If you want your children to have good teeth all their life, then it is vital to teach them at an early age about Oral Hygiene says a City of London dentist. The trick is to make it a fun thing to do, it is also important that they understand why it is important to keep your teeth clean. One of the best ways to help them is to discourage sweet things which as we all know are usually full of preservatives and sugar, both of which are not good for young teeth. If children understand why we need to avoid certain food stuffs then it is much easier to keep them off them. Making it a fun thing to do will also encourage them to keep their teeth clean throughout the day, when we make something a chore we will always find resistance. Remember that children are naturally inquisitive at the best of times, so treat them as an adult and you`ll be surprised at the response. It is known amongst dentists that a child who understands the importance of looking after their teeth make for better patients. Despite rumours to the contrary dentist would rather their clients didn’t visit them as much, all dentists are very active on the preventative side of their treatment programs and starting with children is a good thing. It takes just a few minutes each day to teach our children good oral hygiene, and that few minutes will save them a lifetime of expense and visits to the dentist chair.

Bad Breath can be caused by many things, but the most common is a lax Oral Hygiene program says a City of London dentist. The problem is that most of people who suffer from this affliction are their own worst enemy, they have a lax approach to dental hygiene and it is this that is the main cause of the problem. However, help is at hand in the form of information that explains what exactly bad breath is. It is a culmination of activity in the mouth that produces acid and other material such as Tartar, the acid is made by bacteria feeding off the food pieces that get left behind. Too much sugar in our food is also a major cause of acid production, especially as too much sugar in the blood causes our saliva glands to stop working properly. A dry mouth is the bacteria`s best friend as it allows acid to become concentrated, it is this concentration that produces a by-product in the form of a bad odour. By just keeping our mouths free of food particles and watered throughout the day, will help keep that bad breath at bay. It is also important to floss, brush and rinse rigorously first and last thing. Keeping a tooth pick that doubles up as a floss stick with you, and using it each time you eat, will keep acid down all day as well. It isn`t enough to just clean our teeth twice a day anymore, there is far too many additives in our snacks and fast foods and these agitate the bad breath problem.

If you want to look after your body and stay healthy you need to eat healthily and do plenty of exercise. This will keep your body in the best possible shape and fit to fight off disease and infection. When it comes to the health of your mouth, maintaining a good standard of oral hygiene will have the same effect.

Dental problems such as tooth decay and gum disease are caused by plaque and bacteria that build up in the mouth on the surfaces of the teeth and gums. This plaque releases acid that erodes the protective layer of tooth enamel around the teeth and irritates the gums causing infection.

The most effective way to prevent this happening is to brush your teeth twice a day and floss. This removes the bacteria and plaque, keeping the enamel free from attack, the teeth free of food particles, which attract bacteria and the breath fresh. City of London dentists recommend that you brush your teeth for at least three minutes twice a day, using a soft bristled brush at a forty-five to degree angle in favour of the gums. This will remove the majority of the bacteria responsible for enamel erosion and stimulate the gums to keep them healthy.

Flossing is equally as important as brushing as it helps to remove bacteria from the difficult to reach places in between the teeth and around their base. Normal toothbrushes find it very difficult to clean these areas and it is often in these paces where the decay takes hold.

It is also important for your oral hygiene to regularly visit the dentist for a check up. Every six months is the standard amount of time you should leave between check ups in order to give you the best chance of avoiding dental disease.

Children like to think of everything as a game, so when you are teaching them about Oral Hygiene, you need to make it interesting and fun in order to get the message across says a London dentist. It`s therefore important to get it right first time, as children can very easily be put off something. Oral Hygiene is a grown up thing and children will see it as such, use this to let them feel grown up and talk to them about their teeth as if they are slightly older. As a parent you will have developed the skill of being a good story teller and giving a simple story lots of expression. When you are cleaning your teeth in the morning, let the children join you and come down to their level. Before you start the brushing, do their flossing for them or let them do it themselves as you do yours, and don`t forget to talk about what you`re doing as you do it. Then the brushing should be also be made fun, put on some music they like and do a little dance with them as you all brush your teeth. They will then grow up associating a fun game with brushing their teeth. Make sure that they understand about tartar and having healthy gums. The earlier you start, the earlier they will make this part of their routine, and routine is what children need in their oral health regime. Children are naturally inquisitive and will ask lots of questions, some of which will make you laugh your socks off. So do your research first on oral hygiene, and be prepared to put your own `little people` twist to the answers. An early start to oral hygiene will mean a lot less time spent in the dentist chair and a lot less tears when the checkups come round. They will see oral hygiene as part of their normal routine.

