The Risks of Snoring

Snoring may be considered humourous, but it’s anything but funny.

Whilst snoring has always been seen as something quite humourous and often used in films to depict someone as such; the fact is that snoring should be taken more seriously. On a superficial level, if our partner snores, we are likely to get poor quality sleep, leaving us tired the next day. Over a period of time, this tiredness could accumulate and even result in poor health.

For the person who snores though; although they may be unaware of it, the health risks associated with it are even more profound.

What causes snoring

Snoring is caused when the airways become partially blocked by the soft tissues in the mouth. This causes vibrations, resulting in the snoring sound that we are familiar with. This partial blockage, especially if it happens frequently throughout the night, results in a restriction of oxygen into our bodies. The end result of this is that we are likely to feel anywhere from tired to exhausted the following day.

This tiredness can prevent us from leading our lives to the full and may cause problems with concentration at work, or more dangerous still, when driving.

In extreme cases, sleep apnea may be the cause of snoring. This is where the oxygen is blocked for several seconds, and may result in us waking, gasping for air. If this occurs, it is important to see your GP.

Somnowell

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The wrong way to start your day….

Can morning breakfast really affect your oral health….?

Few of us have the luxury of being able to start our day in a relaxed manner. For most of us, the day starts with the alarm clock (or the children) waking us up, dragging us, perhaps reluctantly, into the day ahead.

As our energy levels may be low in the morning, we quite naturally want to boost these by eating breakfast, but, given the lack of time often available once we have got the children ready for school, this can be a hastily put together affair.

Sugar boost

One of the most likely breakfast options is cereal. This should be a good healthy start to the day, however, most cereals, although not all, contain high levels of sugar, in addition to any that we may add ourselves.

This is probably washed down with a cup of tea or coffee which may also have sugar added to it.

As you can see, we are already starting to consume a sizeable amount of sugar, some of which will stick to our teeth, contributing to erosion of the enamel. This enamel is what protects the softer part of the teeth, and erosion can lead to sensitivity or even decay.

Education

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An Attractive Smile is Not Just About The Front Teeth

Cosmetic fillings discussed….

When we consider our appearance, and our smile in particular, we tend to think of our front teeth as these are the most visible when we hold conversations or smile. Our rear teeth though can be easily forgotten and thought of purely as functional teeth for chewing food.

This is unfortunate because, however attractive our smile is, if we laugh, any rear teeth that have been filled with the traditional amalgam filling could be highly visible to others.

White Fillings

At Beau Monde Dental Care, our Bristol dentists have been offering tooth coloured fillings for our patients for a number of years.

Whilst there was, for some time, a debate about how strong these white fillings were, recent developments have seen them become stronger and they now offer sufficient strength for most fillings in the rear teeth too.

Because of this, our patients who have had them are able to laugh and smile freely, confident in the knowledge that they will not be revealing unattractive dark fillings when they do so.

Mercury

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Why do Dentists ‘Scale and Polish’ Your Teeth?

A commonly used procedure to prevent serious oral health problems.

It is likely that most of us reading this blog will have heard a dentist suggest ‘a little scale and polish’. Only occasionally though might the dentist also explain why they are doing this, especially as it is usually a relatively minor procedure.

Because it is a non invasive treatment which rarely warrants a local anaesthetic, it is likely that we think that this is being done purely for aesthetic purposes. Although it can have this effect to some degree, the fact is that it plays a very important role in keeping gum disease at bay.

Gum disease prevention

Prevention is certainly better than the cure and, at Beau Monde Dental Care, we do all that we can to offer appropriate advice to our Bristol dental patients to help them prevent the onset of gum disease.

Unfortunately, gum disease is prevalent in this country and is currently the leading cause of tooth loss. It can often occur in places, such as behind the back of the rear teeth, where it can be difficult to keep clean.

To help with your own oral care regimen, a professional scale and polish performed by one of our Bristol dentists or hygienists, will remove any hardened bacteria that has build up in the form of plaque.

Periodontitis

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Spring into Summer with a Rejuvenated Appearance

How we can help you to look your best for the Summer months ahead.

Although it may not look much like it, looking at the sky as I write this blog post; Summer is only about a month away and many of us will be looking forward to feeling some sunshine on our faces.

It is often a time too, when we treat ourselves to a new wardrobe and, for many people, it is also a time to re-assess how they look.

