Dry mouth doesn’t just make your mouth and throat feel dry – it also affects your oral hygiene. Saliva acts as a cleanser in your mouth, washing away bacteria and fighting decay. Sufferers of dry mouth might find that they accumulate plaque more quickly and are therefore more at risk from infections, tooth decay and gum disease.

Dry mouth arises for a variety of reasons. It can be a result of other medical conditions including diabetes, and often is a negative side-effect of medication. Medications for your heart, blood pressure, or depression may be the culprit, and you should speak to your dentist if you think this is the case.

Otherwise there are a variety of ways to treat dry mouth. You should drink plenty of water and try to breathe through your nose, rather than through your mouth. Sucking on sugar-free sweets or chewing gum can help to stimulate saliva flow. If your dentist feels that you need treatment, he may suggest an oral rinse to restore mouth moisture, or prescribe you medication that stimulates saliva production.

Having dry mouth is not just uncomfortable, it has negative effects on your oral health, and should be treated as quickly as possible to prevent more serious problems like tooth decay and gum disease.

If you think you might be suffering from dry mouth, give your City of London dentist a call today.

To prevent plaque developing into tartar, it’s best to brush your teeth twice daily and floss a few times a week. If tartar, or dental calculus, is allowed to remain on the teeth, it can cause chronic infection and inflammation, both of which are painful and damaging to your dental health. It’s also one of the leading causes of tooth decay, which can lead to tooth-aches and, potentially, tooth removal. Tartar that develops above the gum line can also lead to serious cases of gum disease.

The only way to remove dental calculus from your teeth is to see your dentist about treatment. Your dentist will clean your teeth through a method known as a scale and polish, which will remove built-up plaque and tartar from your teeth. In more serious cases, your dentist may employ an ultrasonic cleaning device to clear away large amounts of calculus build-up.

Having your teeth cleared of plaque and calculus will not only prevent the destructive effects of these damaging bacteria, but will also make it harder for plaque and calculus to accumulate again. The rough surface of dental calculus is the ideal environment for the formation of further bacteria, meaning that without treatment, you can quickly be caught up in a downward spiral.

Even while maintaining good oral hygiene, having your teeth cleaned professionally on a semi-regular basis will help you to keep damaging bacteria at bay. Ask your City of London dentist for more advice and information about dental calculus on your next check-up.

Caused by a build-up plaque on the teeth, which can result from not brushing or flossing often enough, gum disease can be a serious problem for many people. If it develops into periodontitis, it can even result in the loss of a tooth.

You can start to protect yourself from gum disease now, by maintaining good oral hygiene. Brush your teeth at least twice a day, floss a few times a week, use mouthwash where possible, and see your dentist regularly.

However, if your gum disease is more advanced, your dentist may want to provide treatment. This might be a scale and polish, to clear tartar and plaque from your teeth using special instruments, or could involve root planning, where your dentist will clear bacteria from the roots of your teeth. Antibiotics are also a common course of treatment for cases of gum disease.

Severe gum disease, including periodontitis, could require surgery to remove an infected tooth and stop the problem worsening. This is why it’s a good idea to have your dentist take a look at your gums as soon as you spot anything amiss – early gum disease is easy to treat, and even easier to prevent.

If your gums are sore, swollen or red, or if they bleed when you brush, see your London dentist as soon as possible about gum disease treatment.

One of the best ways of fighting gum disease in central London is to recognize what causes it in the first place and prevent it from happening. Preventative dentistry is and art form at home and when you are in the arms of your loving dentist. When we perform the noble art form of oral hygiene at home, we are doing so in order to clear our mouths of food and ensure that bacteria is not allowed to develop into plaque and tartar- which causes gum disease. There are all manner of devices and products on sale designed to help you in your quest for a healthy mouth, from toothpastes to the latest sonic toothbrushes that physically break down plaque and tartar- backed up with flosses, tiny brushes and mouthwashes, you should be well on the way to a healthy mouth. As ever though, these problems never go away and are ever persistent and in the end may get through your defenses, which is where your dentist can leap to your aid and remove anything that has got through. Getting this right and avoiding the disease early on means that you will not have to suffer the more extreme methods to rid yourself of the disease if it is allowed to develop and gets a hold in the future.

Dentists can come out with all guns blazing in the city of London, eager to show off all of their latest toys and technology to treat you with and yes that is fantastic for you the patient. But amongst all of these laser wars and in-depth ‘have it all done’ now machinery, there is an element of ignoring the alternatives which could be just as affective, and even if you ask a ‘modern’ dentist, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised to discover that they are also great supporters of herbal remedies- especially in the fight against gingivitis or gum disease. Gum disease means that your teeth and gums are at risk but it can be treated with some immaculate herbal alternatives. Firstly, it is important to up the vitamins in your body through supplements and by eating the right foods, as this will help to strengthen your immune system and keep the saliva flowing in your mouth. Secondly, alternative herbs can be used when it comes to that time when you brush and floss your teeth: a drop of tea tree oil or Echinacea on your brush and floss helps to take the heat out of inflamed gums, and if your massage your gums as well in these, it can help to stimulate the blood vessels into life again. Cloves, licorice root, calendula and sage are also very effective on the gums when mixed with Vitamin E or baking soda and then applied to the gums. Probably the easiest way to help in the fight against gum disease is salt- mixed with water for rinsing or applied to a brush it can shop your gums from bleeding within days.

It may not be obvious at first that your mouth is starting to fall under the evil that is gum disease, but when you discover something is going wrong, you better act pretty damn fast to get it looked at in the city of London- that is if you want to keep your teeth in the long run. The person in the frame who can spot any signs of gum disease is your dentist and if you maintain your visits regularly, you can get to work on solving the problem immediately. Depending how far gone the disease is depends on the type of treatment you will need, but unless you are married to one, the dentist is not going to be there everyday so it’s down to you to recognize the symptoms and go to work on it at home. If something tastes bad it means that your gums may be weeping toxins- the start of the problem. And the most obvious sign is if your gums bleed when brushing. Now some people may rush in and throw products at the situation, which could compact the issue. Firstly you must look at your diet and your lifestyle and try to improve them by eating well and cutting down on the things you adore- like smoking and drinking. Yes, upping your oral hygiene will help, but you have to subtle in the way you look after your gums. When you floss for instance, dipping the floss in some herbal products first such as tea tree oil, Echinacea or Aloe Vera can soothe the gums and cool them down, especially if you massage these oils in the gums as it stimulates the blood flow. Rinsing with warm salty water helps to halt the weeping and bleeding and heal the gums. It is beatable but the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes.

Periodontal Disease is pretty much the end of the road for your teeth in London. If you have been very lazy when it comes to oral hygiene over a long, sustained period, periodontal disease is the final problem at the end of a series of problems and attacks the bone structure of the jaws, causing the teeth to fall out. There are two ways you can try to avoid this in the first place- good oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist. By doing this you will be avoiding the build up of plaque and tartar in your mouth, ignore this though and it can lead to gum disease which causes the gums to weep and bleed. Following on from this is tooth decay and then full blown periodontal disease. As each of these problems start, rectifying them becomes harder, complicated and expensive the more they become entrenched in the mouth. The aim is to stop any of these problems cropping up and if they do, fixing them as soon as you can. There is a massive range of products on the market designed to fight these issues and between you and the dentist, the pair of you should be able to nip this disease in the bud before it gets a foothold.