As children, we are always taught that if we take good care of our teeth then they will last a lifetime. While it is true that the standard of dental care has dramatically increased since our grandparents were children, many dental problems are still very prevalent.

Judging by the levels of tooth decay and periodontal disease, we are forgetting the lessons of childhood and not taking proper care of our teeth. With the first pace of modern day life, it seems that proper brushing and flossing are becoming the victims of complacency. We might not think it is that important if we forget to floss every now and then, or if we miss a dental check up a couple of times but the importance of proper dental care can not be overstated.

Our mouths are the gateway to our body and what goes on in there can have a serious impact on our overall health. In recent years, studies have conclusively proved the link between periodontal disease and heart disease. Oral infections can cause the arteries to narrow greatly increasing the risk of a heart attack or a stroke. Likewise, poor dental hygiene has been linked to both osteoporosis and diabetes. And we haven’t even mentioned the painful and costly dental complications that can occur if you neglect your teeth. Ask anyone who has undergone a root canal treatment and they will certainly tell you to look after your teeth properly.

The lesson is to start brushing and flossing as dentists recommend and to make an appointment for a check up every six months with a London dentist, regardless if you think your teeth are fine. Dentists can spot and treat the first signs if infection and help to keep you and your teeth healthy.

As dental technology improves with the increased use of computer aided design and manufacture dentists are able to achieve more realistic and lifelike results. One aspect of dentistry that has significantly improved over recent years is the manufacture of dentures. In the past dentures have often been poorly made and fitted and at best only partially lifelike. Perhaps because of this, dentures always seemed to have a stigma attached and were often a source of great embarrassment for wearers. Fortunately this seems to be becoming a thing of the past, relegated to the dental dustbin.

Dentures are required when a patient has lost some or all the teeth in a dental arc. This could be due to periodontal disease or tooth decay, or even as the result of some kind of head trauma. Whatever the cause, tooth loss can be very embarrassing causing several psychological issues such as loss of confidence or self-esteem. But missing teeth affect more than just a patient’s emotional state. Missing teeth in a dental arc can cause remaining teeth to lean or slide into the space. This can cause disruption in bite which can be irritating and even be the cause of painful jaw disorders called TMJ.

Cosmetically, teeth act as supports for much of the facial tissue which will sag if not held in place by teeth. This sunken appearance makes patients look much older than they are and can become permanent if the teeth are not replaced soon after they are lost.

Dentures are artificial sets of teeth that, if fitted correctly should stay attached to the gums by suction alone. Often, if dentures are ill-fitting they can fall out causing embarrassment to the wearer. Many patients resort to wearing sticky and messy dental adhesive gels or strips for extra security. It is now possible to attach dentures using a series of mini implants secured to the jawbone. This provides the added security hat denture patients need without the mess.

It is important for denture wearers to keep up regular visits to the dentist as dentures can cause gum irritation and even erosion that can be very damaging. A London dentist will be able to offer further advice about the benefits and possibilities of dentures.

Gum disease (gingivitis) is widespread throughout the U.K. Gingivitis occurs when bacteria, their by- and end- products, and dental plaque, cause the gum tissues to become inflamed. Signs and symptoms of gingivitis include swelling, redness, pain, temperature, and bleeding and/or visible pus around the gums. Although gum disease is caused by local conditions, such as bacteria and plaque, it can be made worse or better by the body’s responses to the inflammation. If treated early enough, gingivitis can be reversed. If not treated in time or properly, gingivitis can progress to periodontal disease, which causes oral bone loss, tooth loosening and/or tooth loss. Periodontitis can also lead to abscesses and bad breath (i.e., halitosis).
Your London dentist can treat your gum diseases, however they will tell you that prevention if the key to good gum health. You should have regular checkups and professional cleanings. Your London dentist and dental hygienist will teach you how to brush and floss your teeth properly. You should brush your teeth twice daily for 2 minutes each time, and make sure that you floss your teeth at least once daily. If your gum disease is very severe, you may be referred to a gum specialist (periodontist). Tooth scaling and root planning can help with gum diseases, along with antibiotic treatment. Other times, gum surgery may need to be used to correct your gum problems.

Gum disease, or periodontal disease is not a pleasant incident! If you want to evade gum disease, or if you already have it and want to fight it, read this article.
Symptoms of Gum Disease
How do you identify if you have gum disease? Some of the symptoms you should try to find are stated here. Time and again you will observe inflammation of the gums and mouth – soreness, bleeding, and/or redness. One more regular symptom is bed breath (a.k.a. Halitosis), and / or a bad flavour in your mouth. Other signs of gum disease include shaky or loose teeth, receding gums, and spaces between the teeth and gums.
Root Of Gum Disease
What causes gum infection? Quite simply, gum disease is caused by bacteria growing in your mouth. These bacteria normally begin growing on particles of food left in your mouth. The infection then continues to grow, causing inflammation and breakdown of the gums and mouth.
Prevention Of Gum Disease
Gum disease can be barred by discouraging the augmentation of bacteria in the mouth. Good dental cleanliness goes a long way in avoiding bacteria augmentation in the mouth. Also useful is a healthy diet low in refined sugars and other foods that make ideal bacteria silage.
Treatment of Gum Disease
If you previously have Gum Disease, there are quite a few ways to cure it. The first and seemingly most common is a professional cleaning. A periodontist will clean your mouth to remove the plaque, etc that harbours the bacteria causing the disease. Medicines can also be used to treat gum infection. Recently, several natural treatments have been developed for gum disease as well.
Hopefully, the information in this article will have given you the information that you need to prevent and / or treat gum disease, also known as periodontal disease. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to get gum disease – it’s worth preventing, and prevention is simple when you follow the steps outlined in this article

