News about Tooth Decay
Promoting Gum Health Day for beautiful smiles.
Gum Health Day, and is promoted by the EFP (the European Federation of Periodontology). This year the slogan is “Gums rock! Keep them safe!” The aim of promoting treatment for gum health is to improve general health as well as helping us to keep a beautiful, natural smile. Gum disease is linked with some major…
Read more »Can hot weather hurt teeth? Summer survival tips.
Feeling the heat? Your dental health may not be your first concern. However, an extended spell of warm weather may have a negative impact on our teeth. Extreme weather is a warning we take seriously and we urge everyone to keep safe too. It’s easy to underestimate the impact a heatwave can have on our…
Read more »Too many sweet treats?
Sweet choices The sweet treats of Easter! Lots of sugar-laden ‘goodies’ ranging from beautifully wrapped eggs to seasonal shaped chocolates. Often lots of chocolates, many with sticky fillings. In the UK we love our festive chocolate! But we’re not alone. Many celebrations all around the world also include sweet delicacies of one kind or another….
Read more »My breath smells bad! What do I do?
Out and about, meeting, greeting, chatting or hoping to impress, we certainly don’t want the person we’re talking to feeling uncomfortable. Or, even worse, to turn away. So a question we need to ask ourselves before we step through our front door is, “Does my breath smell bad?” How do I know? The truth is…
Read more »We’d love to see your children soon!
Now children are back in school, our return to our old routines is making life feel a bit more normal again. At the dentist too, we’re striving to get back to our regular services. We understand that for children in particular, the routines of dental care are important. Although dental practices still have to observe…
Read more »My tooth aches. I’m in pain. What do I do?
Up until now it was easy to ignore that dull ache. But not anymore. Now your tooth aches so much you can’t think straight. In fact, now the whole of your head is screaming at you. Tooth pain is the worst. We can all ignore mild toothache. Even though we know it isn’t a good…
Read more »Decrease dental decay with 3 simple steps.
Published figures provide statistical evidence that the number of children needing extractions because of dental decay decreases each year. Which sounds like great news. But in actual fact, taken as a percentage of the population from 0-19 years old, apparently the last set of statistical records showed no change from the year before. Which is…
Read more »Free sugar in baby food is higher than we realise
The time when a baby starts to transition onto solid foods, is a time when we want to make sure baby is getting good nutrition, and establishing sound habits for the future. To help us make sure baby’s getting the best ingredients, we’re likely to turn to products specifically made for infants by established brands….
Read more »Are you ready? Tooth tips for bank holiday preparation.
Updated August 2019 Every bank holiday the roads are busy with people heading off for a long weekend. Here’s a few suggestions for bank holiday preparation that we hope will help your break run smoothly, and also keep your teeth and mouth in good shape. What do I need to take on a long car…
Read more »What’s the best drink for healthy teeth?
Feeling the summer heat? Need a little something to rehydrate? What is the best thing to drink for healthy teeth? Let’s look at what causes unhealthy teeth first. We’ve heard a lot about sugar in drinks, and the sugar tax. But it’s also important to think about the acid-alkaline balance in what we drink too….
Read more »It’s time to think about registering for your children’s oral health checks.
A worrying time for children’s oral health. At SpaDental Plymouth, we too are concerned about the education and health of pre-school children. In support of the NHS initiative for dentists to see an additional 70,000 pre-school children this year, we are reaching out to spread the news that we are accepting new NHS patient registrations…
Read more »Let’s talk about diabetes and oral health.
This week is a good time to talk about diabetes. Diabetes UK says: “Talking about diabetes can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be.” They invite you to share your stories, top tips, and offer support to other people living with a diagnosis of diabetes. More than ever. In England alone, according to figures…
Read more »Get full disclosure of gum disease dangers.
We’ve all heard about plaque, and know we don’t want it. Read on for full disclosure of gum disease dangers that threaten both our oral health and our general health. What are the recognised dangers of plaque build up? tooth decay periodontitis tooth loss heart disease diabetes stroke rheumatoid arthritis What is dental plaque? It’s…
Read more »Heavy metal generation teeth? Why not turn your restorations a whiter shade of pale?
Can you remember the spectrum from Black Sabbath through Deep Purple to Moody Blues? If so, chances are you’ll have some heavy metal too. Are you between 45 and 75? Then you probably still have most of your own teeth, but with work done on them. Not happy with your old restoration work? These days,…
Read more »What’s in an amalgam filling? Is it safe?
We’re often asked what’s in an amalgam filling and whether it’s safe. The short answer is that yes, amalgam fillings, sometimes called silver fillings, are considered safe. At the conference Hannah Parsonage and Jo Roberts attended recently in Shrewsbury, the future use of amalgam fillings was one of the topics covered. Here’s some information about…
Read more »How to preserve children’s teeth – top 3 tips.
Understanding the problem, and what we can do to preserve children’s teeth. The facts of the problem: Tooth decay is 95 % avoidable. 12% of 3 year olds have tooth decay. 25% of 5 year olds have tooth decay. Earlier symptoms of tooth decay in children are often untreated. Tooth decay is the most common…
Read more »Sugar habit? The UK sugar tax kicks in today
We need to kick our sugar habit because there are still too many children having bad teeth removed in our hospitals, and obesity is an increasing health problem. Junk food ads? A year on from the sugar tax – April 2019 The tax begins that will help us to curb our sugar intake. No longer…
Read more »Flouride in our water? Yes or no?
What is ‘fluoride’ and do we need fluoride in our water? When we talk about fluoride we are referring to the compound Sodium Fluoride (NaF), or another fluorine-containing salt. Sometimes fluoride in our water source occurs naturally. Some water boards add it. Fluoride is also a key ingredient in everyday tooth-care products, such as toothpaste….
Read more »In the light of shocking statistics about child tooth decay, what can we do?
Statistical evidence that excess sugar is destroying our children’s teeth is shocking. Tooth decay is 95% preventable. “Tooth decay is the number one reason for child hospital admissions” Mick Armstrong, chairman of the BDA This should not be the case. What is the government doing to fight tooth decay? The NHS allows children and young…
Read more »North/South divide shows in our babies’ teeth
A recent study by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry has revealed that children under the age of two years old in the North of England are more than twice as likely to be taken to see an NHS Dentist than infants in the South. Are our babies’ teeth at risk? Dental professionals are keen to ensure…
Read more »Sports drinks are ‘helping fuel an epidemic’ of tooth decay in children
High sugar, acidic sports drinks are increasingly popular with young people, adding risks to their dental and general health. Almost 90% of 12-14 year-olds are consuming sports drinks, with 68% of teens and pre-teens drinking them regularly, many of them for social reasons, a new survey by Cardiff University School of Dentistry has found. Children…
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