A few good things to do with floss?

When you visit Maureen or myself for your hygiene visit, I expect at one point or another we have told you about the importance of flossing or using bottle brushes to clean away the sticky bacterial plaque from in between your teeth!

But here are a few more ideas of what you can use that floss for…

• To help with the washing: for when we get terrible weather tie the floss between two chairs and hang light weight items like socks over the floss to dry
• For a day out: since the summer is coming (eventually) when you head off to the seaside take your floss, some bait and one of the nets that you put the clothes washing tablets in and head out crabbing.
• For the garden: uses floss to tie up your climbing plants to the bean poles and trellises
• For the Kitchen: If your stuffing a joint of meat you can use unwaxed unflavoured dental floss to tie the joint.
• For a saving a life: by using the floss to clean in between your teeth, you help to remove the sticky bacterial plaque that can cause gum disease. We know that having gum disease can increase the risk of other health problems such as heart disease, strokes and diabetes!

Rachael

Healthy Snack for Healthy Teeth - Advice for Busy Mums from Absolute Dental

As a busy mum with two young children I sometime struggle to create the perfect diet for my girls on a day to day basis. Although I ensure mealtimes are healthy, I sometimes look back on the day and realise how many sugary foods they have actually eaten in between meals! Chocolate buttons from nanny, an ice cream on a day out, a biscuit as a treat whilst watching their favourite film. Without realising it, it is very easy to consume a huge amount of sugar which as we all know is not good for our teeth. Making a few changes can make a huge difference to your child's health. Make snacks fruit or raw vegetables such as apples, crunchy carrot sticks or cucumber. These are great for your teeth as extra chewing creates more saliva and help keep tooth surfaces clean. Choose low fat yogurts as these contain phosphates which actually help remineralize teeth. This means that the outer surface of the tooth becomes stronger and more resistant to tooth decay. Avoid sticky, chewy foods such as raisins, cookies, granola bars and sweets as these stick to the tooth surfaces. The longer that food is in contact with the tooth surface, the higher the risk of tooth decay in these teeth. Keep drinks to water throughout the day and if your children insist on juice then allow them to have it at mealtimes only to limit the amount of acid attacks on the teeth. Eat some cheese!! This is perfect to have after a pudding. It's one of the best foods for healthy teeth. Its low in sugar and high in calcium and contains casein which is particularly useful for strengthening tooth enamel. If your children are having a treat then make sure they eat it all at once instead of making it last throughout the day, otherwise the sugar will provide constant fuel to feed bacteria which will lead to plaque developing and tooth decay!! A healthy diet, along with excellent brushing and visiting us every 6 months should mean a perfect healthy mouth for our children. Something all us parents want! At Absolute Dental, we encourage healthy eating habits and have a "Healthy Snacks" information sheet for children and parents - please ask if you would like one of these when we next see you! Sophie

Changes in Health & Safety Legislation for Dental Practices

Every dental practice in the land has to adhere to strict rules (quite rightly) on health and safety to ensure that everyone who steps foot inside the practice; patients, visitors, staff, cleaners, waste collectors are free from the dangers that the dental environment could hold.

One of the more recent documents is the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (this has had many versions since its conception, and 01-05 relates to its current carnation). This document was once again updated at the end of March 2013.

The main focus of this document is to ensure that the decontamination procedures in practices are robust enough to prevent cross infection between patients.

For many practices this has meant fundamental changes to their practices in both the physical layout of the practice and the work practices of their teams. Because of this, often the mere mention of HTM01-05 strikes either fear or frustration into the dental team.

Here at Absolute Dental, we have always strived to meant the "Best Practice" guidelines set out in HTM01-05. The safety of the patients and the team here at Absolute are paramount. Despite the most recent changes HTM01-05, our working practices have had to change very little, as we are already meeting and exceeding current requirements.

We are very proud of our working policies here, and our Health & Safety Policy is available for anyone to download via our website. This is regularly reviewed and updated by our clinical leads and regular training on Cross Infection Control is carried out with the team here at Absolute.

Our obligation to provide a safe environment is taken very seriously, if you would like to know any more about our working policies, please feel free to download a copy from our website, or ask any team member for more details.

A patient close to my heart!

This blog by our dental therapist Rachael, shows how dental treatment not only works to improve your smile, but also your overall health, well-being and confidence.
Before Treatment:

I have recently booked my dearly beloved in to see Bill Beare, poor Simon probably regrets the day he smiled at me! We’ve been together 8 years.

He is about to have some lovely dentures made by Absolute Dentals restorative specialist Bill Beare as he is a difficult case, even though he is only 40 he hasn’t had any molar teeth for many years and is finding it tricky to eat and isn’t keen on smiling and his confidence is low, he started his own business in December 2011 and finds it embarrassing speaking to new customers.

Simon is now in Bills capable hands to be looked after and get the smile he deserves!

Rachael Mounce

After Treatment

"I would like to Thank everyone at Absolute, for the excellent care and treatment I've received. A big Thank You to Bill Beare, and to lovely Amber for my nice cup of coffee!"

Simon Mounce

Rapid weight gain linked with perio disease risk in men

With Easter approaching and a bountiful supply of chocolate on offer - please heed this cautionary advice from the Absolute Dental team.

A new study has found that males who rapidly gain weight had more periodontitis and periodontitis progression compared with those who had smaller gains.


