Tag: shrewsbury dentist

Looking after your teeth!

It’s often assumed that dentists, especially with my TV role as the Embarrassing Bodies Dentist, are most interested in large, complex treatments. Actually, preventing problems and keeping your mouth healthy is what general dentistry is all about and a large role in this is played by YOU!

Here some top tips on how to look after your teeth!

1. Brush!

Brushing sounds easy, but too many of us do it wrong. Teeth should be brushed with a small, circular action. Try and brush in an ordered sequence and it’s best to start with the inside of the teeth. Take one tooth at a time and angle the head of the toothbrush 45 degrees to make sure that you don’t miss anywhere. Make sure that you brush right up to where your teeth meet your gums, as this is where a lot of plaque builds up.

Electric toothbrushes are a great way of making your job easier, as they do the some of these actions for you, meaning that you can concentrate on covering each and every tooth.

Make sure you brush for 2 minutes. Divide your mouth into quarters and spend 30 seconds in each quarter.

2. Floss!

Flossing can help to prevent the beginnings of decay and gingivitis by removing debris from the mouth. You need to use about 30cm of floss, winding the excess around your middle fingers to ensure it stays taut. You can place it over your first fingers when reaching your back teeth, and your first finger and thumb when doing the front.

Ease the floss between your teeth and gently “scrape” the floss up and down along each tooth. Make sure that you “curve” the floss around each tooth and go below the gum line to reach all trapped debris. Ideally, floss every day.

3. Watch your diet!

Sugary snacks or drinks are the main cause of dental decay.

Each time you eat sugar, you are feeding the bacteria in your mouth. The bacteria’s waste products contain an acid and it’s this acid that attacks your tooth enamel, causing dental decay.

I’m not suggesting that you cut out all nice things BUT you should try to eat sugary treats at mealtimes rather than constant “grazing” during the day. This way you reduce the amount of time your teeth are under attack.

Chewing sugar-free gum after your meal or after any sugary foods does help. This is because chewing produces saliva which helps to neutralise the acid produced by the bacteria.

4. Visit the dentist!

Make sure you register with a dentist and go for regular check-ups. This helps us to catch any problems early, when treatment is likely to be more simple.

How often you should attend for check-ups varies from person to person. It depends on a range of factors such as age, medical conditions, diet and current / historical health of your teeth and gums. For adults, this can range between three months and two years.

I hope this helps!

James

February 2013 – Inman Aligner

Learning how to use the Inman Aligner for cosmetic orthodontics was one of the most significant moments in my dental training. It’s not just about the appliance itself but more about the philosophy of Progressive Smile Design.

Progressive Smile Design is all about allowing my patients to fully visualise each options available to them before moving onto other, more complex stages. This allows then to stop treatment when they are happy with the way their teeth look, giving them the control and allowing me to be less prescriptive. The great news for patients is that they often need less treatment, at less cost than they expected. The great news for me as a dentist is that I can be less invasive than ever before.

My smile of the month is a classic example of this.

My patient came in wanting to address her protruding upper lateral incisor teeth. She was open to all options but assumed that veneers were going to be the best option for both final aesthetics and also speed.

Luckily we could avoid veneers as, in her case, they would have been very invasive. I used an Inman Aligner and the case was complete in only 6 weeks!

She could have taken this further with some simple whitening or even bonding BUT she was happy just like this! That’s the magic of Progressive Smile Design – visualising your options.

Less expense, less time, happier patient!

Inman Aligner Shropshire — **Inman Aligner – Before**

One of my favourite cases as the Embarrassing Bodies Dentist

This was from the very first series that dentistry was featured in the Embarrassing Bodies program.

The case featured Lynn – a really lovely girl who’d had a seriously tough time with her teeth. Although self inflicted, she was desperate to change her ways and get her dental health back on track.

Her problem: Extreme tooth decay resulting in missing and broken teeth.

The solution: Dental implants.

Years of poor oral hygiene, excessive fizzy drink consumption and smoking had played havoc with Lynn’s teeth and gums. In fact, many of her teeth had been reduced to stumps by decay resulting from up to 12 acidic drinks a day.

Lynn was upset and embarrassed by the condition of her teeth, she no longer wanted to go to the shops, drop her children at school or socialise with friends – all because she did not want to smile. The situation was starting to give her physiological problems and needed urgent attention; luckily the TV show came at exactly the right time.

The solution I provided Lynn was for her upper teeth to be replaced by implants using a treatment called All-on-4. This procedure used specially angled implants allowing only 4 implants to support a whole new set of upper teeth. Even better is that, in some cases, the teeth are removed, implants placed AND the new teeth fitted ALL IN ONE DAY!! Lynn left with her smile restored and confidence back to an all time high.

As you can see in the video, Lynn feels like a new person and this was some of the most rewarding dentistry I have done for years! It was a great introduction to what was expected from my role as the Embarrassing Bodies Dentist!

– James

Update on the new series of Embarrassing Bodies

I’m really excited about the new series of Embarrassing Bodies. Previous shows have had great reviews but I think that the new series will be better yet.

It’s also the first series that has been filmed at my new clinic in Shropshire.

I can’t give too much away but here is some info on what will be coming up!

Case 1 – This case made me so pleased that I was asked to be the Embarrassing Bodies Dentist. Her teeth were badly stained due to an enamel defect caused by a childhood illness. There are a number of options for this condition:

Tooth Whitening: sometimes minor staining can be disguised by simple whitening, if this is not effective then micro-abraision can be successful.
Micro-abraision: this is essentially an acidic pumice that safely removes the stained layer of enamel. It’s usually used in combination with whitening.
Bonding: dental bonding involves the artistic use of white filling materials to mask the stained areas. Sometimes it can be simply placed over the discolouration but when this is too dark some tooth reduction is often required.
Veneers: veneers are this porcelain facings that have a wide range of use in cosmetic dentistry. The latest materials are stronger and more aesthetic than ever before.

Keep an eye out for the new series airing soon – I’ll be able to post up details of what we actually did and images of the before and after situation, once it’s been on Channel 4!

Case 2 – This chap really needed to see me as the Embarrassing Bodies Dentist! Refreshingly honest, he was very open about neglecting teeth and I could tell immediately that he would change his ways once the damage was repaired.

The wrong diet, coupled with a lack of oral hygiene at home and infrequent dental visits can quickly lead to decay. Caught early, this can be treated with a simple filling. When the decay is more extensive on back teeth then an inlay or crown may be needed. Extensive decay on front teeth may result in a veneer or crown being indicated.

When teeth are very decayed and broken down, the cores of the teeth may need to be re-built using a white filling material and then crowns used to provide the final strength and aesthetics.

It was a great result for a deserving chap who’s changed his ways. I hope that his story helps others to address their fear or embarrassment and get their dental health back on track.

I’ll post images, details of what we did and more info as soon as his case has been aired.

Case 3 – I think that this could be one of the biggest changes during my time as the Embarrassing Bodies Dentist. A young girl, missing many teeth due to illness and medication. The result was someone who was truly embarrassed to smile and it was really affecting her day to day life.

In situations like this I usually need to save as many of the remaining teeth as I can and then we can replace the missing teeth with either dental implants or cosmetic dentures.

I really hope that the final result comes out well on TV – we’ve yet to film it but things are looking great so far….