Looking after your teeth is very important. There are a few oral hygiene habits that are crucial to keeping your teeth in the best possible condition.

Most importantly is brushing. City of London dentists recommend that you brush twice a day for at least three minutes. This should be done with a soft bristled brush, to protect the gums, and preferably one with a small head to allow a greater access to all parts of the mouth. You should try and hold the brush at a forty-five degree angle to the gums so that they are gently stimulated as you brush the flat surfaces of the teeth. This removes bacteria and plaque from the teeth, substances that combine to release acids which gradually erode tooth enamel causing decay. Effective brushing can be the key to fighting decay and gum disease but it is more effective still when combined with flossing.

Flossing allows you to clean the parts of the teeth that are difficult to reach using a conventional toothbrush. This includes the areas between the teeth that are too narrow to be cleaned by the bristles on most brushes. Food particles and bacteria often accumulate in these gaps, which cause not only decay but also can be the underlying cause of bad breath. Flossing also allows you to clean the part of the teeth and gums around the base that are hard to get to with a brush. This helps to prevent inflamed gums which can trap bacteria and cause unpleasant bleeding.

As well as brushing and flossing you may also want to use a tongue scraper or tongue brush a couple of times a week to remove bacteria for the tongue.

We all brush our teeth everyday. It’s something that is instilled into us from a young age, but not nearly so many of us floss. Some people see it as an extra hassle, something that should really be done but doesn’t matter a great deal if it’s not. This could be a very dangerous attitude as dentists are urging all of us to realise how important flossing is for our oral health.

Brushing removes plaque and bacteria that build up on the flat surfaces of the teeth. This helps to prevent tooth decay that causes dental cavities. Brushing also stimulates the gums helping to remove bacteria that stop the dangerous and unfortunately common gum disease. But there are many areas of the teeth and gums that cannot be reached with a toothbrush. The bristles of a standard toothbrush are too wide to fit in the gaps between teeth where food particles and bacteria can accumulate. This allows plaque to take a foothold and start eroding the protective tooth enamel. Flossing allows you to clean these narrow areas between the teeth and also around their base.

In addition, flossing also helps to prevent inflamed gum tissue around the base of the teeth causing further problems. This is because inflamed tissue creates small pockets between the gums and the teeth, which can act as shelters for plaque and bacteria. By flossing, this tissue is cleaned and subsides to a more natural level making cleaning easier. For more information and techniques of how to floss most effectively, make an appointment to se a London dentist.

When your teeth or gums become infected it can be a very uncomfortable and unpleasant experience. Bacterial infection takes hold in teeth and gums that are suffering from decay. When the tough enamel is penetrated by dental decay it exposes the sensitive cavity at the centre of the tooth, where the nerve is located. This can then become infected leading to toothache and dental abscesses.

When a tooth is infected in its root, the bacterial infection irritates the extremely sensitive dental nerve causing toothache. When the body fights back it produces excess white blood cells to kill off the infection. These can sometimes build up in tissue around the infected tooth causing a small abscess. This can be very painful and can be prone to bursting which can easily spread the infection.

Toothache and abscesses can both be prevented with increased cleaning far before it gets to this stage. Effective cleaning removes plaque, one of the main causes of tooth decay, this means that enamel is kept strong and healthy and infections cannot penetrate to the centre of the tooth. If the infection has taken hold it is essential that you visit a London dentist as soon as possible. A dentist can remove the infection, possibly using a root canal treatment, before filling the cavity and sealing it with a dental crown. Dentists are also trained to remove abscesses without spreading the infection to other areas of the mouth. It is important to remove any infected matter as it can cause tooth loss and has strong links to heart disease and even strokes.

Dental cavities, also known as dental caries, are caused by a bacteria-rich substance called plaque. Most of us know the name plaque from dental adverts for toothpaste and dental floss but few people actually know what it does. Plaque is a filmy substance that is very sticky. It is made up of bacteria and decaying food matter and clings to the teeth and gums. As the bacteria and food break down they release acids, known commonly as plaque acids, which gradually erode the enamel, which is the protective layer of the tooth.

