Tariq Drabu Celebrates Double Success at Langley Dental Practice

Recently Langley Dental Practice has had the opportunity to celebrate a double success. We achieved renewal of our BDA Good Practice Scheme award for 2014 and were also so selected as a training practice for foundation dentist by the NW Deanery.

We are absolutely thrilled to have had our Good Practice status renewed for another year. It is the leading independent externally verified quality and standards benchmark for dental practices. Achievement of the award represents a great achievement as we will now be in our fourth year of this award and it shows that we continue to maintain strong high quality standards for our patients and members of our dental team.

I am also delighted that we have been reselected as a training practice for foundation dentists who are in their first year after qualification. The selection process was detailed stringent and tough involving a thorough inspection of the practice and a detailed questionnaire as well as an interview and presentation. We are honoured and privileged to have been selected by the NW Deanery as a training practice from September 2014. This is evidence that Langley Dental Practice can show that it provides a supportive and nurturing environment which will look after and support a foundation year dentist in their first year after qualification.

These two great achievements continue to show the strong progress that Langley Dental Practice has made over the past few years. Patients and their well-being must always be at the centre of our focus. The Good Practice Award gives a strong indication that we are committed to this by means of our validated quality and standards. The rigorous inspection interview and assessment regime for foundation training and the award of a position for a foundation dentist at Langley Dental Practice also means that we have again set our standards very high in order to achieve this status. These two awards both externally verified coming within a short space of time of each other is a great boost for myself and my team.

Tariq Drabu Dentists on Picking the Right Toothpaste for You

At the Langley Dental Practice we’re very eager to make sure that our patients, as well as the wider British public truly understand the benefits of brushing their teeth. Brushing your teeth is the best method to fight off all manner of oral conditions, from gum disease to tooth decay and beyond. Most people understand the necessity of brushing their teeth; it’s something that is taught to us right from the cradle, however how many of us understand the mechanics?

What do we mean by this? We mean that although most people understand the principle, they don’t understand the toothpaste market. The toothpaste market is a very niche healthcare segment, with only a handful companies promoting essentially the same product range. Toothpastes, although they all have a general overarching purpose and are often tailored to include multiple elements, there are still a few individual products that have their own specific purpose. Some are designed to whiten, some to fight off plaque etc. Understanding which toothpaste best suits the purpose you need it for means that you can tailor your brushing regime to fit your needs. So what are some of the different types of paste on the market?

Whitening Toothpastes

These products, despite the fact that they do act to clean, are primarily designed to whiten the teeth of the consumer that uses them. Unlike other toothpastes, these products contain abrasive agents which function by abrading the stain that has formed on the tooth’s surface. In other words the whitening effect comes from a stripping back of the surface stain. They do not often contain actual whitening agents. If you have a diet that involves a lot of coffee or tea, then this type of tooth paste would suit you, as it acts to fight the stains your teeth acquire from your daily intake.

Desensitising Toothpastes

These toothpastes are an investment for people with naturally sensitive teeth, an affliction that a large portion of the British public face. There are usually two ways these pastes provide relief from dentine hypersensitivity. Firstly they interrupt the neurone response to pain stimuli. Secondly they occlude the dentinal tubules of dentine. These two methods act to decrease tooth sensitivity through ingredients such as potassium nitrate and arginine. This is the type of toothpaste to buy if you want to indulge in the occasional ice cream cone.

Fluoride Toothpastes

This is a more general one as many types of toothpaste take advantage of this tooth friendly mineral, although not all do. Fluoride has been instrumental in fighting tooth decay and the occurrence of cavities, amongst other things. It works by tackling the acid that it released by the bacteria in your mouth that feed on the sugar and starch that remain on your teeth long after you've finished eating. It does this by first strengthening tooth enamel against acid and secondly helping fight the first stages of acid erosion by remineralising areas that have started to decay.

Of course, this is only a brief overview of three of the more generalised  types of toothpaste on the market, specifically crafted to deal with certain oral issues. If you want to find out which toothpaste is best suited for your needs then it’s best to go to your local dental specialists who can offer more personal advice as well as provide you with a more comprehensive guide to picking the right toothpaste. 

