Most people love to believe that a really great tooth paste will compensate for a bad brushing technique or improper oral hygiene .But it isn’t so! Brushing well is much more important than getting the newest and best toothpaste in the market. You can even try getting your own toothpaste made at home according to your requirements .Here is a quick listing on how to make your own toothpaste with ingredients from any London local store.
Herbal toothpaste Ingredients
4 tsp glycerine
6 tsps baking soda
15 drops peppermint oil1/3 tsp salt
Directions:
All you have to do is take the ingredients and mix thoroughly. You can even add flavoring by adding a few drops of peppermint or wintergreen oil. Keep this in a separate container or add with half and half of commercial toothpowder to get a much better clean of your teeth. For making it more toothpaste to look at you can add one tsp of food coloring and then mix it up with sufficient water to form a paste. Fill up one of the toothpaste tubes with this and you’re done

Really fragrant toothpaste ingredients
1/4 tsp powdered orrisroot
1/4 tsp water
1 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp arrowroot
1/4 tsp peppermint oil
1/4 tsp spearmint
Directions:
Add all the dry ingredients together and then add sufficient water to make a thick funky paste. You can add different flavoring pastes as well as coloring agents to get a really tooth pasty looking mix.

Going to any dentist can be a really painful experience and most people do require something or the other to be done on their teeth. But with careful care you can maintain your teeth in perfect condition and just get follow up care very six months. Here are a few tips on how you can maintain perfect dental health for yourself.• Use a straw while drinking soft drinks. Most soft drinks contain a large amount of carbonic acid which can etch the surface of teeth. You can feel this after having soft drinks; the surface of your teeth immediately feels rough. The carbonic acid eats away at the superficial layer on your tooth and causes it to retain food particles. These can later on form cavities. You can avoid this completely by sipping soft drinks directly through a straw which prevents the soft drink from washing against your teeth.
• Drink water with every thing sweet you eat. The water washes away all the sugar and prevents it from lodging in between the teeth where it does the most damage.
• Drink a lot of water and, make sure you swish it around your mouth. Most countries and cities, especially London, now have compulsorily fluoridated water which is good for teeth. Combine this with a fluoridated mouthwash and with fluoridated toothpaste and you can’t lose. Just be careful with children under the age of two.

I love mouthwashes! Doesn’t it give your mouth a really pleasant zing after you rinse out? Most London dentists don’t really recommend any particular mouth wash brand but they don’t really advice you against it either. Let’s take a closer look at what is present in most mouthwashes.• Almost all mouth washes contain a large amount alcohol and its really drying on the oral mucus membrane. The only way you can reduce the odor in your mouth is to kill the sulfur -producing organisms in your mouth. But most mouthwashes just dry out your mouth further exacerbating the problem.
• Almost every mouth wash contains a foaming ingredient which is universally used and is supposed to cause canker sores; this ingredient is called as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and is a prominent feature of almost every mouth wash.
• Saccharine is another really useless ingredient use to sweeten the product to make it more palatable.
• Some mouth washes also contain Sodium chlorate to oxygenate the mouth. But it does not work as well as it is supposed to inside the mouth so many countries have banned the use of it in their oral products.
• Benzalkonium Chloride is also commonly used as a preservative to preserve the ingredients in mouthwashes but recent research has proved that the ingredient has been though to cause allergic reactions.

Whew! That’s enough to put me off mouthwashes totally!

Maintaining oral hygiene is really important and you can do it really well if you follow a few common tips and ticks like,
1. Avoid scrubbing away at your tooth surface with your toothbrush use minimal pressure and a sweeping motion from the gum towards the tooth surface. A soft multitufted rounded brush is the best for almost every one. Be sure to replace your tooth brush every two months.
2. Brush for at least 3-5minutes and time yourself with an egg timer or an alarm clock. Brush 3-4 minutes twice daily as a replacement for brushing speedily five or more times through the day.
3. Rinse your mouth after every snack or food you eat. Keep a toothbrush in your desk drawer to remind yourself to brush once in the day time.
4. Brush daily at least twice a day to avoid problems in the future.
5. Get a biannual cleaning done to maintain your gum condition
6. Sue a fluoridated toothpaste to keep your teeth healthy and use a fluoridate mouthwash to add to the benefits.
7. Eat more green leaf veggies and fiber to keep your mouth healthy.
8. Obviously don’t smoke or drink to keep your teeth perfectly healthy.