Oral hygiene is very crucial to oral health maintenance. At your London Dental Clinic, the dental hygienist will teach you how to properly care for your teeth and gums. Good oral hygiene practices should begin at a very early age, and a dental hygienist will demonstrate proper teeth and gum brushing, and also flossing. Then they will watch you brush and floss, and aid you in making any changes in your brushing and flossing routines. Plaque is the sticky material on your teeth that needs to be removed every day, at least twice a day. You should have a set of goals for yourself that include keeping your mouth clean, odourless, and healthy. Proper oral hygiene will help to prevent cavities, gum problems, and periodontal disease. The dental hygienist will also review your diet and obtain a dental caries index, and make some suggestions about your diet and habits that you may need to look at. So, visit your London Dental Clinic to learn how to perform proper oral health.

Here are some pointers. Use a soft or medium bristled toothbrush. Hold your brush so that it is comfortable in your hand. Place a small amount of toothpaste on the brush, wet it, and place it against your teeth and gum at a 45 degree angle, and move it back and forth in a vibrating motion. Make sure that you brush all of your teeth on both the outsides and insides. The brush should be held in a vertical position to brush your front teeth on the insides. Then scrub the biting surfaces of your teeth, and floss your teeth (even behind your last teeth, as plaque also forms there). Brush for at least 2 minutes at a time and at least twice daily.

It is very embarrassing when your breath stinks, so your London dentist will give you advice about maintaining fresh breath. There are many things that you can do at home to keep your breath fresh and clean. These include, watching what you eat as some foods make your breath smell bad, and the poor breath doesn’t resolve itself until these foods are metabolised by your body and expired into the air. Use fluoride-based toothpaste when you brush, and you should brush for at least two minutes and also floss, twice daily. Try to avoid mouthwashes if your breadth begins to smell, as these can possibly make the situation even worse. Mouthwashes usually remove the bacteria in your mouth above your gum tissue, and you can get an overgrowth of sulphur-producing bacteria below your gums that smell even worse. If your mouth is dry, you can use sugarless candies or sugarless gum to stimulate your saliva to wash away bacteria.
You should visit your London dentist for regular checkups, even if you feel that nothing in your mouth requires attention. You may have a cavity or cavities that you do not notice yourself that can cause bad breath, or an infected tooth or teeth. You may also have gum and/or periodontal problems that you will not notice until they get very severe and cause you pain. This can cause bad breath. Also, lifestyle changes can help you to keep your breadth fresh and clean. If you smoke, consider quitting. Try to cut down on alcohol consumption as it has been shown to be associated with periodontal disease. If you are taking medications for medical problems, and your mouth is dry, visit your dentist and see what can be done. There are several things that they can do and/or prescribe for your problem. All in all, stay in good health, and the mouth is not separate from the rest of the body, so visit your London dentist regularly.

Dry mouth, also known as xerostomia, is a condition that is frequently encountered in London with the use of certain systemic medications, such as cyclic antidepressants. The major effects of xerostomia are increased oral diseases (particularly caries), speech dysfunction, and difficulty in chewing and swallowing, and altered or diminished taste acuity.
Individuals with xerostomia and pre-existing periodontal disease are also at increased risk for developing root surface caries. Root surface caries can occur when there is a loss of supporting bone around the necks of the teeth. The neck areas of the teeth are more prone to caries development because the tooth structure is much softer there when compared to the hardness of enamel. Therefore, root surface caries can progress much faster than enamel caries and can be more detrimental to the tooth’s health.
Nutritionally, individuals with mouth dryness have been shown to have significant deficiencies in fibre, potassium, vitamin B6, iron, calcium, and zinc. Treatments may include the use of salivary substitutes and stimulants, ongoing dental treatment (i.e., fillings) and prevention. Your physician may also be able to help by reviewing your medications and possibly eliminating or substituting drugs that have an anti-cholinergic effect. Mouth care products can help alleviate mouth dryness. Xytitol, which is contained in toothpastes and gums, has been shown to stimulate salivary flow. So, visit your London dentist to receive the proper advice and treatment when you develop mouth dryness!

