Month: October 2024

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Child laughing with many teeth showing.

A lot of people think that the baby teeth are the ‘first go of it’ before the adult teeth come out. For this reason, they don’t worry so much about doing treatment on baby teeth. In fact, we should take extra care of your kids baby teeth for these reasons:

  1. Decay in deciduous teeth move very quickly through the teeth. It can infect the nerve and then go on to cause decay in the adult tooth sitting under the gum. Once decay infects an unerupted adult tooth, it is quite involved to fix.
  2. A higher risk of decay in deciduous teeth usually translates to a higher risk in decay in adult teeth. How well you take care of their baby teeth will affect their experience with decay as an adult. Give them the best start and they can continue on as they grow.
  3. Taking out baby teeth before it’s time for them to come out due to infection and abscesses can result in the space closing before the adult teeth are ready to come through. This needs careful monitoring, or a space maintainer to keep the space. If space has been lost from removing a baby tooth too early, orthodontic treatment will be needed to open up the space again.
  4. Children can find it hard to communicate pain. They may be living with discomfort without anyone knowing, resulting in poor nutrition and trouble concentrating at school.

 

Make sure your kids have the best start they can by bringing them in for regular check ups. Good dental habits start young, and dental problems caught early are easily fixed. It will allow your child to be their best self and thrive at home and school.

Some children in Australia have access to the Child Dental Benefits Scheme. The government allows $1,026 per child, over a two year period for basic dental services. We accept CDBS patients and can claim directly from Medicare, on your behalf. This means no out of pocket payments for you at the end of appointment! Easy!

 

BOOK YOUR CHILD IN FOR A MEET AND GREET

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Top and bottom teeth with the lips retracted and a black background.

This is the question on everybody’s mind! How can I prevent cavities? The easy answer is simple- brush and floss more, and stay away from sweet things.
But you can be the best brusher and flosser with the best diet in the world and still get lots of cavities, while someone who eats a packet of lollies a day may never get a hole in their lives.

These are some things to think about and see if we can improve in our day to day lives:

 

Oral hygiene

  • Brushing twice a day and flossing once a day is definitely the best and easiest thing you can do to prevent cavities.
  • Make sure your brush and floss clean every part of the tooth, including underneath the gums.
  • Use a soft bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
  • After brushing, spit out the toothpaste and don’t rinse with water afterwards.

 

Diet

  • Avoid eating sugary and acidic foods regularly.
  • If you do have soft drinks and juices, drink it with a straw.
  • Have dessert close to mealtimes, rather than waiting too long.
  • Avoid frequent snacking.
  • Avoid snacking before bedtime. Avoid putting children to bed with a bottle of milk.
  • Have a glass of water after sugary and acidic foods.

 

Smoking

  • Smoking and vaping creates an oral environment that lets bacteria thrive.
  • Cutting down on smoking and vaping will decrease your risk of bacteria, gum disease, and cancers.

 

Medications

  • Antidepressants, diuretics, high blood pressure medications, painkillers and several other types of medications can cause a dry mouth.
  • Drinking tap water frequently, smearing toothpaste on your teeth, and chewing sugar free mint gum can help with the dry mouth sensation.

 

Saliva quality

  • Saliva is important for washing acids and sugars off your teeth, and repairing your enamel.
  • Saliva can be of a poor quality and not cover your teeth effectively.
  • Drink enough water through the day to stay hydrated.

 

Your oral hygiene as a whole is more important than any singular one thing you can do. While there isn’t a one size fits all approach to minimising the number of holes you get, we can definitely tailor an approach for you.

 

BOOK ONLINE

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We get so many questions about how to clean your teeth and toothbrushes. Here are the ins and outs of toothbrushing, and a breakdown of the different types of toothbrushes:

Manual vs electric:

  • This can be personal preference.
  • Manual toothbrushes take more skill to use as you have to physically manoeuvre them around each surface.
  • Electric brushes do a lot of the work for you and can be helpful if you’re finding it hard to brush every surface of every tooth.
  • Electric brushes with a pressure sensor and timer can help avoid overbrushing.
  • Electric toothbrushes can help do more work if you have dexterity issues. For example if you have arthritis in your hands, or for young children.

Hard vs soft bristles:

  • Soft bristles are best for your teeth and gums.
  • Hard bristles can cause overbrushing and toothbrush abrasion lesions. These can become sensitive and need maintenance over time.

Shape of the toothbrush:

  • A brush with a smaller head is best.
  • Toothbrushes with larger heads make it harder to clean the corners of the mouth.

Other kinds of brushes:

  • Orthodontic brushes and interproximal brushes are good additions to your home routine.
  • These have smaller heads and different shapes to help get into hard to reach areas like between teeth and behind the lower front teeth.
  • Interproximal brushes can be used like toothpicks to go between the teeth.

How to keep my brush clean?

  • Change your toothbrush every 3-4 months.
  • Keep your toothbrush dry and away from the toilet. Use a toothbrush case if necessary.

Do you have more questions about toothbrushing?

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