Just 4 days in, we look at why you should keep going with your quit smoking campaign.

Stoptober is a yearly initiative by Public Health England, to encourage people to stop smoking, or at the very least, to significantly cut down the amount of cigarettes that they smoke.

During this month, you are likely to see more anti smoking promotions in the media, and an increased awareness of where to access help and information for those who want to quit.

Like many things that we are determined to do, we often start out with an unbridled enthusiasm, only to find that reality hits us as we get a few days into it. The addictive nature of nicotine means that many people who try to stop smoking, will find it difficult to stop after the initial enthusiasm has waned. Our advice is not to let your addiction beat you! Remember, millions of people have already succeeded in giving up, and there is no reason why you should not be successful in doing so too.

Why stop smoking?

We can probably keep this section short as most of the health issues associated with smoking are fairly well known. From a dentist’s view point though, some patients may still not be aware of the link between smoking and gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. These, in turn, have been linked with other medical issues such as heart disease and an increased risk of a stroke.

One of the most serious oral health issues that is strongly linked to smoking is mouth cancer. This can be very serious and can even prove to be fatal, especially if it remains undetected for too long. We check for signs of this during your regular check ups at our Surbiton practice, so please make sure that you have one at least every six months.

From a purely cosmetic viewpoint, smoking will also stain your teeth, often quite badly.

Anti smoking resources

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With Winter now on the horizon, dentist Reena Jasani looks what happens to our teeth when viruses strike.

It probably seems a bit premature to talk about winter, with the nice hot summer not so far behind us. It won’t be too long though before we are all donning our hats and coats before going outside.

Although the colder weather does have its fans, it is also usually the start of a season of sniffles and sneezes and reaching for the honey and lemon. Colds and flus can make us feel terrible, but our teeth can also suffer when we become ill. Dr Jasani takes a look at the potential problems in our blog:

Dehydration

When we are laid on the sofa with our box of tissues and favourite box set on the TV, it may seem too much effort to get up to have a drink. However, staying well hydrated is helpful for our teeth and gums and drinking water especially, will not only help to remove food debris from between our teeth, but also keep our mouths moist and help to reduce the spread of potentially gum disease causing bacteria. Some of the medications that we take for colds and flus may also dehydrate us, so do try to drink more water at this time.

Comfort foods and drinks

The idea of eating a healthy salad will almost certainly not occur to us when we are ill. On the menu are often foods that offer comfort, but potentially little nutritional value. High sugar drinks, cakes and packets of biscuits may well be not too far out of our reach, but try to keep this to a minimum to avoid an overload of sugar which is obviously harmful to your teeth.

Sickness

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Janice Andrews, our dental hygienist asks if patients are aware of their own risk of gum problems.

Gingivitis and periodontitis are a risk to all of us. There are always “bad” bacteria present in our mouth which can lead to gum problems if we do not keep them under control. A combination of eating the wrong diet, along with failing to keep our teeth and gums clean, makes it highly likely that we will start to notice some of the symptoms of gum disease, including sore or bleeding gums.

Whilst this applies to all of us, there are certain groups for whom gum disease might be a particular problem.

Diabetics

It is a well known fact that people with diabetes are at a higher risk of gingivitis and periodontitis than those who are not. People with poor blood sugar control are likely to suffer from this problem more regularly, and sometimes more severely too. There is also some current thinking that having gum disease may also increase the risks of having diabetes.

To help to counteract this, it is important to make sure that you take care to keep your mouth in the best condition possible. Whilst we recommend that all patients have a scale and polish at our Surbiton practice at least twice a year, this is especially important for diabetics, and we usually recommend that these are carried out more frequently to help to combat this potential problem.

Pregnancy

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Choosing to follow dental advice from unregulated resources may result in significant damage.

Once upon a time, any advice given about medical issues was supplied by organisations such as the General Dental Council and distributed via dental practices and the national media.

These days, these reputable sources now have to compete with unregulated information which anybody can put online, often sensationalised for advertising revenue.

Whilst the ability by anybody to post information may (or may not) be good for democracy, it has led to some very worrying claims about ‘alternative’ methods of making your teeth look more attractive. Some of these claims may have some foundations in reality, sometimes even backed by businesses, whilst others, such as many found on individual YouTube channels, are popular because they purport to offer a cheap and easy way to have great looking teeth.

Facing reality

If we really were able to safely have ‘brilliant white teeth in five minutes’ or some other exaggerated claim, we would likely be offering it at the Confidental Clinic! Of course, this is not possible, and even if it were, patient safety would be a serious concern.

Below, we take a look at some of the more dangerous tips that have come to our attention.

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Our friendly Surbiton dentists offer some useful advice.

Do you have to placate your child, or even offer them a ‘bribe’ when it is time for their dental visit? If so, now is probably a good time to try to address this issue.

If they are afraid now, there is every chance that as soon as you no longer have full control over them, they will simply stop going, except for when they have a severe toothache perhaps.

There are a number of reasons why children don’t like going to the dentist and a very common one is when the parent themselves is afraid.

Your legacy

If you are afraid of seeing the dentist, there is every likelihood that your child will pick up on this. Children look to us to see what is safe and what is not. If they see you in a bit of a panic when your appointment is due, it makes sense that they will see this as something to be afraid of and avoided if at all possible.

Overcoming dental anxiety is not always easy, but with the help of our patient friendly dentists at the Confidental Clinic, we can help you to challenge this. In the case of extremely nervous patients we are also able to offer sedation to help you undergo your procedure. Knowing that this is available can help patients relax more about their appointment, and help their children to avoid the related anxiety they may feel about theirs.

Start young

If you have a very young child who has not yet seen the dentist, now is a good time to take them. Early exposure to the surroundings of a dental practice will help to familiarise them and help them to become accustomed to some of the unusual sounds and smells associated with the dentist. This should help them to feel comfortable during any future visits.

Hygienist

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