Also referred to as dental cavity or dental caries, teeth decay is a serious problem that can affect people of all ages. Sugar left over on your teeth from the foods and drinks you consume throughout the day serve as food for harmful bacteria that wear away and break down the hard surfaces of your teeth. This process is known as demineralization and leads to teeth decay amongst other dental problems. The earliest stages of teeth decay is easily treatable and can often be reversed by fluoride therapy administered by your dentist in Central London. You may need a filling if your teeth decay has resulted in a visible cavity or pit in your teeth. In the most severe cases, you may need an extraction of your teeth to prevent the spread of infection. Depending on the severity of your teeth decay, your dentist may recommend fillings, crowns, or a root canal as other means of treatment. The best way to fight teeth decay is to take preventative measures by practicing good oral hygiene at home and visiting the dentist regularly. You should be brushing and flossing your teeth at least twice a day at home, every day, and visiting the dentist at least twice a year for clean ups and check ups. If you have any further concerns regarding tooth decay, your dentist is here to help.

Tooth decay- that old enemy we are trying to avoid over and over again in central London; yes the products are on the market and if we work hard at learning to look after our teeth, we will all benefit in the end. However, life just refuses to be that simple and it only takes a few hours of misjudgment and your into a possible nose-dive of plaque developing. Now your good old friend the dentist can counter all the things that you may have missed at home and if there is any indication of a cavity forming, they can solve the problem by filling your tooth- that is of course, if you stick to your appointments. Miss a couple though and a cavity can lead to tooth decay, threaten the longevity of your teeth and set off gum disease in the process. There is only one answer to serious tooth decay and that’s by your dentist administering a root canal- this is ugly reading. It involves clearing the tooth of rotten pulp, drilling out the roots, then filling the tooth again and topping it with a crown. Modern processes and new laser treatments have removed the pain and difficulty of such problems and made solving tooth decay a lot easier. However, oral hygiene and help from your dentist and you should be able to avoid it in the first place.

One of the greatest things in life is to have a baby, so it’s been told: it’s a golden moment for sure in central London. But after all the euphoria has died down and this beautiful little thing starts to grow, then the real things start to kick in- such as looking after the health of your child and looking after their teeth too. This is a very delicate time as the child has to be nursed through an ocean of icebergs. It’s very easy to give a baby a bottle as opposed to breast feeding but this complacency can cause difficulties to the way the your child’s teeth develop. A baby likes to suck on most things and it helps them through teething, but if a bottle is left in the mouth constantly, you better be sure that the nutrients are going to be safe for your kid and their gums. Constant sucking can be detrimental to the way the gums develop and whatever is in the bottle can also lead to the start of tooth decay in your child and cause problems with their teeth as they get older. Delicate times call for proper measures to be installed and the best way of all is to talk to a pediatrician to ensure that you are not making any mistakes and ensure that you are doing the best you can for your child.

Tooth decay in central London is the direct result of poor oral hygiene. In the average diet, the foods will consist of carbohydrates and sugar at some point but it’s vital that they are removed from the surface of the tooth, otherwise, the bacteria and acids that emanate from such foods will start to attack the surface of the tooth and then eat into the tooth itself, causing decay- the teeth are at even further risk if saliva levels in the mouth are low (usually caused by medication, stress and/or diet), as this acts as a natural deterrent to bacteria. Good oral hygiene and regular dental excursions will be enough to thwart tooth decay, mess this up however and the first time you realize decay has set in is when you have a tooth ache- this may be remedied with a filling but if it’s bad, you will require root canal treatment. Any further ignorance towards the problem and the tooth will fall out altogether. Of course the side effects of this can lead to gum disease and then you are in a world of hurt that will take some pretty expensive and extensive treatment to put right if you don’t want to end up wearing dentures.

One of the main goals of oral hygiene in central London is to ensure that bacteria is not allowed to develop into plaque and tartar around the teeth, for if it does, it can start to infect the gums and lead to tooth decay and loss. Even more serious, if gum disease sets in, it will release toxins into the blood stream that in the long run, can lead to the breaking down of the vital organs throughout the body. So, back to basics: it all starts with the right tooth brush and how to use it to ensure that food doesn’t get stuck around the teeth and gums; a good toothpaste is also essential in counteracting the build up of plaque and for keeping the teeth’s enamel in shape. The use of dental floss and inter-dental brushes are also very good for removing food from the teeth and gums, as is the back-up of mouthwashes. What is very good for the gums and helps enhance the blood flow through them are herbal products such as aloe vera, Echinacea and particularly tea tree oil- especially if you soak the floss in the oil before use. But of course, in this equation in gum care is the greatest back-up of all- your dentist. They can check your gums, clean the teeth and throw any advice at you that you need to keep your gums healthy. As a footnote, healthy gums are borne out of a healthy body and this comes down to lifestyle and diet as well.