A report by the medical professional has recently surfaced that links heart disease with a poor oral hygiene regime, advises a City of London dentist. The problem it appears, is the leaking of bacterium into the blood flow from the gums, this is a symptom of a bad oral hygiene regime which causes all kinds conditions in the mouth. These conditions allow the gums to become infected, and that in turn is a major problem from which cuts can easily occur. Once a way in is found; the bacterium finds itself in the blood system swimming alongside platelets. These are baby blood vessels that also carry anti-bodies to protect the body from the very bacterium now next to them. The reaction of the two coming together in the blood flow starts to disrupt the very immune system that the white blood vessels are part of, this then starts to complicate the function of the heart and other organs. This is all the cause of that poor oral program that many of us have, although the research isn’t complete yet, the profession has found this link. The way around it is prevention, and that has to come in the form of oral care. Flossing and brushing are just two ways of keeping down the activity in the mouth that causes acid build up, which in itself is the single most harmful act that bacterium causes. Acid kills tooth enamel and builds up harmful tartar on the teeth, both of these will cause us to lose our teeth prematurely. One of the simplest things we can do is to drink water throughout the day and night, water will keep acid production to a minimum. At night when we are asleep so is our saliva gland, and this allows acid to build up quickly. So keeping a glass of water handy is a good way of helping your teeth and your heart while you sleep.

Recent reports have linked Diabetes problems with a poor oral hygiene program. If you have a bad or poor regime then infections will be a constant problem in your mouth. Where a cut is caused by a weakened gum, bacteria can leak into the blood system and roam around the body says a Central London dentist. Diabetes causes the body enough problems already, so the last thing it needs is more problems from a distant area of the body. All that is required from a diabetic is a good oral program, and that means keeping bacterium down to a safe level. For a diabetic the most dangerous time is when they are sleeping, for it is at this time that our saliva gland also sleeps. Keeping fresh water by the bed will allow the mouth to keep itself salivated; and clear from bacterium. Fluoride is naturally in water and this will not only neutralise acid build up, but it will kill off the bacterium that damages our tooth enamel. All these things will almost eliminate infections in the gums and keep them strong and healthy, which will in turn prevent infectious bacterium from entering our blood system, and causing our organs and blood production more problems. Flossing will also help enormously, and so it is important to do it right and to do it on a regular basis. Food debris is what bacteria feeds on, and the most common places it gets trapped in is in between the teeth. Brushing alone won`t remove it, and so flossing and sometimes a tooth pick will be needed. There`s a lot more to diabetes and oral hygiene than most of us give credit for, so if you are diabetic keep this in mind when caring for your teeth and you`ll have a lot less problems.

Flossing your teeth may sound easy, but like most things in life there is a right and a wrong way to do it says a London dentist. First off, you will have to choose a type of flossing cord, there is waxed or plain, wide and narrow and even flavoured floss. It doesn`t really matter which type you choose to use, it is all in the wrist action, so to speak. The important thing to remember is that flossing will do a job that no brushing will do, and that is to loosen up food debris in between the teeth. If this debris is left unchecked then bacteria will multiply by feeding on it, and that leads to infections and tartar build up on the base of teeth. Tartar destroys the enamel on the teeth, and the result is the premature loss of the tooth. Flossing will go a long way to preventing all the above, but it is important to get the method right. Flossing is all about being sensible and thinking about the angle of the floss to eradicate the foreign material. Taking a length of floss of about half a metre, wrap the ends around the fingers next to the thumb. Then thread the floss around a tooth, now just work the thread up and down the sides of the tooth and angle it to make sure you get all the corners round the back. This will loosen the food particles, which then need to be taken out of mouth using a good mouth wash. Do this same routine for all your teeth, it may seem tedious at first, but it will save your teeth a lot of aggravation and infections if you floss. Be careful not to be too vigorous or you will tear the gum line, just take the initial flossing slowly and you`ll soon get the hang of it.