Tariq Drabu Shines a Light on Gum Disease

When it comes to oral conditions there are several, including oral cancer and tooth decay that we as a society know of, but don’t fully know about. This is something that we at Tariq Drabu Dentists think is a problem; after all, if we don’t know about the potential harm we could be inflicting on our smile, how will we ever prevent it. Knowledge is power, as the old saying goes, and right now, a fair portion of the British public could be called powerless. That’s why this week we want to shine our light on gum disease; keep reading if you want to find out how this condition can form, why it is so bad for your oral health and what can happen if it’s allowed to linger without treatment.

Gum disease, also known in popular discourse as gingivitis, is a condition where you gums become swollen, sore and infected and it’s a condition that’s actually more common than you think, with statistics revealing that up to 15-20% of the world’s population have to deal with some form of gum disease at some point in their life, and the estimation for the British population is much higher. In Britain it is estimated that half the adult population has some form of gum disease.

Symptoms of gum disease may be bleeding gums when you brush your teeth and bad breath, and this is at the earliest stages where it is still preventable. However, the condition doesn’t stop there and if gum disease is allowed to go on unchecked for a significant period of time it has a strong possibility of developing into periodontitis, a condition which affects the tissue that holds your teeth in place; this can lead to loss of teeth. If this particular condition goes untreated, it can lead to the loss of supporting bone around the teeth, which opens up space between your teeth and gums, further increasing the chance of losing your teeth.

So, now you know what gum disease can do; how do you prevent it? Well, the first thing is obvious; brush your teeth. Brushing your teeth gets rid of the products left behind on your teeth from everyday life, and prevents the build-up of plaque, a primary cause of gum disease. However, it also helps to avoid certain foods such as sugary sweets and drinks such as highly sweet carbonated soft drinks, plaque feeds on these and this can increase the risk of gum disease. It’s also important to avoid cigarettes as they carry a huge risk of the development of gum disease.

So there you have it; gum disease has many causes and many effects and it’s a disease that is not always preventable, even if you’re the picture of oral health. If the worst comes to the worst, you need to come to Tariq Drabu Dentist to get advice on how to treat it.

Tariq Drabu Zooms in on Dental Health After a Cigarette

At Tariq Drabu Dentists we act to make sure that you maintain a healthy smile for the duration of your adult life; this means we act to make sure you know what is good and what is bad for your dental health. Recently the EU has acted to pass legislation that would further restrict smoking; among other things banning 10 pack cigarettes, and as a dentist, I feel that this is very good news.

This is because, even though things like carbonated drinks and coffee are bad for your teeth, smoking is infinitely worse. The detrimental effects of smoking on your oral health are numerous and persistent, and you have to be aware of them. Check out all the reasons how cigarettes can damage your mouth below.

Discolouration… Tobacco and the chemicals in cigarettes as well as the tar and nicotine can have a huge impact on the colour of your teeth; it can literally turn them yellow. Anybody who has seen the teeth of a long term smoker will know just how strong this discolouration is, as heavy smokers will often see them turn brown.

Oral Cancer… The idea that smoking can cause cancer is a persistent one, that’s because it can. However, it’s not just lung cancer as smoking can carry a serious risk of developing oral cancer as well.

Gum Disease… The chemicals in cigarettes, as well as the tar can carry a serious risk of gum disease as they attack the gums on a constant basis; in the worst cases this can lead to bleeding gums and even tooth loss. Smoking can also affect blood flow to the gums, which complicates the healing process.

Leukoplakia… This is a condition where white patches develop on the tongue and in the mouth and is caused by irritation of the mucous membranes in the mouth. It can lead to further oral problems and can easily be caused by smoking, as smoking increases the risk of developing the condition. Some leukoplakias are in fact pre cancerous.

Bad Breath… Do we really have to explain this one? Smoking plays havoc on your breath, it literally smells like an ashtray; and can seriously affect your social life, as well as your standing at work; who wants to be around someone with ash breath?

Plaque… Hardly desirable, plaque tend to build up on the teeth due to unhealthy habits, and not only is it unattractive, it can lead to the development of many oral problems, such as tooth decay. Smoking increases the accumulation of plaque and brushing your teeth can only keep this form of plaque at bay for so long.

So there you have it, there are six of the top reasons why smoking causes significant harm to your oral and dental health. It is important to note two things here. Firstly, these aren’t the only problems, there are many more. Secondly, nicotine is the cause of some of these problems, so don’t think switching to an E-Cigarette is going to reduce the risk of all of them; however since most of these problems are primarily caused by the chemicals and tar in cigarettes, E-Cigarettes are a step in the right direction.