The modern world tries to find answers to all questions when it comes to looking after our teeth. For every little problem that arises in the mouth, there is a product designed to help you fight it. Toothpastes, brushes and mouthwashes are designed to keep at bay the biggest peril in the mouth- the build up of plaque. Keeping plaque from the mouth will prevent even bigger problems from arising, such as gum disease and tooth decay. But, the city of London is a very seductive, enticing and fast paced place to live, that offers us all the temptations that can harm all our best laid plans to keep our mouths healthy. For example, it only takes 20 minutes for bacteria to breed amongst the teeth if food is not removed properly; lest we forget, most of us will suffer from some form of tooth decay at some point in our lives, which is where the dentist comes in. Early signs of tooth decay can be picked up with an x-ray and a routine filling can solve the problem. Dental sealants over the surface of the teeth can also help to protect the teeth’s enamel from acids and bacteria; scaling and polishing can help remove plaque and tartar. But avoiding a check-up with your dentist allows time for the decay to infect deep inside the tooth and spread into the root. Then, you will need root canal treatment to save the tooth.

With a diligent routine of home care for your mouth, dental decay should not be something that will need to concern you in your life. But sometimes your standards can slip because of a difficult personal time, or general health issues. Dental decay then becomes something that has to be dealt with by a trained, dental professional. Over many years they have built up an arsenal of techniques to restore teeth to health and functionality that have begun to decay.

Tooth can start to decay if they are subjected to too much plaque over a prolonged period of time. The hard, outer layer of your teeth – this is called enamel – is usually very resilient but cannot withstand too much acidic plaque. Once the enamel is worn away or a small hole is created, the inside of the tooth is exposed and decay can start to foment.

Once holes appear in the enamel they must be filled. In their small form they are called caries and if slightly larger they are known as cavities. They can be rather painful because once the enamel is compromised the nerves inside your teeth are exposed to hot and cold food and drink even breathing in cold air on a chilly day.

Your dentist can fill them in using cosmetic bonding. This is a development from the days of metal fillings. Cosmetic bonding utilises malleable, tooth coloured dental composite that is much easier to work with and produces and much more aesthetically pleasing finish. If you think that dental decay is starting to take hold in your mouth, don’t hesitate in going to see your Central London dentist. It will not just stop of its own accord; it needs to be dealt with.

During the years in which we grow to the age of 17, around three quarters of us in central London will have succumbed to some form of tooth decay. This is because cleaning children’s teeth from an early age is rather a precarious operation. As much as we try to choose for our children the right toothpaste, brushes and bring them up on a sensible diet, it’s still a very vulnerable and sensitive period for teeth. This is why there has been an explosion in the use of dental sealants for children’s teeth. The most dangerous periods for a child are when teeth start to erupt through the gums and up into the mouth. This leaves the gums sore and prone to infection. Covering the teeth with a light plastic sealant prevents any bacteria forming on the surface of the teeth as the gums are very delicate and often too sore to brush properly. Whilst talking about brushing, during the years in which we grow, it can take a while for us to conceive the idea of brushing correctly (some adults still haven’t!), so having a dental sealant is an excellent back up to help keep the teeth safe from plaque and cavities.

Children in central London are like a blank canvas for about the first 6 years of their life. It takes time for them to evolve and come to life as they start to learn things. So up until they start to understand and learn how to do things for themselves, the onus is on you, the parent, to nurture them and look after them, until you can start to cut them some slack. This is very important when it comes to their teeth, so you should always get up to speed on how to be ready for delicate times such as teething and when the child’s secondary start to come through. The important thing to protect their teeth from is decay, which children are very vulnerable to. Consulting with a pediatric dentist is paramount during this period in order to get the health of your child’s teeth right. Choosing the right foods and drinks is a key factor here, trying to avoid sugary and starchy substances if you can. Early on, it’s down to you to clean their teeth in the early years to avoid tooth decay, but as they grow older, you have to find toothpastes that are suitable for them and then teach them how to clean their teeth properly. Again, if you have any doubts, you should always seek qualified help from your pediatrician or your dentist.

Tooth decay is caused by a number of factors- from poor diet that you practise on a day to day basis, to a build up of poor nutrition that has been handed down over generations. But, in today’s terms, poor oral hygiene is a major player; it’s important to keep the mouth, and its teeth and gums, free from the bacteria that come from the foods we eat, for in the long run, it leads to plaque, a build up of tartar and gum disease. Inevitably, these factors attack the enamel of the teeth and cavities form- causing tooth decay, and this can spread very quickly throughout the mouth. A dentist can spot this early on, if you have regular check-ups and can remedy the problem with a filling. But all it takes is to miss an appointment, and then the problem can become more serious. If tooth decay is not caught early on, it may take a root canal treatment to save the tooth followed by the fitting of a crown; at worse, the tooth may have to be ‘pulled’. Remarkably however, there have been cases of reversing the early signs of tooth decay, without dental treatment, that have been achieved at home through herbal remedies, extraordinary diets, and good oral hygiene. The internet has become a great source of information and it’s easy to source information about tooth decay and how to fight it. Remember, dentists and all the techniques at their disposal, will always be there to fall back on, if after everything you’ve tried, comes to nothing.