Preservative Dentistry

Dental Hygiene

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Dental Hygiene: Scale & polishing teeth and teaching you how to keep them clean

Bad Breath: Discover Fresh Breath, Improve your social life with fresh breath

Periodontal Therapy: Treatment of swelling, soreness or infection of the gum tissues

Decay Detection: Detect early decay and prevent unnecessary discomfort

Mouth Cancer Screening: Smoking, drinking and unhealthy diets increases risks of mouth cancer. Early detection increases chances of survival.

 

Dental hygiene treatment includes professionally cleaning the teeth for the patient. This is usually called scaling and polishing. However, perhaps our most important role is showing the patient the best way to keep the teeth free of plaque. The dentist also plays an important role in treating gum disease .
 

Bad breath

Bad breath (also known as halitosis) is a very common problem. It is said to affect nearly 50% of the adult population. There are many different causes. Whether in the form of occasional 'morning breath', which nearly every otherwise healthy adult encounters, or rarer more serious problems, ranging from metabolic disorders to chest tumors.
In up to 90% of the cases the cause for bad breath lies in the mouth. It generally arises as a result of the bacterial decomposition of food particles, cells, blood and some chemical components of saliva. These bacteria are supposed to be there, because they assist humans in digestion. As proteins and other chemicals in these materials are broken down into simpler components, smelly gases are produced. Especially so called volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) resulting from the bacterial decomposition are responsible for the bad odours.

In addition, bad breath can be caused by the following:

Poor dental hygiene — infrequent or improper brushing and flossing can leave food particles to rot inside the mouth
Local infections in the mouth —gum disease
Respiratory tract infections — throat infections, sinus infections, lung infections
External agents — garlic, onions, coffee, cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco
Dry mouth (xerostomia) — this can be caused by salivary gland problems, medications or by "mouth breathing"
Systemic illnesses — diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, lung disease, sinus disease, reflux disease and others
Psychiatric illness — some people may perceive that they have bad breath, but it is not noticed by oral health care professionals or others. This is referred to as "pseudo halitosis”.

How to test for bad breath?

Since noses become accustomed to background odors, it ignores the smell of our own bad breath. This means it is quite possible for a person to have bad breath, yet not be aware of it. If you think you might have bad breath, there is a simple test that you can do. Simply lick the inside of your wrist and sniff – if the smell is bad, you can be pretty sure that your breath is too. This is a simple but also inaccurate method of testing your breath. More accurately tests can detect the smelly molecules themselves and additionally quantify them.

Treatment

As there are many different causes for bad breath there are as many different possibilities to treat bead breath. Usually mouthwashes are often ineffective; they just cover the smell and contain certain substances that can even make the situation worse. That is why the cause of the bad breath needs to be found out at first. This might also involve diagnostic tests to make sure no Systemic conditions are involved.
Once the cause of the bad breath is found a therapy for the individual needs can be set up. That can involve improvement of the oral hygiene such as special mouthwashes hygiene sessions and tongue scraping, removal of all possible retreats for the bacteria, clearing of possible infections, elimination of external agents that cause bad breath.

Our bad breath clinic

Especially the volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) resulting from the bacterial decomposition is responsible for the odours which halitosis patients (or the people around them) experience. In our bad breath clinic we perform a test that detects those smelly molecules and helps to target the individual needs of our patients. A tailored treatment plan is then set up that targets the causes according to the findings in each individual case. And the situation is reviewed after some time.

 

Periodontal Therapy (Gum disease)

Long-standing gingivitis can turn into periodontal disease. There are a number of types of periodontal disease and they all affect the tissues supporting the teeth. As the disease gets worse the bone anchoring the teeth in the jaw is lost, making the teeth loose. If this is not treated, the teeth may eventually fall out.

 

How do we treat?

Initial consultation, including detailed history, clinical and radiographic examination, photographs, diagnosis, treatment plan and report to dentist and patient with estimate of treatment costs.

Instruction in appropriate oral hygiene techniques and reinforcement at subsequent visits, supra- and subgingival debridement (i.e. cleaning above and below the gum line) under local anaesthesia as required for patient comfort. The adjunctive use of antimicrobials may be indicated in selected cases.
The aim of this initial phase of therapy is to control the infection and arrest progression of the disease. Compliance in terms of optimal self-performed plaque control is essential for a favourable outcome.

 

Reassesment

Re-examination of the periodontal tissues to assess the outcome of the initial course of therapy and determine appropriate subsequent treatment steps.
In cases that are not too severe and/or have responded well to the non-surgical therapy, maintenance may be all that is required. In more severe cases and depending on the outcome of the non-surgical treatment, surgery may be indicated.

 

Surgical Periodontal Treatment

Periodontal surgical therapy may be indicated in deep sites in order to achieve thorough subgingival debridement. This is the corrective phase of therapy, where pocket elimination surgery is often indicated to prevent disease recurrence, and disease-induced anatomical defects can be corrected to facilitate improved plaque control. In selected cases, regenerative surgery will restore part of the tissues that have been lost in the disease process.

Oral hygiene reinforcement and full-mouth debridement at regular 3-6 month intervals, depending on the severity of the disease and standard of self-performed plaque control, are imperative measures in order to maintain the periodontal tissues in a healthy state. Local delivery of antimicrobials may be indicated in selected cases.

 

Decay Detection

Decay may or may not cause discomfort; even though it doesn’t hurt, the tooth is deteriorating.
Using higher magnification and powerful lighting, it is easier to detect decay at an early stage to prevent excessive tooth damage. When cavities are small, they are much easier and less expensive to treat.
Early tooth decay does not tend to show many physical signs. Sometimes the tooth looks healthy, but your dentist will be able to see from an x-ray whether you have any decay under the enamel, any possible infections in the roots, or any bone loss around the tooth.

 

Mouth Cancer

Mouth cancer is a malignant growth which can occur in any part of the mouth, including the tongue, lips and throat. Mouth cancers have a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma. The mortality rate is just over 50%, despite treatment, with about 1,700 deaths per year in the UK. This is because of late detection. Visit your dentist at once if you notice any abnormal problems or are not sure. Regular dental checkups allow early detection of abnormalities in the mouth.

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