If you experience a persistent toothache or dental injury, it’s important to be able rely on your local dentist for an emergency appointment. Whether you have a broken tooth, an infection or severe pain, emergency dental services can prevent additional damage.
If you experience a dental emergency, particularly one that is causing you pain, a same-day appointment is ideal in that you will want to get rid of the pain as fast as possible. The appointment will also provide you with a diagnosis and treatment plan that may be completed right there on the spot, or at a later appointment. So not only will you leave the clinic with less pain, but you will also be preventing further damage from occurring.
How do you know if your oral injury requires immediate dental care?
Unless you’re in severe pain, it can sometimes be difficult to know if your oral injury requires immediate dental care. Dental emergencies can vary from person to person however to be considered an emergency they usually significantly affect the appearance, function or comfort of ones mouth. Common dental emergencies include:
If you are experiencing severe oral pain, cannot use your mouth properly or have undergone trauma that has greatly altered the natural appearance of your teeth, it’s best to call your dentist right away.
You can trust our Everton Park dentists- Trusted Dentist Near Stafford for same-day dental appointments for all dental emergencies! We are open 6 days a week and offer late night bookings upon request.
“Have your brushed your teeth yet?” It’s a well-worn line used by parents for generations to assess whether their children have actually brushed their teeth before school or bedtime — and are not just taking their word for it.
Your dentist in Everton Park is a keen advocate for starting and maintaining your kids’ dental health routine from an early age (for children as young as two years old).
We recommend the more effective, beneficial and hands-on approach for parents — to practise what they preach. Showing children through actions and not dental dictates guarantees that parent and child alike improve their dental health routine for the long term.
Studies show that a child’s mental-and-physical development and education are enhanced by practical instruction about maintaining a dental health and oral hygiene regimen. This is achieved by showing them exactly how it’s done.
Show how is know-how
Proactive parents are getting involved at the bathroom vanity by showing their kids not only how to properly brush and floss their teeth on a regular basis, but also injecting the fun, familiarity and family-bonding exercise of teeth-brushing togetherness. This is especially important for young and impressionable children.
Learning by experience is the best way to ensure that your child knows how to properly care for their teeth and long-term dental health. This invaluable life lesson has positive spin-off effects that are designed to be shared and cared for by future generations of avid teeth brushers!
Putting words in their mouths
Actions speak louder than words. And, when all is said and done, the best approach towards creating a culture of children’s dental health and oral hygiene from a young age relies on group-style enjoyment, regularity of process and all-important know-how.
So, how do you teach your children to brush their teeth? It’s all in the action, including:
How to brush up on your toothbrushing skills
You should aim the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle towards the gum line;
Don’t use too much toothpaste; only a pea-sized amount is required per brush;
Use a gentle circular motion when brushing, ensuring that the brush also gently massages the gum line;
Repeat this process on the inside surfaces of your teeth;
Adopt a light forward-and-back motion on the chewing surfaces;
Spit out toothpaste after brushing and rinse mouth with water to remove leftover fluoride.
The tooth-brushing process should take two minutes and be practised twice a day, preferably after breakfast and before bedtime.
Regular brushing, flossing and using a dentist-approved mouthwash also ensures that your teeth receive the most effective care in maintaining the health and quality of your dental routine.
Once your children have a handle, so to speak, on how to brush, floss and care for teeth, there are other baby steps they can take towards ensuring the lifetime health and quality of their teeth. This will ensure that their dental routine goes ahead in leaps and bounds, from their formative years to beyond senior status. These measures include:
Other top tips for maximising your oral hygiene routine
Limiting the consumption of sugary foods and acidic drinks, such as cordials and soft drinks;
Drinking plenty of water, at least eight glasses a day;
Protecting your teeth from injury: if your children are sporty, ensure that they always wear dentist-approved mouthguards during heavy-contact sports.
Learning how to save broken or knocked-out teeth, if applicable;
Promptly consulting a professional dentist in the event of dental emergencies.
Children also require regular dental check-ups, at least twice yearly, and these can be scheduled with your own regular consultations. In this way, you can make going to the dentist an excursion that instils a culture of family-dentistry unity and enjoyment. Make visiting your highly qualified, family-friendly Everton Park dental centre a shared pleasure. Call us today on (07) 3355 7936 to find out how you can truly practise what you preach by booking a group or family-style appointment.
Dental Health Week (DHW) is a campaign organised by the Australian Dental Association (ADA) to provide Australians dental health advice and remind them of the importance of their oral health. This year, we’ll be celebrating with the theme, “How much sugar is hiding in your trolley?”
Understanding sugar and its effects on our teeth is extremely important in taking care of our oral health. That’s because cleaning our teeth is only half of what it takes to care for them. The foods that we put into our body pay a role just as important in protecting our teeth.
So, when it comes to sugar consumption, what is the best dental health advice our dentists in Everton Park can give?
