severe form of gum disease which if left untreated can result in tooth loss. With this gum disease, you will find that pockets are formed between the tooth and gum which is a harbour for dangerous bacteria which attack the supporting structures of the tooth. There is treatments we can use to help treat and manage periodontal disease, helping patients hold onto their natural teeth for as long as possible.

Perfecting Smiles in 2016

I see so many patients each day who approach me to improve their smiles. Cosmetic dentistry is able to boost self-confidence and self-esteem and is able to make people feel better about themselves. We are able to help patients perfect their smiles using a choice of treatments, enabling them to choose based on what they want and their overall budget.

Treatments Offered for Oral and Mouth Cancer

Mouth cancer has become a very serious concern throughout the world, according to Tariq Drabu, a leading dentist and specialist oral surgeon in the United Kingdom. There are more than six thousand seven hundred new cases of mouth cancer each year and more than two thousand fatalities, these numbers are growing annually and cause more deaths than cervical and testicular cancer combined.

There are certain tell-tale signs of mouth cancer that everyone needs to be aware of, catching it early on can improve your chances of survival and help fight the cancer effectively. Mouth ulcers that don’t heal, red and white patches in the mouth and difficulty swallowing are all signs of this unwelcome disease.

Tariq Drabu did advise that there are a number of different treatment options for this form of cancer, which will be discussed in detail by your medical team. The team will identify the form of cancer and how advanced it is. Based on the stage of the mouth cancer will enable them to put an effective treatment plan together to help shrink or eliminate the cancer. In most instances there is chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery that are offered.

Sometimes just one of the treatments is enough to fight the disease, while in more advanced cases two or more of the treatments may be used to reduce the growth speed and help lengthen the life span of the patient. If the cancer has already spread to other organs of the body, treatments will be chosen to help slow the growth.

Surgery is often chosen to remove the affected tissues while ensuring the rest of the mouth isn’t damaged. Surgery is usually combined with another treatment to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. In some cases treatments may be offered to shrink the cancer prior to surgery, followed by a round of radiation therapy to reduce the risk of it returning.

During the early stages of mouth cancer, surgery is done using lasers. Once the disease is advanced, the mouth linking or even facial skin may need to be removed, these are replaced using grafts. If the bones have become infected, such as the cheek bone, the bone may be replaced with a bone graft or plastic bone, removing the cancerous bones to improve chances of survival moving forward.

Radiation therapy is a form of treatment that uses radiation to kill the cancer cells. This is usually used in conjunction with surgery. After your mouth surgery you will undergo a period of radiation to eliminate the risk of the cancer returning. In most instances you will have this treatment on a daily basis over a set period of time, which can be anywhere to seven weeks. There are side effects associated with this treatment which include dry mouth and feeling sick, to name a few.

Chemotherapy is a common cancer fighting treatment and is often combined with radiation therapy, according to Dr TariqDrabu. Chemotherapy is powerful medicine which helps kill the cancer cells. With this treatment you can expect to experience a range of unwelcome side effects. Each patient is different and may experience all or only some of the side effects this treatment provides. The side effects range from being sick to feeling tired and hair loss to a weakened immune system.

Dr Tariq Drabu recommends that everyone should visit their dentist for their regular routine appointments. These appointments are a way to identify any problems early on, such as mouth cancer. If mouth cancer is identified by the dentist in the early stages the life span of the patient is increased dramatically.

Tariq Drabu on Alarming Increase in Mouth Cancer Cases

Mouth cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate over the past ten years to a point where more than two thousand people die of this disease in the United Kingdom each year.

There are a number of risk factors associated with this disease. These risk factors include smoking, excessive alcohol use, poor diet and the HPV virus. In fact it has been reported that nine in ten cases are linked to lifestyle choices.

Mouth cancer is a serious concern and I am worried that the people in the United Kingdom aren’t educated enough on the disease and what to look for. With over six thousand seven hundred new cases each year, this disease has increased by more than fifty per cent in the past ten years. This is something we need to be worried about and educate our patient on, ensuring they are aware of the dangers, the symptoms and signs and when to seek medical or dental assistance if they think something is wrong.

Another concern that I have is that the majority of mouth cancer cases are diagnosed at stage four. Stage four is the advanced stage of this disease. The disease has more fatalities a year than cervical and testicular cancer combined.

If we are able to catch the disease in the early stages, the survival rate increases significantly with the five year life expectancy increasing by almost ninety per cent. I do believe that patients who attend their routine dental appointments have an improved risk of the disease being caught early, so an effective treatment plan can be put in place to increase their survival rate.

I have always been a strong believer in education, which is why the team and I are always taking advantage of courses to expand our knowledge to provide better patient care at all times. Staying up to date with the latest dental trends and news can ensure our patients receive the highest level of patient care at all times.

Education can also improve the chances of mouth cancer being caught in the early stages. Educating the UK public and making them aware of what to look for can help increase their survival rate and ensure they get the right treatment within the shortest period of time.

Some of the signs and symptoms patients should be looking out for include, white or red patches in the mouth, a lump in the mouth, an ulcer that won’t heal and bleeding or numbness in the mouth. There is also pain when swallowing, chances to the voice and teeth loosening without any reason.