Here are a few simple tips to help you maintain your oral hygiene to the best of your ability.
1. Brush your teeth daily after you get up and before going to bed. Although this seems like a silly thing to tell someone it’s really important and you should follow it religiously.
2. Floss before you brush. Although brushing is pretty effective in cleaning your teeth .The bristles don’t really reach between your teeth. This is where flossing can preserve the health of your gums and clear out the interdental spaces of foul smelling gunk.
3. Limit the amount of soda, alcohol and sweet juices you drink. These drinks contain minute amounts of alcohol which can eat away the enamel causing erosion cavities. These erosion cavities also cause severe sensitivity in the teeth.
4. Sue a soft bristled tooth brush and preferably tilt your tooth brush at an angle to your gums .Aim your tooth brush like a brush sweeping away debris away from the gums towards the biting surface of the tooth.
5. Replace your brush ever two or three months to avoid getting infected with throat infections.
6. Consider an electric tooth brush and learn how to use them well.
7. Consider getting an oral irrigator to massage your gums and clean in interdental spaces.

Dental hygiene services in London, as in most parts of the world, are specialized services centred on promoting general or specific dental wellness. Along with checking patients up for symptoms and signs of oral diseases, dental hygiene services provide immediate services to affected patients as well as educate them on taking measures for preventing dental or gum-related diseases at home. The best dental hygiene services involve preventive procedures for tooth decay and gum infections.The primary predilection among the dental hygiene providers is oral prophylaxis, popularly known as teeth and gum cleaning services. Generally, the procedures involve scaling the amputation of the hard calculus depositions below and above the gum-line, in the subgingival and supragingival areas. These calculus deposits are the breeding site infection-causing bacterial colonies that give rise to the most popular oral diseases, like teeth and root decay, teeth loss and other periodontal diseases.

However, it is important to note that dental hygiene services do not include coronal polishing or supragingival scaling. Since, most of the times, periodontal diseases initiate from below the gum-line, scaling should also be directed at the same area and should be treated with utmost care. It is not expected of a professional dental hygienist to provide the patients with negligent polishing, and portraying it as thorough dental hygiene services. A dentals hygienist’s responsibilities are immense and any negligence here can trigger harmful changes in the gums and teeth. For instance, the fluoride-containing tooth enamel may get removed causing damage to the structure of the tooth lying underneath.

Other important dental hygiene services include applying sealants on teeth fissures and pits, thereby offering greater teeth protection against damage and decay.

You must have heard your dentist telling you to get rid of your toothbrush after every three months. Well they are truly right in saying that. The reason is that the worn-out toothbrushes no longer care for your teeth and can cause serious infections.
Dentists in London have been focused to make sure that every individual gets the best care. For long they are educating people to take care of their toothbrushes and to change them every three months. “It is better to change before they wear out.”
To name a few organisms that can remain on toothbrushes, grow and cause infection are streptococcus mutans, candida albicans, herpes simplex virus, etc. These organisms directly threat children and adults who already have dental or oral problems, serious medical ailments or are immunocompromised.
Now the question arises as to how we can protect toothbrushes from such contamination. One is to change our toothbrushes every three months. As when toothbrushes wear out, they allow growth of organisms. This is recommended for healthy individuals. On the other hand, people who are sick must replace it as soon as possible.
Do not store your toothbrushes in a damp environment as it provides a breeding ground for the organisms to grow. You can store them in a dry environment where there is good aeration. Label the toothbrushes so as to avoid sharing.
Another important aspect is to disinfect the toothbrushes on a daily basis. You can disinfect them by placing them overnight in a solution of sodium hypochlorite, which is also known as household bleach.
Then the next morning dry them and place them in a well aerated environment in a plastic container. Taking these steps will definitely help you maintain proper cleaning and maintenance of your toothbrushes, which will in turn keep you and your family healthy.

Kaitlin came complaining to me, “Hello Doctor! I am surprised to see cavities in teeth of my 3 year old kid.”I know that children’s dental health is one area that most families and parents today need to focus on. These days I am treating more and more younger patients having cavities in their primary teeth. So I gazed the young lady’s anxiety.

First off, I appreciated her for being a parent that she is. I know of many parents that ignore the same problem assuming that it is only to the baby teeth and that they eventually will fall out resulting in better teeth. However, they are not aware of the fact that it is far from truth. Dental experts like me would know that cavities at such age would result in several complications including loss of tooth/teeth at early age, development of crooked teeth, speech and hearing problems, and most of all poor confidence and self-image. In fact a child as young as 1 year old should make its first visit to dentist and brushing should start from 2 years of age and supervised till 6 years when the child is learned to do it on its own. I explained to the anxious mother about several factors that are contributing to this increased problem, such as an upsurge in the sugary snacks and increased use of water that is non-fluoridated. I also told her that today’s children spend little time than required for brushing.