Plaque can be removed easily by brushing and flossing which has the effect of preventing this dental erosion. Brushing scrapes the plaque from the surface of the teeth leaving them clean and flossing removes plaque form more hard to reach places, such as between teeth and below the gum line of teeth, helping to stop decay in these areas.

If plaque is not removed due to insufficient cleaning it will continually erode the enamel until it ultimately causes a breach. This is a cavity and exposes the more sensitive and softer inside parts of the tooth to bacteria and infection. These cavities can be filled with amalgam or bonding material by a dentist to protect the central part of the tooth but often the cavity has reached the dental nerve located at the centre of the tooth. This causes a very painful toothache and often a very nasty infection because of the bacteria which may need more serious treatment.

Dental cavities can become very serious if not treated. Effective cleaning and regular, six-month appointments with a Central London dentist should help to keep cavities at bay, or at least repair any damage before it can get too serious.

Flossing is very important because it removes food particles and bacteria from hard to reach places not cleaned by conventional brushing. These include in the narrow gaps between teeth and below the gum line. It is these places that are often breeding grounds for bacteria and the location of a lot of dental decay and gum disease.

Dentists recommend that you floss at least once a day to receive the maximum benefits. Proper flossing technique should use about 40 centimetres of floss with the majority wound around one finger on each hand. Tightening the floss between the thumbs until taught, slide the floss up and down between the teeth without forcing it. Gently floss below the gum line all around the bottom of the tooth. For each tooth, use a new and clean section of floss unwound from one of the fingers. To remove the floss, gently work your way back and forth up to the top of the teeth.

It is also important to use the right kind of dental floss for the best results. The two types available are nylon and PTFE. Nylon floss comes in waxed and unwaxed varieties but can sometimes shred when used vigorously between the teeth. PTFE floss is a single thread, unlike the many-stranded nylon thread so is less likely to shred but it is more expensive.

More advice on flossing techniques, which type of floss to use and general dental health advice can be got from your Central London dentist at your next check up. Look after your teeth properly and they will last you a lifetime.

Bad breath is one of those personal hygiene problems that can be really unpleasant. Like body odour, it seems like everyone else is aware of the problem but the sufferer them self and being stuck in a confined space with someone with bad breath is an experience we all want to avoid. One of the major problems with bad breath is that it can be very difficult to know when you are suffering from it, unless someone tells you, and that’s never an easy thing to either do or hear. But you can take action against bad breath by simply following a few dental hygiene rules.

Over 90 per cent of all cases of bad breath are caused by poor standards of oral hygiene leading to bacteria in the mouth. Bacteria build up on decaying food matter trapped between teeth and in the grooves of the tongue. This decays releasing a nasty smelling sulphurous compound, which is carried out on the breath. This is the source of the condition also known commonly as halitosis. This bacteria can be easily removed by effective brushing and flossing. Brushing twice a day at least, with a suitable brush and paste helps to remove bacteria and trapped food that cause bad breath. Flossing is equally important in removing the food and bacteria from parts of the mouth hard to reach with a brush such as between teeth and below the gum line.

It may also be a good idea to use either a tongue cleaner or an inter-dental brush to remove even more bacteria. By following this advice and also remembering to see a Central London dentist every six months for additional cleaning you can easily help prevent bad breath and live your life confident in the knowledge you are not the person everyone is talking about.

Dental decay can be very damaging to the health of your teeth. It can be the cause of tremendous pain due to the exposure of the dental nerve to extremes of hot and cold and other stimuli. Once decay has penetrated the protective enamel layer this also exposes the softer central part of the tooth to bacteria and the possibility of infection. Should infection take hold in the central cavity the body will produce excess white blood cells to combat it. These white blood cells battle the infected material and eventually produce an unpleasant and nasty smelling substance called pus.