The study, published in the Journal of Dental Research, found that:

Men who were overweight at baseline and gained weight most rapidly (> 0.19 kg/year or approximately 15 lb during follow-up) had significantly more PPD events than men in the lowest tertile of weight gain (≤ -0.05 kg/year).

Overweight men whose waist circumference increased more than 0.14-0.39 or more than 0.39 cm/year experienced more PPD events than men in the lowest tertile (≤ 0.14 cm/year).

Increase in arm fat area was associated with disease progression in normal-weight men.

"These results suggest that tracking adiposity changes with easily obtained anthropometric measures may help predict risk of periodontitis progression," the authors noted.

Waist circumference, as a surrogate measure of visceral fat, has been closely correlated with body mass index in estimating health risk including periodontal disease, study author Andrea Gorman explained.

"Now we can see that rates of gain in weight and adiposity, both visceral and subcutaneous, can impact progression of disease," she said. "Faster rates of weight gain and fat gain have worse outcomes."

Additional research in the area of obesity and periodontal disease should include analysis of blood samples for markers of inflammation, she added.

While some dentists may feel that nutrition falls outside of their scope of practice, educating both dental and dietetic students on the link between poor oral health and poor diet quality is essential to providing comprehensive and improved patient care, Gorman emphasized.

By expanding the professional relationships between dentists and dieticians, patients will benefit from a healthcare environment that is working together to improve overall health and well-being, she explained.

"As the practice of dentistry evolves, practitioners should be comfortable to screen and refer patients for nutrition education and counselling, especially if there are associated chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or obesity," Gorman concluded.

Emma

Straight Teeth. Less Time. Clear Braces.

Are you one of the millions of adults in need of adult braces who are unhappy, self-conscious or even embarrassed of your smile?

Many adults spend their entire lives covering their mouths when they laugh, smile or talk. They feel stuck because they do not want to wear adult metal braces for years or they are concerned that other corrective teeth straightening procedures could be too invasive or too expensive. Now, there is an effective, safe and affordable cosmetic braces solution that fits your lifestyle and we are delighted to be providing this at Absolute Dental

A revolutionary combination of proven orthodontic techniques, modern materials, and innovative thought - Six Month Smiles® utilises specialized clear braces to gently straighten and align teeth in an average time of just six months.

Is Six Month Smiles right for me? The best way to find the answer to that question is to contact us for a complimentary consultation on 01548 852165 or email info@absolute-dental.co.uk . However by answering a few question relating to your lifestyle and your expectations we can help determine if you should consider taking that next step.

Follow the link below and take the on line test, you can then bring the results along to your first appointment with you.

http://www.6monthsmiles.com/pages/patient_home/is_it_right_for_me.aspx

Don't let your dental health go up in smoke!!

The good news is that quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for the health of your heart and has a huge beneficial impact on the health of your mouth!

Stopping smoking is one of the most challenging experiences that many of our patients go through. We understand how hard it can be but there has never been a better time to give up and you are not alone in your quest!

There are many ways that smoking affects our dental health including the following and patients may experience obvious signs and symptoms. Signs and concerns patients may inform us about include:

Bad breath

Staining

Increase of plaque and calculus

Dry mouth or xerostomia. This is a reduction in saliva, leaving patients more at risk from caries and periodontal disease.

White patches inside the mouth

Loose teeth

Signs and symptoms we see also include:

Increase of bone loss

Increased risk of gingivitis(gum disease) and periodontal disease

Delayed healing after extractions

Lower success of implant proceedures

Increase in signs of oral cancer, white patches, red patches.

Smoking and other tobacco products lead to gum disease by affecting the attachment of bone and soft tissues to your teeth and it interferes with the normal function of gum tissue cells. It affects the blood flow to the tissues which then impairs wound healing.

If you decide to quit or want to cut down, there are a huge range of options!

Face to face at Absolute

Firstly talk to your dentist and hygienist at Absolute Dental and we will work with you to find practical ways to help you stop. The good news is that every time we see you for a visit we are checking to see if smoking or the use of tobacco is having an impact on your oral health. We do this by firstly asking you if you have noticed any changes around your mouth. This could mean to you any sore patches, redness, dryness, bleeding on cleaning your teeth. We screen for oral cancer, inflammation of the lining of your mouth, and the dryness of your mouth. We also record where we find deposits of plaque, calculus, inflammation of gums and periodontal disease and stain and if your smoking habits have changed. We know that even cutting down can bring significant benefits to your dental health and the health of your heart.

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In these days of internet availability, there are many helpful websites including WeQuit which has an online forum full of helpful tips from around 44,000 other quitters who you can swap tips with and find out how other people cope. The British Heart Foundation have a stop smoking booklet and have a free Heart Matters service who can help with support and advice.

Getting started in stopping!!!

Make a date to give up! and stick to it - throw away all your tobacco lighters and ashtrays.

Make a plan and think what could help you stop- nicotine replacement therapy, and have whatever you need ready for the date you plan to stop.

Think smart and download information about the different methods of stopping smoking

Get support - tell your family and friends. Talk to your GP or practice nurse.

Keep busy to help take your mind off cigarettes and changing your routine can really help with this!

Treat yourself!!!! If you can, use the money you're saving to buy yourself something special!

Maureen