Posts tagged “Childrens Health”

Dental care with hygienist near Alton dentist

January 26th, 2012

At Time Dental we always take the preventative approach to your dental health to ensure you have a healthy mouth.  That’s why we place a huge emphasis on Hygienist appointments.

Continuing care with you dental hygienist means that you will have the most up to date skills and techniques for your home care.  This means that your breath will be continuously fresh and gum disease is kept away.  Mandy our new hygienist at Time Dental is highly qualified for your dental hygiene care.  She has a particularly gentle approach and will ensure your maximum comfort for your visits.

Not only will you be given the best advice for your home care, Mandy will carefully remove all the plaque bacteria and tartar build up that happens on a regular basis and advise you the best approach for your specifec needs.  She will provide a tailor made Dental hygiene programme specifically for you to make sure your mouth stays healthy.

Did you know that there is a link between gum disease and heart disease?  If you have gum disease you’re at a higher risk for heart disease!  That’s where your dental hygiene and fresh breath appointments can really help.  Prevention is better than cure which is why regular sessions with your hygienist are so important.  They can catch the early signs of gum disease and help you get back on track for a healthy mouth.  If you also suffer from diabetes you’re also a high risk group for gum disease.  Some of the warning signs can be bad breath, bleeding gums, sensitivity and loose teeth.  You can even have gum disease when none of these warning signs are there!

brush baby brush

June 29th, 2011

Brushing your kids teeth is really important.  The best thing to do is to start brushing your babys’ teeth as soon as they start to come through.  As they get older let them watch you brush your own teeth and get them to do have a go a doing theirs while you brush yours.  Try to make it fun!  Kids will mimic their parents behaviours, so if they see you do it they are more likely to do it themsleves.  Unfortunately my daughter refused to mimic this particular habit even though she saw me do it every day!

I have a two year old daughter and let me tell you brushing time is a real challenge!  Some kids love doing it, others don’t.  My daughter fell into the later category.  We tried a number of different techiniques.  Sometimes she liked having an elecrtic toothbrush in her mouth othertimes she would only let me use a manual toothbrush, and sometimes she just plain refused.  However no matter how hard it was I still persisted.  It’s still a struggle sometimes especially when it’s her bedtime and she is feeling cranky.  Now I make up songs as I brush her teeth to make it fun for her.  Try adapting a nursery rhyme to do with brushing teeth. 

 Make sure you use a small headed toothbrush and only use kids toothpaste as appropriate for the age.  I make sure the paste has fluoride in and only use a smear of it on the brush as toddlers tend to swallow the toothpaste.  Never let babies go to bed with a bottle of milk as this can cause what’s called bottle caries.  Try the techniques above, but always persevere as preventative techinques to dental decay are always best.

For the best preventative dentistry and advice call 01252 723 008

Gentle dentistry in Farnham, Surrey

February 1st, 2011

If you were to do a survey on a person’s favourite things to do, visiting the dentist probably wouldn’t be in the top 5, or even top 10! Millions of people everyday suffer from odontophobia (the irrational fear of dental surgery), so if this is you then you are definitely not alone!  But the fact cannot be avoided that visiting the dentist is so important, so at Time Dental we strive to make our clients feel as at ease as we possibly can.  Local anaesthetic is in most cases essential when treating patients, although the thought of having it is what most of our clients fear. But they soon discover that after they have settled into our comfy chair, put the headphones on started listening to their favourite radio station or watching a DVD, their attention is diverted elsewhere.  Combine this with the bubble gum flavoured numbing gel we use on the gum before administering the anaesthetic, the outcome is that they didn’t feel a thing!

At Time Dental we understand dental anxiety and want more than anything for our clients to feel they are in control of their treatment, so everything is taken at a pace at which is comfortable. We want to provide gentle dentistry and we must be doing something right, as some of our patients have told us they actually look forward to their visit! 

“I no longer fear my dental appointments. Thankyou Dr Rashid and the team.”

S. Wardell

Childs play in Fleet

December 20th, 2010

A common question asked by parents is when their child should start brushing their teeth, and the answer is simple – as soon as they get any!  This is because as soon as teeth are present, there is a chance of tooth decay. In fact, before teeth are even present in the mouth, it’s a good idea to wipe your child’s gums with a damp cloth on a daily basis. When teeth do appear, use a small headed soft-bristled toothbrush (baby toothbrushes are available from most pharmacies nowadays) and a smear of toothpaste (again children’s toothpaste is widely available), and gently brush the teeth twice a day.

“It can sometimes be a struggle to brush children’s teeth.  I know because I have a toddler and it’s a constant battle at the moment.  However keep persevering as the long term benefit to your child’s dental health is huge,” says Dr Rashid of Time Dental in Surrey, “make sure that they don’t go to sleep with a bottle of milk at night time as this can cause what’s called “bottle caries” which is rapid tooth decay.  It’s best to give them their milk and then brush their teeth afterwards.” 

Baby teeth play an important role in the development of the mouth and adult teeth underneath, and should be treated with a lot of care. Bringing your child to your regular dental exams is also a good idea. This gives them a chance to become familiar with the dentist and the dental environment.

“The best thing to tell a child when they are seeing the dentist for the first time is to tell them that they are going to have their teeth counted.  Never use the phrase “it’s not going to hurt” or “you have to be brave” as this is negative reinforcement.  We want them to enjoy coming to se us.  At Time Dental we often encourage children to take a ride in the chair and show us how many teeth they have,” advises Dr Rashid.

 If you have any queries about your child’s dental health, please give us a call at Time Dental on 01252 723008 and we would be happy to help.

I have a Sweet Truth…

September 8th, 2010

So the kids are finally back to school, and after 6 weeks of fun in the sun I am sure it wasn’t the easiest task getting them there on time for that first day!

Many of us enjoy the certain indulgences that come with summertime, and our kids are no exception!  Things like ice-lollies and those lovely chilled fizzy drinks on a hot summers day are commonplace, while deserts and pick n’ mix become a more regular treat.  But now daily routine is back for our young ones, should we be keeping a close eye on their sugary intake?

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently released guidelines of the recommended daily sugar consumption for all ages.  I won’t shock you with the adult versions; I’m sure you know if you have a sweet-tooth (and you have probably been trying to ‘kick the habbit’ for the last decade or so!) but when it comes to the health of our children; information is key!

The guidelines suggest that children aged 4-8 years old with a daily caloric intake of 1,600 calories should consume no more than 130 calories, or about 3 teaspoons worth of sugar per day.  As you can imagine, this increases as your child grows into his pre-teen and teen years, and his caloric range increases to 1,800 to 2,000 a day.  At this point, the maximum amount of added sugar included in his daily diet should be between 5 to 8 teaspoons worth.

Are you ready for the scary truth?  A study conducted by the AHA found children as young as 1-3 years already bypass the daily recommendations, and typically consume around 10-12 teaspoons of sugar a day. Okay, sure, this is in America, but when results suggest that the UK isn’t too far behind and with figures from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey marking the average person to consume about 355 calories of added sugar a day, or the equivalent of 22.2 teaspoons – almost triple the recommended amount! – one has to be a little concerned.

So do keep an eye out and where possible avoid offering those sugary treats between meals… it’ll be a saving grace in the long run!

If you do need to register the family, give the team at Time Dental a call to find out what the latest family offers available are.

Take care… brush well!  x