Your Personal Oral Health Plan

Offering individual oral health guidance for our Burton and Ashby patients.

At Alexandra Dental Care, we take our patient’s oral health very seriously and endeavour to do all that we can to help them keep their teeth and gums healthy and in good condition. Where problems do arise, we offer a wide range of dental treatments; but of course, we would rather avoid the need for these in the first place.

Good oral health depends on a combination of good care at home, along with professional supervision and advice. Each individual patient from Burton or Ashby may need different guidance, according to age and lifestyle choices and our experienced dentists and hygienists will be delighted to help.

Home care

Most people know how to carry out regular and effective brushing of their teeth at home but even these basic skills can often be improved. ‘Scrubbing’ your teeth hard with a well worn toothbrush will, for example, be far less effective at removing food particles and bacteria than if a toothbrush that is less than three months old is used in small circular motions. Even the choice of toothpaste can make a difference. Whilst there are many reputable brands of toothpaste available, care should be taken to use one that includes fluoride as this helps to strengthen the enamel layer of our teeth which, in turn, protects the softer layer underneath.

Regular checks

Every six months or so, we advise patients to have their teeth examined by one of our experienced dental team. Whilst we always hope that our patients will have healthy teeth; where small amounts of decay are detected, these can be filled early on rather than allowing the decay to spread, possibly creating the need for more invasive treatment to save the tooth later on. As well as checking your teeth and gums, we also monitor the general health of the mouth, specifically checking for any potential symptoms of oral cancers amongst other things.

Hygienist visits

Routine hygienist visits are an excellent way of ensuring that your teeth and gums are maintained in tip top shape. One of the prime roles of a dental hygienist is in the monitoring and treating of your gum health. ‘Scale and polish’ treatment will be used to remove the hardened tartar from the teeth and gum-line to ward of gingivitis (early stage gum diseaes). However, if more advanced gum disease is noted, you may be referred to a specialist (a ‘periodontist’) for more advanced treatment.

Hygienists offer more than a scale and polish though and are there to offer advice on how you might improve looking after your teeth. Whilst for some patients this may involve instructions on how to use dental floss or other methods of inter dental cleaning, for others it may be discussing the effects of lifestyle choices such as smoking. Children especially benefit from visiting the hygienist and can help to develop good oral health habits from an early age.

If you live in the Burton or Ashby area and would like to register as a patient of Alexandra Dental Care, either with our dentists or hygienists, please call us today on 01283 216347.

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