The top of any dentists agenda in the city of London is to ensure they look after your teeth as best as they humanly can and to advise you how to do the same when your not sitting in the chair, and there are some basic principles applied to this. What you’re trying to avoid in everyday life is the build up of plaque and to keep your teeth clear of acids and bacteria. Do this well and between the pair of you you’ll be avoiding the dangers of dental cavities. These little evils can gather speed quickly, especially if you are pretty nonchalant about oral hygiene and about keeping up with dental check-ups. Acids start to attack the surface of the teeth quickly and then soon eat their way inside. If you go to your dentist regularly, then they will pick up on this and solve the problem with a filling. But, if you get lackluster about things, the first you will know about the cavity is when you get a tooth-ache and at this stage, it literally means that the tooth is dying inside. Catch it at this stage and you will require a root canal, though you will save the tooth. But tooth-aches can go away and you may think ‘no problem’- think again, because the whole root of the tooth will become infected and possibly cause gum disease and then all of your teeth are in peril, as is your general health.

There are many things that can cause us to suffer from a dry mouth or ‘xerostomia’ in central London (aside from the pollution), lifestyle for one. If we have a bad habit of drinking too much, smoking and have a poor diet to boot, this can lead to the falling of saliva levels in the mouth. People on strong medication or who have just been through major operation (especially chemo or radio therapy) can also suffer badly from the condition. Treating it can mean changing the way we live until the saliva starts to return to the mouth. It’s important to keep the mouth in a state of hydration at all times during this recovery period; caffeine should be dropped from the menu along with smoking and drinking, and onto the menu should go a healthy diet and drink lots of water. The use of herbal products can help as can chewing and sucking on sugar-free sweets to try to coax the saliva glands to fire-up again. Drastic it may sound but without it you may start to suffer from extreme halitosis and gum disease, which can then affect the whole of the blood system and body, let alone leading to tooth decay and loss.

There are many potential causes of dental cavities but just one course of action if you want to avoid them in the first place. Dental cavities can be painful and inconvenient but by taking the right steps to ensure good oral hygiene you can make sure that you won’t have to deal with the problem in the first place.

Primarily dental cavities are caused by an excess of plaque on the surfaces of teeth. This acidic substance is created when we eat food and drink things that are high in sugar and starch. Plaque is the main reason why we brush our teeth and make sure that plaque is removed from the mouth. Plaque has the capacity to erode the string coating of teeth which is called enamel. This erosion creates holes in the teeth that will not stop growing unless they are filled by dentists.

A period of ill health or an extended lapse in one’s oral hygiene can allow plaque to take hold on teeth. If you have teeth which are particularly bunched up then they might be more prone to the development of cavities because it will be harder to clean them of plaque. In such cases it might be desirable to undergo some sort of tooth straightening treatment to get the requisite levels of spacing between the teeth.

Those who suffer from dry mouth (clinically known as xerostomia) will be more prone to cavities also because they are experiencing a lack of saliva. Saliva not only helps to strengthen enamel but it is also a natural defence against plaque in the mouth. See your dentist in central London if you are having problems with dry mouth or are worried about cavities.

You only get one set of healthy, natural teeth. The options for replacing them are varied and hugely effective but you will probably want to do your best to keep your original, natural set in good working order. One of the biggest dangers threatening the health of your teeth is that of cavities forming. If you are worried about the problem then you should read on for more information.

The greatest enemy of teeth is plaque. This is substance that is formed when you eat or drink. It comes about not just when you consume sugary and starchy foods, although more of it is formed by these types of food. If it sits on your teeth without being removed then it will begin to break down the enamel on the surface of your teeth. Enamel is the guardian of your teeth’s structural integrity and once that starts to go, your teeth will be compromised.

The plaque can then wear down the prone tooth beneath the enamel and begin to create holes. These cavities need to be filled because the process will not just stop. Eventually there just won’t be any useful tooth left at all. Central London dentists used to fill cavities with metal, which was not always as effective as it could be and many patients found the results unsightly too. Now many dentists use cosmetic bonding which amounts to white fillings that are far easier for dentists to work with and produce aesthetically pleasing results.

Preferable to having your cavities filled is to prevent them forming in the first place. This can be achieved by twice daily brushing with a tooth paste that contains fluoride to strengthen enamel and flossing to stop cavities forming between the teeth.

