A beautiful smile showing clean, white teeth gives a tremendous boost to your confidence. Most people experience some discoloration of teeth over the years, either from surface or extrinsic stains or internal ones. Treat stains caused by coffee, wine, tobacco and pigmented foods with at-home whitening or have a professional, in-office whitening done regularly. For intrinsic discoloration, consider composite bonding or the application of veneers to the affected teeth, which provides a more permanent solution. If your teeth have a grey undertone, bleaching tends to be less successful.

Dental health varies from person to person, but we recommend adult patients visit a dentist once a year even if their mouth is in excellent condition. This enables you to get your teeth cleaned professionally on a regular basis and ensure that any potential problems are identified early. A visit to our oral hygienist should be more regular. Four monthly visits is an accepted norm, purely because it takes the gingiva (gum) three months to again form secondary cells. Children under 12 years of age should visit the dental office twice a year. Decay is far more rampant is children that in adults and can only be controlled if seen and treated in time.

t’s vital that all adults engage in daily brushing and flossing, but to take your oral hygiene to the next level, follow a handful of particular steps to good dental health. These include: Using products that contain fluoride. Limiting snacks that are high in sugar and carbo hydrates. Eating a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables. Avoiding tobacco in any form, because tobacco has two bad components. The temperature on the burning will cause keratin to form in the soft thin mucosal layers in the smokers mouth, and this is not the healthiest place to have keratin. Secondly, the “tar” will stick to small lines on the tooth in particular where the tooth joins the gum, and it will start an inflammatory response and then gingivitis (infection). Long term it will mean periodontal disease. All of this can be controlled my regular, yes regular oral hygienist cleaning and of course, stop smoking.

Your dentist takes a full set of dental X-rays early into the doctor-patient relationship. This helps to examine and record your mouth’s hidden areas for issues that need comparing against changes that occur between appointments. Most adult patients have bitewing X-rays every year and a full mouth series or panorex every four to five years. But those with a higher risk for dental caries problems may need them every six to 18 months.

The best way to ensure a healthy mouth is to follow a balanced diet and visit the dentist regularly – while maintaining your oral care routine twice a day. Conditions such as diabetes or HIV/AIDS can also affect your dental health, as well as medications and certain types of chemotherapy. Protect yourself against problems that can advance quickly by discussing these dental questions with your practitioner.

Patients with tooth sensitivity feel pain when they consume items that are hot or cold, sweet or acidic. This comes from thinned tooth enamel, which doesn’t protect the tooth pulp or dentin from exposure to extreme temperatures and chemicals. In some patients, this may be a result of: Receding gums and tooth grinding during sleep. Your dentist will examine the affected teeth and recommend treatment to reduce your sensitivity. Most of the time, we see sensitivity associated with grinding and the wrong application of a toothbrush. If your brush technique is wrong, it will cause gum damage.

Dental implants are the ideal way to replace missing or weakened teeth. Most adult patients are good candidates for implants because they can help to prevent the remaining teeth from moving .Implants are permanent and serve as a good alternative to fitting a bridge for anyone with an otherwise healthy mouth and jaw. Implant placement is a simple procedure, if your bone is favourable. Do not believe what is in the media about all the terrible results. We now move in an era where implant success is 95 %. The success of implants has a history of 30 years. In South Africa we have one of the best implant manufacturers in the world that go out of their way to achieve success, and I use their product for all our cases.

Cosmetic mouthwashes do not do a lot to stem bacterial growth is your mouth. If the mouthwash contains chlorhexidine, it is the best to use, but it will stain your teeth and tongue a bit. Any fluoride content in them, is a benefit. Therapeutic rinses can also assist in treating conditions such as gingivitis and inflammation caused by chemotherapy.

Studies show children can develop their first cavities by two years old, so we recommend booking the first visit once their first tooth erupts – or, at the latest, their first birthday. This helps your dentist catch potential problems that can affect the child’s overall health and well-being as more teeth erupt over time. This first visit is more to just get the young patient in our environment and NOT to start treatment.