dont bury your head in the sand- get an dental health check at Time Dental in Farnham, Surrey

I saw a patient recently at Time Dental for a comprehensive dental health check. He hadn’t been to the dentist for 15 years. He told me he used to go regularly and as nothing needed to be done he thought it was a waste of time. The reason why he came to see me was because he was having problems with his wisdom tooth.

On further discussion he told me he drank alot of regular cola and recently switched to diet cola. He brushed his teeth once a day and never cleaned his teeth interdentally.

I took a series of clinical photographs and x-rays and we sat down and went through them together.

His photos showed that he had the first stages of gum disease (gingivitis) and he also had acid erosion. Gum disease can start with the collection of plaque bacteria around the teeth just by the gum line. The gums can react by becoming swollen and then they can bleed when you brush them. At this stage you often don’t have any pain. If that was left in place the bacteria would start to irreversibly destroy the boney support around your teeth, again you may not have any pain when this happens.

Acid erosion occurs when carbonated drinks such as soda water, sparkling mineral water, fizzy drinks are regularly consumed and they wear away the enamel layer of your teeth. It can also occur with cirtus fruits or drinks, acid reflux and other medical conditons. You wont always get pain from the early or moderate stages of this problem. Often when the damage is advanced, you can start to get symptoms like sensitivity to temperature or sweet foods.

The take home message for this patient was not bury his head in the sand and think everything is ok if he is not getting any pain. Regular dental health checks means that problems can be caught early and the appropriate advice can be given to stop things from deteriorating.

We are here to help!

Time Dental- Private dental care at its best.