Hygiene

Healthy gums do not bleed.

Bleeding gums (gingivitis) would suggests you might be missing certain areas when you are brushing. This allows plaque to build up on teeth and for the gums to swell and bleed. It can be a sign of gum disease.

We would encourage you to brush twice a day with a soft brush and fluoride toothpaste and use interdental brushes to keep the space between your teeth clean.

Regular visits to the hygienist would help improve your cleaning and allow for the health of your gums to improve.

What at the signs of gum disease?

• Bleeding gums when brushing or even whilst eating
• Red, swollen gums
• Bad breath
• Spaces appearing between teeth
• Loose teeth
• Receding gums

It is what you do at home every day of the year which will have the biggest impact on the health of your gums. Brushing twice a day using fluoride toothpaste and using interdental cleaning brushes are two of the simplest and most effective methods of improving your gum health. If you smoke, we would encourage you to stop smoking to improve the health of your gums (and general health).

In areas that your brushes can’t reach, you are likely to have bleeding and a build up of hardened plaque, called tartar or calculus. We treat it by thoroughly scaling those areas for you. This can involve getting the areas numb to make the process more comfortable for you. This will allow you to manage better at home.

If your gum disease is advanced, you would benefit by seeing the hygienist regularly, every 3 months.

Gum disease can cause the gums to shrink (recede). The makes the necks of the teeth look yellow, become sensitive and give the appearace of gaps between teeth (black traingles).

If your gums are shrinking, it would suggest you have gum disease. We would suggest that you arrange an appointment with us.

Sometimes we can improve the appearance of shrinking gums by covering them with a graft.

It can be a tell-tale sign of gum disease. It can also be caused by infection, food trapping around teeth or cavities in your teeth.

Regular visits to the hygienist would remove tartar, help keep your gums healthy and help you maintain fresh breath throughout the day.

We would encourage you to use mouthwash in the middle of the day to help keep your breath fresh.

Staining is caused by tea, coffee, wine, what we eat and smoking. It can be removed with our gentle air polish.

At Oakhill Dental Practice we use the very latest technology to clean your teeth, offering deeper levels of cleaning and stain removal. Your dentist and hygienist will be able to advise you on this.

Having an airpolish with our hygienist is a great way of boosting your smile and make you look and feel fabulous!

Plaque is soft and accumulates on teeth during the day. It is made up from food debris, millions of microorganisms and saliva proteins. It can easily be cleaned daily with a toothbrush and interdental cleaning. If it isn’t cleaned, it can cause the gums to swell and bleed.

Tartar, or calculus, is plaque that isn’t brushed off teeth and becomes hard and ‘calcifies’ on your teeth. It is not always harmful, but does require a scale to have it removed.

If plaque and tartar continue to progress under the gum, it can lead to gum disease. Through proper cleaning at home and regular visits to the dentist and hygienist, you will be able to help prevent this from occurring.