London cosmetic dentistry

Archive for the ‘Dentistry for children’ Category

How to best look after your children’s teeth with London dentists

Monday, July 18th, 2011

When you have children you are responsible for their health and it is something that you won’t want to compromise on. Health problems that develop during childhood can hinder them for the rest of their lives and so you’ll want to ensure that they have the best possible start in life when it comes to health. This includes taking the best care of their teeth too and so you should establish a rapport with a London dentist early on in their lives.

Childhood oral hygiene is not that much different to adult oral hygiene really. You should make sure that your children are brushing their teeth at least twice a day so that plaque cannot wear away the enamel and start to cause cavities and the resulting necessary fillings. Very young children should not use fluoride tooth paste but once over the age of about two years old they ought to so that their enamel is being strengthened.

Supervise your children so that they are brushing all of their mouth and not doing so too vigorously. In time though it will be important to give them autonomy over their tooth brushing so that they take ownership over the activity and it becomes part of their routine. Providing incentives and rewards for successful patterns of brushing can be very effective in this regard.

It can be difficult but try and restrict the amount of sugary snacks that they eat. Adults are not alone in yearning for sweet treats but children need to be careful with them so that they are not exposed to excess plaque. Try to explain why this is important so that they see the sense behind it.

City of London dentists are valuable allies for parents trying to keep their children’s teeth healthy

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Every good parent wants their child to have the best possible start in life so that their offspring can be happy and healthy. Taking care of teeth is of paramount importance because any damage sustained to teeth will affect the child for the rest of their life. We only get one set of healthy teeth so it is worth taking care of them, but for young children the responsibility rests with their parents or guardians.

Plaque is as much of a concern for children as it is the rest of us. Everything ought to be done to ensure that plaque doesn’t take hold, causing dental decay and or gum disease. But trying to get children to brush their teeth can be nothing short of a nightmare. You can’t brush their teeth for them forever so it is essential that you encourage them to do it themselves. Brightly coloured tooth brushes featuring cartoon characters can be helpful, as can give them incentives.

Restricting the amount of sugary snacks that they eat is also advisable, especially if you are having difficulty getting your son or daughter to brush their teeth. Dental sealants can be a useful tool because it provides youthful teeth with an extra layer of protection against the plaque which can attack enamel.

Get your child comfortable with being in the dental surgery so that it becomes a lifelong habit for them. Dental phobia can form in children if you pass on negative attitudes about the dentist to them. It is not a good idea to get your child into a position where they don’t want to see the dentist and, as such put themselves at risk from oral ailments. With their teeth developing, it is imperative that your City of London dentist keeps an eye on how they are coming through.

Protecting your Children’s Teeth with a Sealant in Central London

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

During the years in which we grow to the age of 17, around three quarters of us in central London will have succumbed to some form of tooth decay. This is because cleaning children’s teeth from an early age is rather a precarious operation. As much as we try to choose for our children the right toothpaste, brushes and bring them up on a sensible diet, it’s still a very vulnerable and sensitive period for teeth. This is why there has been an explosion in the use of dental sealants for children’s teeth. The most dangerous periods for a child are when teeth start to erupt through the gums and up into the mouth. This leaves the gums sore and prone to infection. Covering the teeth with a light plastic sealant prevents any bacteria forming on the surface of the teeth as the gums are very delicate and often too sore to brush properly. Whilst talking about brushing, during the years in which we grow, it can take a while for us to conceive the idea of brushing correctly (some adults still haven’t!), so having a dental sealant is an excellent back up to help keep the teeth safe from plaque and cavities.

Looking after your kid’s mouth in central London

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Children in central London are like a blank canvas for about the first 6 years of their life. It takes time for them to evolve and come to life as they start to learn things. So up until they start to understand and learn how to do things for themselves, the onus is on you, the parent, to nurture them and look after them, until you can start to cut them some slack. This is very important when it comes to their teeth, so you should always get up to speed on how to be ready for delicate times such as teething and when the child’s secondary start to come through. The important thing to protect their teeth from is decay, which children are very vulnerable to. Consulting with a pediatric dentist is paramount during this period in order to get the health of your child’s teeth right. Choosing the right foods and drinks is a key factor here, trying to avoid sugary and starchy substances if you can. Early on, it’s down to you to clean their teeth in the early years to avoid tooth decay, but as they grow older, you have to find toothpastes that are suitable for them and then teach them how to clean their teeth properly. Again, if you have any doubts, you should always seek qualified help from your pediatrician or your dentist.

London dentists help to give children the best start in life by securing their oral health

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Children’s teeth need looking after just as much as the rest of them do. By bearing a few bits of simple but effective advice in mind you can help give your child the start in life that they deserve by keeping their teeth strong and healthy. Sometimes it’s not easy to get children to co-operate but it will be worth your efforts in the long run because any issues that affect a child’s teeth will be something they have to live with as they grow up.

Establishing a good relationship with your local London dentist when your child is at a young age is very important. This normalises the contact between them and your child will come to see it as a routine part of their life to go and see the dentist. It is also important so that any potential bothersome problems can be spotted early and dealt with effectively.

Your London dentist will be full of excellent advice about whether your child could benefit from dental sealants to help protect them from plaque and how best to get your children to take responsibility for their own brushing. Offering incentives can be effective here, but it needs to be established quickly that brushing and taking care of teeth is something that they will benefit from and need to practice diligently.

We only get one set of healthy teeth so don’t compromise the health of your children’s teeth. Make sure that they are eating the right foods at the right time and brushing with a fluoride tooth paste in the morning, at night and after the sugary snacks which should only be treats.