Tooth decay is the process by which teeth are broken down by a substance called plaque and are exposed to pain and infection. Tooth decay is caused by a number of factors but can be prevented fairly easily with improved oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist.

The first stage of tooth decay occurs when plaque, a substance rich in bacteria, gradually starts to erode the protective layer of tooth enamel that coats the teeth. This initially leads to dental cavities which, if not repaired either with a filling or a dental crown, will eventually penetrate to the centre of the tooth and allow an infection to damage the pulp and sensitive dental nerve. Tooth decay can be very painful as the dental nerves are extremely sensitive but it can also lead to wider health problems because oral infections are able to spread easily and even enter the bloodstream where they can affect the heart.

Brushing and flossing effectively at home removes plaque from the surfaces of the teeth and the small gaps between them and around the base. This limits the damaging potential of the plaque and cuts your chances of suffering from tooth decay. However, it is possible to suffer from tooth decay even if you practice oral hygiene to a high degree. This is the reason it is so important to see a Central London dentist every six months for a check up. Catching tooth decay in its earliest stages is very important for preventing further damage. The timely treatment of tooth decay could save you from a lot of pain and also the potential costs of dental treatment in the future. A half-hour appointment every six months could save you a lot of unnecessary suffering and expense so make an appointment to see your dentist today.

It’s a little known fact but gum disease is responsible for more lost teeth than tooth decay, yet so little focus is put on keeping our gums clean when compared to our teeth. Both varieties of gum disease, the milder gingivitis and the more serious periodontitis, are caused by a build up of plaque on the gums, releasing acid and gradually causing an infection.

We’re all aware of plaque but few of us realise exactly what it is. It is made up of a collection of bacteria and food matter that clings to the teeth and gums like a film. Gradually releasing acid from the decaying food and bacteria, it breaks down tooth enamel causing cavities and eroding gum tissue exposing it to infection. Gum disease is very common in the UK with over three quarters of adults experiencing gum disease at some point.

Gingivitis is the mild form of the disease which can be treated with more effective cleaning and some minor treatment from the dentist. Improved brushing and most importantly flossing will usually sort it out, but if plaque is allowed to continue to attack the gums it may worsen, eventually becoming periodontitis which is much more difficult to treat. In serious cases, periodontitis needs to be treated with anti-biotics, surgical tissue removal and even hospitalisation. It also commonly results in tooth loss and the spread of infection. With the recent research indicating a link between gum disease and heart disease it is important to prevent gum disease reaching these proportions. City of London dentists are trained to treat all forms of gum disease but can also be integral in its prevention with regular check ups.

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.

Your London dentist can help you pick the best sugar substitute. The polyol class of sugar substitutes contain the smallest amount of acidity. These include xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol. Xylitol is a polyol that has the same sweet taste as sugar, but is not fermentable by the bacteria that causes dental caries, S mutans. When xylitol is used in chewing gums or certain foods, it does not have the same cavity causing activity as foods and gum that contain sugar. As a matter of fact, when young adults used 6-7 g of chewing gum that contained xylitol for 1 year, there was an eighty percent lowering of dental caries incidence when compared to the sugar gum chewing group. Therefore, xylitol containing products can gratify the desire for sweets, single out S mutans, and appreciably decrease the occurrence of dental caries. It is also known to have saliva-stimulating properties. If you have any questions about sugar substitutes, visit or call your London dentist to get answers.

• Start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as the first one comes out!
This accustoms your child to brushing and teaches him how valuable the method is to maintain healthy teeth.
• Start using fluoridated toothpaste only after the age of 2 to protect your toddler’s teeth unless your London dentist advises you to start earlier.
• Get an age specific pliable nylon toothbrush for toddlers to learn brushing easily. Parents have to teach their toddlers and preschooler’s to brush twice a day until they are about 5 years old. At the age of 5 children become capable of doing the process by them. Only use about pea-sized amounts of fluoridated tooth paste and make sure your child does not eat any of it. Although you can try flossing please do be careful with over active children.
• Check to see whether your locality has fluoridated drinking water. This is an enormous benefit as fluoridated water contains the right amount of fluoride to toughen teeth and delay cavities. Ask your dentist for fluoride tablets if required.
• Ask your pediatric dentist for help if your child is still sucking his thumb at the age of four or five. Prolonged thumb sucking can cause misaligned teeth or cavities.