It`s called Scaling because it looks like the type of scale that is left behind by Lime Scale on a tap, says a Central London dentist. The dentist will start by using a small hand held tool that looks like a sharp ended crook that a shepherd uses, this will be used to scrape off the white tartar and sticky bacteria that gets in between our teeth. Usually brushing, flossing and strong mouth washes won`t get rid of this scale. Once it is picked off, the dentist will use a water spout that vibrates in between the teeth, this will wash off any loosened material and debris that is left. If you suffer from receding gums then you may need a local anaesthetic, this is so the dentist can get to the tartar that is embedded onto the top and bottom of your teeth. To do this they will need to plane the tooth to get all the debris off. It is important to get it all as it will only eat into the teeth and you`ll lose them much earlier than necessary. Polishing will be the next stage, this is so the teeth will lose their discolouration and become white again. The method used by most dentists is to blend the enamel and work it into a better colour, the polish up will also smooth the teeth`s surface to make it look more natural. This will happen at your 6 monthly visits to the dentist, and so it is very important that you keep that appointment if you want give your teeth the best chance of staying with you for most of your life. Many people lose their teeth prematurely, simply because they fail to keep up their 6 monthly check ups

We all know the importance of good oral hygiene and are probably aware of the consequences of not maintaining it as we should. Yet the fact that tooth decay is on the increase and that 90% of us will experience gum disease at some point shows that we should be doing more.

Effective oral hygiene can be achieved in two ways. Firstly, by proper cleaning of teeth at home with brushing and flossing and secondly, by going to the dentists every six months for a check up. Brushing and flossing remove plaque and bacteria from the mouth that cause tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque is a filmy substance that coats the teeth and releases acids, which erode the tooth enamel. If this is allowed to continue it will eventually penetrate to the sensitive central part of the teeth and cause an infection. Not only will this be painful but it could also result in tooth loss. By brushing and flossing you can keep your teeth free from as much plaque as possible helping to reduce the chances of enamel erosion. There are other ways of keeping your teeth clean such as inter-dental brushes and tongue scrapers also help to remove harmful bacteria from the oral cavity. Ask your Central London dentist how best to look after your teeth.

Brushing and flossing don’t just keep teeth clean but they can also help to prevent bad breath. Food particles that are stuck in the teeth attract bacteria which release foul odours. This is the cause of most cases of bad breath and is quite easily dealt with by stepping up your oral hygiene.

Finally, remember to visit your dentist on a regular basis. They can address any issues that are nor being dealt with by teeth cleaning and treat the first signs of any decay or disease, as well as checking for oral cancer.

Many people’s answer to dealing with bad breath is to reach for the nearest bottle of mouthwash and gargle away. Although many people think that mouthwashes are effective against bad breath, the truth is that they only mask the smell of the breath but don’t actually address the cause of the problem.

Tests found that mouthwashes were effective at disguising the odour from anything from ten minutes to two hours but then the smell would return. Mouthwashes undoubtedly kill bacteria, but they also destabilise the natural production of saliva. As saliva is the body’s natural defence against bad breath, this can mean that the mouthwash is actually prolonging the problem.

The real key to eliminating bad breath is by more effective brushing and flossing. This not only removes plaque and bacteria, but also the food particles on which they thrive. This keeps bacteria levels low so they can easily be controlled by saliva.

Mouthwashes can be effective for controlling bacteria in certain situations. This is especially true after certain dental procedures that can be susceptible to post-surgical infection. However, your City of London dentist will tell you when this is necessary. Mouthwashes certainly still have their place in the fight against decay and disease, but you must remember that they are no substitute for good oral hygiene. A good mouthwash can be used as an addition to an effective brushing and flossing routine but not as a substitute for it. Ask your dentist for more details of when it is appropriate to use mouthwash and which particular brand would be most suitable for your teeth.