Welcome to the dental touch’s inaugural blog and thank you for taking the time to stop by. We welcome input from visitors to our site. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any dental topics you’d like to see discussed in more detail.
Firstly, let me introduce myself. I am a registered dental nurse. I qualified in the Royal Navy and have been in the profession for the last 26 years . I have seen many changes with regards to techniques and thinking within dentistry during this time. The most significant change is the shift from reactive dentistry (waiting until treatment is required before doing anything) to preventative dentistry ( educating patients with regards to the importance of gum health and good diet to prevent any issues in the first place!) In the last 10-15 years especially, never has the dental hygienist been more valuable with regards to providing education and practical support to patients enabling them to achieve and maintain optimum gum health, vital in the provision of a strong and lasting foundation for the teeth. You can have the healthiest gnashers in the world….but without healthy gums to hold them firm……you may as well clean them with melted chocolate!!! And this is where the shift has occurred.
Back in the day….it was all teeth, teeth, teeth…..but now it’s gums, gums, gums ☺Advertisers are running with this message too. The Corsydyl adverts are particularly hard hitting. You have the beautiful model who obviously takes a great deal of care of both her health and looks, but oops, she missed the boat with regards to flossing and paying attention to her oral hygiene, so when she smiles, she’s missing a front tooth; but not through decay as her other teeth are perfect but periodontal disease. But do not panic Mr. Mannering. The progress from noticing blood whilst brushing to wobbly teeth takes many years-it doesn’t happen overnight. But it WILL happen if left unchecked.
The key is addressing the issue in a timely manner and nipping it in the bud. Effective brushing of the visible gums will pay dividends. For sure, an oscillating electric tooth brush will totally nail this but this isn’t enough on its own in the war against gum disease. It HAS to be combined with cleaning in between the teeth to ensure an all round pincer movement on the bacteria producing plaque which is responsible for both gum disease and tooth decay. In the beginning, as with anything new, different and this additional cleaning regime is a faff. I speak from experience! However, after a week ( I promise), you will be a flossing ninja and singing its praises to anyone who will listen (other inter space cleaning products available!)
Be warned,the first few times you start reaching the parts you haven’t even thought about cleaning up until this point, will bleed. A LOT!! It won’t seem so at the time but this is a GOOD thing; it means you are reaching the areas and cleaning them effectively which would have been the source of a whole lot of trouble in the future if you had not decided to do so! KEEP GOING……DO NOT ease off at this point or you’ll be back to square one! In two to three days this bleeding will ease/stop. I repeat KEEP GOING….DO NOT ease off!!
Cleaning in between the teeth isn’t just for Christmas it is for life! You can miss a couple of days and the sky won’t fall in but it does really need to be done on a daily basis.
We can offer same-day appointments for dental hygienists and dental emergencies.