Dr David Nolte takes a look at some common oral health issues.

As dentists, we not only see problems with the teeth, such as decay or breakages, but also with the rest of your mouth, as we examine you. This offers an excellent opportunity to monitor your overall oral health and offer advice where any problems are noted.

Whilst there are some potentially very serious oral health issues that can be detected in this way, there are also others which may still need to be treated, albeit less serious.

Even non serious conditions in the mouth can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. They can also make everyday tasks such as eating, very difficult and often uncomfortable. They may even cause us to stop brushing our teeth completely if the discomfort is too significant and as our Bedford patients will know from our previous blogs, this could be a recipe for disaster!

In today’s blog, we take a look at some of the other more common oral health problems that we come across from time to time at The Dental Centre Bedford.

Tooth decay

Yes, tooth decay, or dental caries, is actually caused by bacterial infection. As the bacteria multiply, often due to poor oral care, they produce acidic bi-products which then start to damage the tooth, leading to cavities which will need to be cleaned and filled. For anyone interested, the bacteria which is a main contributor to this problem, is called Streptococcus mutans.

Gingivitis

We have touched on this a few times before, but essentially, gingivitis is the earlier stage of gum disease. It is caused by a number of different bacteria which, when not removed, accumulate in the hard to reach spots in the mouth, such as just below the gum line. They then produce substances which cause the gums to become inflamed and sore. There is an ever growing school of thought that some of these bacteria can enter the bloodstream and may contribute towards other illnesses, not just problems in the mouth.

Periodontitis

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‘Street drugs’ are known to cause many health issues, but did you know that they can also be harmful to your teeth and gums?

Firstly, we want to say that, as oral health professionals, we certainly do not condone illegal drug use!

Even some regulated medical drugs can have a negative effect on your teeth and gums, but those that are unregulated and can be variable in potency, are particularly dangerous for both your general health and your oral health.

A study, carried out earlier this year showed, amongst other things, that around 8.5% of adults between the ages of 16-59 in England and Wales had taken an illegal drug within the last year. Whilst this figure may include a number who do so very irregularly or maybe even just the once, it does indicate a higher number of drug users than many of us may like to believe. There are, of course, a number of arguments as to the best approach to take to reduce this usage, but in the meantime, health professionals and users families have to deal with the consequences.

We obviously encourage our Bedford patients not to risk their teeth and gums by using illegal substances and to help indicate the serious health risks involved, below we take a look at some of the risks of some of the more common substances.

Cannabis (Marijuana)

Perhaps one of the most widely used illegal drugs in the UK. It is sometimes considered to be non addictive and relatively harmless by some users. Although not strictly ‘addictive’, dependency is common and long term heavy usage has been widely linked to psychosis issues. From an oral health angle, cannabis is usually smoked, often combined with tobacco. This will often lead to a very dry mouth, with the associated heightened risk of gum disease. Studies have indicated that heavy cannabis smokers are around 60% more likely to have gum disease than those who don’t.

Cocaine

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Fundamental oral care guidance from your local Bedford dentist.

Given a choice, no doubt we would all like to have nice looking teeth.

Hopefully our parents gave us a good start and we arrived in adult life with healthy teeth; but even if not, then it’s not too late to correct this, as we will see later.

By and large, how we look after our teeth on a daily basis will help to determine how nice and attractive, or otherwise, they are. In today’s blog, we take a look at how what we do day-to-day, contributes to maintaining our oral health and smile.

Keep them clean!

The most essential thing that you can do for your smile is to make sure that both your teeth and gums are healthy. This can only be done through a combination of a tooth friendly diet, regular brushing and flossing, along with ongoing monitoring during check ups at our Bedford dental practice. This everyday groundwork will lay the foundation for you to have healthy and attractive teeth over the longer term.

Remember too, that decay often starts in the most hard to reach areas. Make sure to take time to brush those areas well. Dental floss should always be used between the teeth, an area that is often affected by tooth decay. Although we do offer almost invisible tooth coloured fillings, it is far better to avoid the need for them in the first instance!

Don’t smoke

If you want to have teeth that stay naturally white for as long as possible, then don’t smoke and guidance to help quit starts here at the NHS website. If you have previously been a smoker, there are ways to rectify that which we will discuss later. Smoking is bad for your teeth in so many different ways, as well as for your general health; for example, not only does it increase the risk of gum disease but will heavily stain your teeth too. Our teeth are not as smooth on the surface as you may think, and tar and other staining substances in tobacco smoke will soon find their way into the tiny spaces on our teeth surface, leaving a discolouration that is very difficult to remove.

Reduce staining food and drinks

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Dental surgeon, Sarah Nackasha offers some advice for those wavering.

Although there are probably some smokers who will never stop unless absolutely forced to do so, the majority of people who smoke would probably prefer to quit if they could. A combination of health awareness, rising costs and a lack of places to smoke in public (1) means that some of the ‘pleasures’ associated with smoking cigarettes have largely been taken away.

As some of our Bedford patients will be aware, we will soon be coming up to ‘Stoptober’ a month of public health information, provided by Public Health England, which is designed to help and encourage people to stop smoking. For today’s blog, we thought that we would offer our own contribution to this debate a little earlier than usual. Here are some of the main reasons that the team at The Dental Centre Bedford came up with when we asked them why they thought people should ‘stub it out’.

Money and health

If you can’t convince people that smoking isn’t good for them, the dramatic rise in the cost of cigarettes over the past few years should go some way to correcting this. If you smoke even 10 cigarettes each day, at an approximate price of say £10 for 20 (and that is cheaper than many!); over the course of a year, you would have spent £1,825.00. We are pretty sure it’s easy enough to think of lots of things where that sort of money would be better spent!

Health is an issue that we perhaps close our eyes to when it isn’t affecting us directly. Anyone who knows someone who suffers from a smoking related disease though, is very likely to make more effort to stop. Don’t wait until it affects you or someone else; help to avoid health issues all round by stopping smoking.

The ageing process

You can often tell a long term smoker by their complexion as many smokers generally have dry and old looking skin. Smoking dehydrates the skin and, over time, it will lose its elasticity at a faster rate than a non smoker, leaving you looking older than your years.

Oral health issues

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Dr Sarah Nackasha says get a custom built mouth guard and look after your teeth!

The World Cup may not have gone exactly how we wanted it to in the end, but it didn’t stop many people getting inspired by the ‘beautiful game’ and lots of enjoyment was had.

The weather has also brought many of us out of our homes, into the fresh air to enjoy healthy outdoor exercise like football, rugby, rounders and tennis.

These types of activities are fantastic for cardiovascular health and for mental well-being, and should only be encouraged for all age groups. However, they do have a hidden risk that you may not be aware of. All sports, but especially contact sports or sports using balls carry a risk of dental injury. This is where the teeth or gums (or both) along with the soft tissues in the mouth are damaged during sport. These injuries can be as minor as a bruise or small cut, or as extensive as a broken jaw, teeth knocked out and deep soft tissue damage.

The risk of injury is certainly minor in comparison to the huge benefits of regular exercise. However, there are things you can do to minimise the risk for yourself when you play sports, so that you don’t have to endure the pain, costs and inconvenience of a dental injury.

Keep Your Teeth Healthy

Weaker teeth will be damaged much more easily than strong, healthy teeth. If you have teeth which are already wobbly or damaged by decay, they are much likely to be damaged or come out during a moment of impact than if they are completely healthy. Eating and drinking a healthy diet, avoiding smoking and excessive drinking, maintaining an excellent oral health regime, and visiting your Bedford dentist regularly will help to ensure your teeth are as healthy as possible.

Avoid Sugary Sports Drinks

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