Maintaining Your Children’s Teeth in the City of London

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

Dental care for your child in the City of London should start from the very first day they are born, for the way your child’s teeth grow can affect their oral health for the rest of their lives. Even when there are none showing, the teeth are growing below the gums and the gums need to be wiped after feeding whenever possible. The most important time of course is when your child begins to teethe, which is the same time you should have a good pediatric on board. They are there to maintain the health of children’s teeth and can advise you on diet, cleaning and then tell you the best time to see an orthodontist. Many children suffer from tooth decay around this time due to ‘bottle mouth’, a problem that stems from leaving the bottle in the child’s mouth to long and allowing bacteria from the milk to build up in the mouth; this along with a poor diet or too much sugar, can wreak havoc on your kid’s teeth. A good diet will build up the child’s immune system and encourage a good level of saliva in the mouth- one of the best natural agents to fight bacteria. Fluoride based toothpaste should also be limited around this time, as it has been linked poor health in children- children tend to swallow more toothpaste, which in some extreme cases, can be fatal. Of course, if you get it right at this stage, the healthier your child’s teeth will be, and possibly avoid the need for expensive braces later on. Teaching your kids to brush properly is imperative as is placing them with a dentist that can build up a good dental history that will support them as they grow through these, their informative years.

Dental sealants from Central London dentists help protect your children’s teeth from decay

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

Protecting your teeth is crucial at all ages. Children can be particularly vulnerable to ailments in the mouth, not only because their teeth are still developing, but also because they lack the responsibility of adults. As parents it should be a part of your duties to ensure that your children’s teeth stay healthy and free from disease, the consequences of which they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

One way of helping children to stay free from these problems is for their dentist to apply dental sealants to their teeth. This basically consists of a plastic coating that is applied to the surface of teeth. It acts as an extra barrier protecting them from plaque and as a useful supplement to the enamel which exists on all healthy teeth.

The ages of six and twelve can be good times to have your dentist apply sealant to your child’s teeth. This is because of the developments in the mouth at those ages which facilitate the application of dental sealant. At six the permanent molars usually erupt and around the age of twelve the second molars do the same.

Dental sealants are an affordable way to help with the protection of your child’s teeth and they last for a good few years before they need topping up. This is very much worth doing because of how vulnerable children can be to tooth decay. Of course you should still ensure that they are brushing properly but anyone who has been a parent will know how difficult this can be. The propensity that children have for sweet snacks can also put their teeth at risk and so dental sealants are worth asking your Central London dentist about.

Central London dentists help patients to look after their children’s teeth properly

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Like many aspects of bringing up children, ensuring that they have good oral health can be a challenge. Children are often prone to be rather stubborn and resistant to changes, let alone orders from their parents. But it is well worth helping your child along the right path to good oral health. Just remember that any problems they develop in their younger years will probably be with them to some extent for the rest of their lives.

Child psychologists think that children respond well to being given responsibility. In this sense then, when they are old enough, let them brush their own teeth. Of course you will need to monitor them but perhaps draw up a wall chart with them that they can fill in when they have brushed their teeth properly. At the end of the chart you might want to reward your child, thus giving them an incentive. Before you know it brushing will be second nature to them.

Children ought to be brushing in much the same way as adults, for about three minutes first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Once over the age of about eighteen months they are quite suitable to use a pea sized amount of fluoride enhanced tooth paste on their brush head.

Get into the habit of taking your child to see the local Central London dentist too. This normalises the routine of going to the dental surgery so they don’t see it as something abnormal or to be feared. The dentist will be able to monitor the health of your child’s mouth to make sure that it is on the right track and they can look forward to a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

Dental Sealants for Children in the City of London

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Children in the city of London are very vulnerable to tooth decay and it’s important to undertake all precautions possible to allow the teeth to develop healthily into adulthood. One of the best methods to combat the problem is the application of dental sealants. Designed more specifically for children, they are applied to the back teeth of a child, normally when the tooth has just erupted through the gums, to prevent acids and bacteria breaking down the natural enamel of the teeth. The procedure is almost pain free- the teeth will first be cleaned and then a roughing gel will be applied to aid the bonding of the sealant. This is simply brushed over the teeth and then cured with a heat lamp. Considering that most decay occurs on the chewing surface of the teeth, a dental sealant offers the perfect barrier between the tooth’s surface and any bacteria or plaque that may try to develop and once in place you’d hardly know that they are there, as they can be color coded to match the surrounding teeth. The sealant can work up to 5 years, during the all important development of a child’s teeth, offering the perfect protection and doesn’t need any extra care when cleaning- it’s brush and floss as normal.

Baby bottle tooth decay in the City of London

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

It’s almost inconceivable to think that babies in the city of London can suffer from tooth decay from bottle feeding, but a constant feeding of babies can lead to all of the problems that older children and adults suffer from. Teeth will only be suceptible to decay once they start to appear, which is about the time babies should be weaned from the bottle. It’s very easy to leave the bottle in a baby’s mouth when sleeping, it’s a sense of comfort, but when teeth come through, the gums are very exposed to infection. The constant accessibility to milk and juices from a bottle can lead to a build up of bacteria in the mouth and hence caries can develop easily- this is more common in the front teeth. As the baby reaches teething, a baby’s feeding routine should be altered- they should be introduced to cup drinking and oral hygiene should be introduced regularly into the daily routine. It should also be the time for the child’s first dental visit to monitor the growth and health of the teeth. It’s a very distressing problem for all involved, treating tooth decay in a baby- it’s not very good to start filling or pulling teeth, using fluoride treatments or using antibiotics either at such an early age. The other reason behind being vigilant at this stage is because, how these teeth grow impacts on all the other teeth to follow.