As a dental care specialist I tried to convince her of the fact that it’s not an easy feat to imparting dental hygiene to kids of that small age but one can always try by all means to take this challenge. I gave Kaitlin some handy tips and asked her to follow them diligently and reassured her that her child will not be one to visit me frequently.

Floss regularly right from age the kid started to show eruption of first two teeth.

Emphasized on the importance of flossing the molars, as they lay closely spaced to one another than the incisors or canines.

Parents’ supervision and assistance while brushing is essential until the kid attains age of 6. Here, parents should educate their kids of right technique of brushing teeth.

Change brush once every 3 months. Additionally, change the brush if the child suffered a throat infection.

To make brushing a fun event go for kid-friendly paste flavors and give a brush that is adorned with their favorite toon characters.

Last, every parent to stand as example than mere educator. Brush two times daily. Gargle after every snacking.

Kaitlin left my room convinced.

We know you love to eat those mouth-watering delicacies and how can we forget those simply irresistible chocolates? Many of you smoke and drink as well. However, do you know, if you do not take care of your teeth, your teeth will begin to fall off way early than they are supposed to, decay, have cavities and have painful toothaches. We are sure you would not want anything like that to happen so that you might be restricted to eat your favourite chocolates! This is why you should take care of your teeth, just like your looks! A sparkling smile will give you that perfect look ain’t it?
A Dentist from London city gives these handy tips to help your retain healthy teeth
• You should use soft bristles toothbrush and replace the old one with a new one every three months.
• Toothpastes with fluoride protect your teeth from cavities and make them stronger.
• Brush your teeth twice a day to break down maximum plaque.
• Flossing your teeth will keep them healthy.
• Mouthwash with fluoride will strengthen your teeth enamel.
• A tongue cleaner will scrap plaque on your tongue, reducing plaque accumulation on your teeth and will refresh your breath.
• Spend at least three minutes in brushing your teeth and not just the teeth in the front, but also at the back and the sides.
These are a few basic tips that will help you keep your teeth healthy and strong. Visit your dentist twice a year, eat a lot of vegetable and fruits, and drink lots of water. A healthy diet will help you keep your teeth clean and sparkling white. You will not be hesitant to flashing your best smile to the person passing by you in city of London!

We all know that Fluoride is an essential mineral for dental health. However, intake of this trace mineral in higher doses could affect our teeth adversely. The toxic condition developed due to its increased intake is referred to as fluorosis, which could be due to large amounts of fluorine in your drinking water or in your diet. Generally, it affects your permanent teeth. In London, fluorosis is comparatively a rare condition than caries teeth because most of the citizens use non-fluoridated drinking water, and hence it is very unlikely that we would get exposure to high levels of fluorides. Fluorides help to prevent dental decay and its deficiency causes teeth to be prone to early development of caries. Therefore, in London, it has been added to toothpastes and mouth washes for years with good control of dental caries. Here only a small percentage of  population get fluoridated water supply and natural fluoride in water is seen only in very few places. Hence, fluoridation of public water supply would be the easiest method for the benefit of those deprived of this mineral naturally. The recommended standard limit of fluoride in water is 1ppm (parts per million) and above which, it is not good for general health. However, higher ppms of fluoride could be seen naturally at some shallow water bodies in rural areas where people are at risk of developing fluorosis or toxicity. Fluorosis generally affects children below the age of 8, before the development of permanent teeth. If children are exposed to high levels of fluoride during the formative years of their teeth, they are at high risk of dental and skeletal fluorosis. Excessive fluoride causes white spots or flecks or yellowing of teeth, or pitting and mottling of the enamel, depending on the degree of exposure. Only an expert can detect mild fluorosis, as it shows only minimal changes such as a fleck of white or pearly appearance to the teeth. As caries itself is an unsightly and painful condition, mild fluorosis from fluoride intake can be considered a better condition with added benefit of protection from caries. Actually, mildly fluorotic teeth have a pearly glow than normal teeth and most people like to have mild fluorosis in teeth, as it is indistinguishable and appear more beautiful. Depending on the degree of fluorosis, teeth would appear yellowish to brownish with pitting or mottling making it cosmetically unacceptable. Sometimes, even if the water supply is not fluoridated, children can be found having fluorosis. In such conditions, on evaluation, the causes were found to be fluoride supplements or children swallowing fluoride toothpastes while brushing. Hence, it should be mandatory to get the advice of a dentist about the need for fluoride supplements and proper supervision of child’s tooth brushing. Parents should be teach them how to brush with minimum toothpaste and to spit out after brushing. Dental fluorosis can be treated with bleaching, whitening, microabrasion, or with veneers, depending on the degree of disclouration or damage.