This pus can build up in pockets in the gum and around the tooth causing isolated swellings called abscesses. These areas can be very sensitive and can make even the simplest everyday activity such as talking and eating extremely difficult or even impossible. Furthermore, it is possible for the abscesses to swell to such a point that they become unstable. In these circumstances even a small knock can cause the abscess to burst. Not only will this be extremely unpleasant but it can also lead to a very dangerous infection spreading around the mouth and into the bloodstream. Recent studies have proved a link between dental infection and heart disease, and even strokes so it is important to prevent any dental infection entering the blood stream.

Visiting a City of London dentist every six months can help prevent dental decay reaching a point where it breeches the enamel and prevent infections and abscesses before they have time to start. If you think you have may have a dental abscess it is important to make an appointment with a dentist as soon as possible to prevent the spread of infection to other teeth. Treatment may involve anti-biotics and even tissue removal in extreme circumstances but the earlier the infection or abscess is treated the less severe the treatment will need to be.

Tooth abscesses are one of the most painful and least pleasant of all the dental conditions. Abscesses are caused when tooth decay has caused a breach in the protective enamel which has allowed bacteria to penetrate to the centre of the tooth and infect the nerve area. The human body responds to infection by producing an excess of white blood cells that attack the infection. This produces a yellowy substance called pus, which builds up around the infected area. In the case of a tooth abscess, this pus swelling occurs in the tissue surrounding the tooth and can become extremely sensitive and painful. This can make everyday tasks such as talking and eating very difficult or at times even impossible.

Tooth abscesses are therefore not very pleasant at the best of times. Not only are they painful and unpleasant but they also represent a wider risk to your health. In recent years, research has been carried out into the links between dental infection and heart disease. It has been proven that dental infection, if it enters the blood stream can cause a dangerous narrowing of the arteries around the heart that can cause heart disease and be potentially fatal. It also has links to strokes and cancer that need to be taken very seriously.

Most cases of bad breath, as many as 90 per cent in fact, are caused by poor standards of oral hygiene allowing bacteria and food debris to build up in gaps in the teeth and on the tongue. This bacteria then starts to dissolve releasing sulphurous odours into the mouth that are carried out on the breath.

Many products promise an end to this odour by killing the bacteria using an antiseptic. While this undoubtedly kills the bacteria it is also likely to cause side effects like dry mouth and dehydration. This can lead to an underproduction of saliva, the body’s natural defence against bacteria and bad breath. This means that when the bacteria return it may be more of a problem.

The only sure fire way to beat bad breath is to avoid using outside help and improve your standards of oral hygiene to give your own defences the best chance of beating the bacteria. Millions of bacteria live in the mouth, some good, some bad, but effective brushing and flossing helps to remove the bad bacteria that cause the smell. Other tools such as a tongue scraper or inter-dental brush can help to remove trapped food and bacteria form difficult to reach places in the teeth and mouth.

By simply controlling the bacteria and not prohibiting the production of saliva you can get rid of bad breath without using nasty chemicals or mouthwashes. A London dentist can offer instruction about the most effective ways to clean teeth and which utensils will be best for your mouth.

Brushing is the first line of defence against tooth decay and gum disease and if performed properly is an effective barrier against both. However, it would seem by the levels of decay still happening in the UK that many people are still not brushing their teeth correctly, or for long enough.

Bacteria in the mouth attach themselves to tooth enamel using their sticky outer membrane. If the bacteria are not removed by effective brushing they can build up forming a plaque acid. This acid erodes the protective enamel of the tooth causing cavities that lead to infection and eventually tooth loss. Brushing twice a day for three minutes with an appropriate brush and paste can remove plaque forming bacteria keeping your teeth clean and strong and your breath fresh.

Dentists recommend that you brush at a forty-five degree angle to the teeth pointing the brush towards the gums. This way the gums are also brushed clean from bacteria and debris, but it is important not to brush the gums too hard as gum tissue can be eroded. It is also important to floss your teeth at least once a day to remove bacteria and food debris from places a toothbrush can’t reach. Brushing without flossing is the equivalent of only cleaning two thirds of your teeth.

It is important to remember to change your toothbrush every six months as bristles become bent and flat and do not provide a thorough clean when overused. Central London dentists can advise you which is the most suitable brush for your teeth at your next appointment.