Don’t neglect your dental hygiene routine
Cleaning your teeth twice a day should be a habit instilled into you from a young age. Additionally, you should know the tricks to the right technique.
Brush gently in circular motions for a full two minutes. You should aim your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and make sure you reach the front surface of your teeth, the insides and the biting surfaces.
Many people forget this next step, but flossing is essential! Floss reaches the spots that your toothbrush cannot and helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease.
Your toothbrush should be replaced every 3-4 months or if you are sick.
Cleaning your teeth twice a day is important, but it doesn’t stop there.
It’s recommended that you visit the dentist every 6 months for a routine check-up and clean. This is a preventative measure to ensure you’re taking good care of your teeth. A professional clean removes the build-up of plaque and tartar that your everyday cleaning routines cannot.
Limit your sugar
Experts recommend that you limit your sugar intake to 6 teaspoons a day. That’s equivalent to 24 grams of sugar.
When shopping for food, be sure to look for products with 10 grams or less of sugar per 100 grams. Using this figure on your food label can help you compare foods and find healthier alternatives.
Understand food labels and hidden sugars
While it’s important to understand how much sugar you should be consuming, it doesn’t mean much if you don’t understand how to read food labels.
Here are some tips:
Look at the ingredients list: The closer to the top of the list the ingredient is, the more sugar present.
Be aware of hidden sugars: Sugars can be hidden under other names, including golden syrup, saccharose, sucrose, agave nectar and high fructose corn syrup.
Read the label even for foods you consider healthy: Foods such as muesli bars can also contain a high amount of hidden sugars. It helps to get into the habit of checking labels for all foods until you have a better understanding of hidden sugars.
No added sugar ≠ Sugar free: Foods can contain both natural and added sugars, so a food with no added sugars may still contain a lot of sugar. Depending on the food or drink, both can have an effect on your teeth.
For more dental health advice, look no further than your trusted dentists in Everton Park. At Everton Park Dental, we pride ourselves on our premium treatment and customer service in a modern, hi-tech environment.
For more, like us on Facebook. To book an appointment, give us a call on (07) 3355 7936 or book online.
Gone are the days when it was essential to visit a dentist’s office to receive quality dental health services. With the effects of Covid-19, our industry has innovated to provide the same level of care and customer service to our patients under an unprecedented set of restrictions.
Remote monitoring is our answer to not letting restrictions get in the way of taking care of your oral health. There are many benefits of remote monitoring for both you, the patient, and us, the dentists.
In dentistry, we strongly believe that preventative care is far better than restorative care, which is why we urge you take good care of your dental health in between your check-ups with us every six months.
Remote monitoring, either through Teledentistry or by using the Smilo.ai app on your smart phone, encourages you to improve your oral health self-care habits. This includes a regular oral hygiene routine and self-examination to ensure your teeth are healthy and clean.
A good self-examination can be done with a torch, a mirror and clean fingers. You can even use a disposable ice cream stick to help you. To keep check on how healthy your mouth is, here are some things you should self-examine:
Teeth: Look for yellow film/deposits on the teeth to evaluate how effective your cleaning routine is.
Gums: Look for swollen, reddish or bleeding gums.
Tongue: Examine the top, floor and sides of the tongue, as this is the most common place for cancers to develop.
You can ask your dentist for advice on what else to examine and how.
The average person sees their dentist once every six months. Smilo.ai opens up a line of communication between you and your dentist to keep up with your dental health more regularly.
Remote monitoring makes it easy for you to stay in touch with your dentist so that you can get dental health advice at the click of a button.
This can also help with early intervention on dental issues – especially considering an Australian study showed that there were more than 67,000 preventable hospitalisations in 2015-16.
Remote monitoring allows for patients to receive the same quality dental health services in the comfort of their own home. It saves them time when travelling to and from appointments and when waiting for appointments.
Remote monitoring also introduces patients to a “virtual dentist.” This means that patients can also receive dental health advice at a time that is convenient for them, rather than waiting for their dentist.
Smilo.ai provides an oral health rating when patients upload photos of their teeth and gums, to detect any signs of tooth decay or gum disease.
The app also acts as a smile assistant, which allows patients to consider dental work without visiting a practice. This removes the inconvenience of travelling just for a consultation.
One concern that patients often have about visiting the dentist is the costs involved. Patients should receive high quality dental health services when they need it, not just when they can afford it.
Another benefit of remote monitoring is that it is a much more cost-effective option than visiting the practice.
Did you know that 1 in 6 Australian adults admit to having a common fear of visiting the dentist?
Another of the many benefits of using Smilo.ai for remote monitoring is that it reduces the nervousness and phobia by giving control back into your own hands.
To begin monitoring your dental health remotely, check out Smilo.ai – your Oral Healthcare Assistant – designed by our very own Dr. Padma Gadiyar. Smilo.ai can be easily downloaded to your smartphone.
If you require a Teledentistry appointment with one of our trusted dentists, give us a call on (07) 3355 7936 or visit our website.