Gum disease is as prevalent in London, as it in the U.S. Gum disease, or gingivitis, happens when bacteria and dental plaque create an inflammatory response in the gums that cannot be protected by the body’s personal immune reaction. Clinical symptoms of gum disease consist of localized redness, swelling, bleeding, heat and/or visible pus in the area of the mouth that is infected. Gum disease can be categorized into two different types: 1) gum disease that is influenced by local factors (e.g., bacteria and plaque), and 2) gum disease that is influenced by local factors, and modified by host influences. Gum disease is reversible if caught and treated soon enough. However, if left untreated, gum disease can progress to periodontal disease (i.e., periodontitis). Gum disease is classified as periodontal disease once there is loss of tooth attachment to the surrounding tissues, e.g., periodontal ligament, gums, and/or oral bone.
The bacteria that are responsible for causing gum disease and periodontal disease, are usually those that are classified as anaerobic (i.e., they do not like oxygen). These bacteria release an abundance of detrimental by-products, and these by-products cause an inflammatory reaction. Periodontitis can cause loss of periodontal tissue, formation of periodontal pocket(s), tooth loss, which can go unnoticed until its later stages when pain occurs due to abscesses, bleeding gums, and/or bad breath. Your diet can also be affected by gum disease, due to your inability to eat without pain.
There are several treatment options and combinations of treatments that can help to both prevent and treat gum disease. You should be brushing and flossing your teeth regularly to remove any bacteria and plaque on your teeth. You should also visit your dentist regularly in order to receive regular examinations that can identify gum disease, and to also receive regular teeth cleanings and teeth scaling as needed. If your dentist recognizes a severe gum problem, you will most likely be referred to a periodontist (i.e., a gum specialist). If your gum disease has progressed, further scaling and root planning may be required, along with the correct antibiotic regimen(s), and possibly gum and oral bone surgery. So, make sure you take care of your gums.

In London, the standard of care for the treatment of gingivitis and periodontal disease includes: 1) removal of bacteria (i.e., the source of inflammation) by mechanical cleaning; 2) providing and training patients to maintain optimal oral hygiene; 3) dietary evaluation and nutritional counseling and/or supplementation; 4) maintenance and optimization of host immune defenses; and 5) the use of the best available oral health care products.
Although patients with advanced periodontal disease can be effectively treated in London, it is certainly more desirable to take precautions early on, before the damage is done. Patient motivation and compliance are major obstacles to an effective preventive program, which can be dramatically improved when high risk patients are informed about their condition. Likewise, the dental professional needs to know when to proceed more aggressively with therapy, and which patients can benefit from considering future risk or benefits in making or not making this recommendation.
Significant periodontal research has provided evidence that chronic periodontitis is treatable. However, once periodontal tissue is lost, complete restoration of these tissues are limited, and are dependent upon the specific circumstances. The majority of periodontal treatments are aimed at arresting the progression of the disease in an attempt to prevent tooth loss; it has also been shown that the majority of individuals that have sought periodontal treatment significantly reduce their risk of tooth loss. However, there are those cases of periodontitis, even if adequately treated, still continue to progress and have poor prognoses. Why do some patients have excellent outcomes, while others do not? This answer may be found in the host response to the disease, as well as the individual’s nutritional status.

Many dental care products available in London contain various nutritional supplements; coenzyme Q 10 is one of these supplements. Historically, the benefits of coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ10) in oral health have been known for decades. Oxidative damage occurs in periodontal disease, and research has demonstrated possible therapeutic effects of anti-oxidants in treating and/or preventing periodontal disease are useful, with special attention on CoQ10. Clinically, topical application of CoQ10 to periodontal pockets was evaluated with and without professional cleaning below the gum tissue, and significant improvements were seen that included the reduction of gingivitis, bleeding on periodontal probing and gingival enzyme activity, only at the CoQ10 treated sites. Another clinical study demonstrated that topical application of CoQ10 was extraordinarily effective in reducing periodontal pocket depth, and that healing was so excellent after 5-7 days of treatment that diseased gingival sites were difficult to locate.
Additionally, a clinical study demonstrated that patients with periodontitis frequently have significant gingival and white blood cell CoQ10 deficiencies. This white blood cell CoQ10 deficiency indicated a systemic nutritional imbalance, and was not likely caused by neglected oral hygiene. A gingival deficiency of CoQ10 could predispose individuals to gingivitis and periodontitis, and periodontitis could even augment CoQ10 deficiency. Also, the beneficial effect of CoQ10 has also been reported in an individual case study, where three dentists separately and independently scored clinical improvements of five symptoms of gingivitis and periodontitis, with the initial benefits being observed only three weeks after the beginning CoQ10 treatment.
Although, significant clinical reports demonstrated beneficial effects with CoQ10 on periodontal disease, the mechanism of the role of CoQ10 in periodontal disease was not known until, from 1971 to 1974, when CoQ10 gum tissue deficiencies were observed in patients with periodontal disease when compared to patients without periodontal disease. Clinical results suggested that topical application of CoQ10 improves adult periodontitis not only as a sole treatment, but also in combination with traditional non-surgical periodontal therapy.