A Summer Smile

As dentists in Bristol, we often see an increase in the number of people who wish to have a whiter smile for the Summer months. Most of these patients will benefit from our simple teeth whitening procedures.

Those with bad staining or who have chipped and cracked teeth may need more comprehensive treatment such as dental veneers to correct the problem and create a lovely new smile.

Apart from the teeth though, we can also offer our patients facial aesthetic treatments to help rejuvenate their skin and ease out those persistent wrinkles that appear over time.

Facial Aesthetics

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Toothache or Painful Teeth?

Don’t ignore a dental problem!

Because many of us lead busy lives, there can sometimes be a temptation to ignore minor problems, hoping that they will simply go away. This also applies to our teeth, and it is probably not too uncommon for those who may have had minor problems to have ignored them, providing that the discomfort was not too significant.

Whilst this may be understandable, it is not a good policy to pursue. Any signs of discomfort or sensitivity can be a warning that there is a problem which is almost certainly only going to get worse.

By ignoring it, what may have initially needed just a simple filling at our Bristol dental surgery may well eventually result in a more invasive, and potentially more expensive, treatment.

Regular care

At Beau Monde Dental Care, we encourage all of our patients to visit us for check ups at least twice a year. In cases, where dental problems may be more likely due to medical conditions such as diabetes, for example, we may suggest more regular checks.

If you suffer from discomfort though, especially if it lasts for more than a day, you should arrange an appointment with one of our Bristol dentists, even if you have only seen us very recently.

Whilst problems such as decay will have been spotted during a check up, other problems can arise quickly and suddenly, such as a chipped or cracked tooth. With prompt treatment though, these can be resolved quickly and efficiently, preventing further damage, in most cases.

Root canal

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The Six Month Smile for Faster, Straighter Teeth

Why wait for a year or more to have an attractive, even smile?

If you are a follower of Beau Monde Dental Care on Facebook, you will have seen some recent photographs that were taken of our patients who have had their teeth straightened by our Bristol dentist Dr Nicola White.

The differences between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures are quite significant and the patient’s smile greatly improved.

Six Month Smile

These smiles were achieved through the use of the Six Month Smiles orthodontic system, of which Beau Monde Dental Care is a recognised provider. This means that you can be assured of excellent care whilst you have your teeth straightened.

Whilst the Six Month Smiles may not always be the best option for some corrective procedures, namely those patients where the rear teeth need repositioning, it does offer a very fast and successful way of straightening out a crooked smile.

This is achieved by focusing the straightening on the visible front teeth only, which means that we only need a relatively short treatment period to restore your smile.

The procedure

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Tooth Whitening Toothpastes

A closer look at this widely advertised product.

Turn on the TV at any time of the day and you will almost certainly come across advertisements for various brands of tooth whitening toothpaste. Understandably, as they are trying to sell a product, the models used in the adverts have beautiful white teeth that perhaps make some people envious.

But how successful are these toothpastes and do they really work?

When patients come to see one of our Bristol dentists, they often remark how they are dissatisfied with the colour of their teeth and would like them to be whiter. Almost inevitably, they mention whitening toothpastes.

We have to break the news to them that, whilst these do work, they only do so to a small extent.

The reason for this is that there are restrictions on the amount of whitening agent which is allowed in these pastes. This is for health and safety reasons, especially as toothpastes are usually kept within easy reach of children and could prove to be very dangerous if large quantities of what is essentially a bleaching agent were consumed.

Top up

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Taking Care of your Child’s Teeth and Gums

Our Bristol dentist discusses why children’s oral health is so important.

Some recent newspaper reports have indicated that tooth decay is on the rise in the UK (1).

In some ways, this comes as a surprise given the raised awareness of a number of health issues over the years, plus the fact that sugar is now coming in for increased criticism from all sections of the health sector.

Having said that, as parents, we know that children are not aware of these factors, and, even if they were, would probably ignore it in favour of that sweet taste.

Bearing that in mind, we can see the importance of the adult taking responsibility for their child’s teeth.

Prevention

Without a doubt, taking action to prevent tooth decay in children is key to good oral health.

Our dentists at Beau Monde Dental Care take no pleasure from seeing a distressed child with toothache and we are sure that neither do their parents.

The fact is that ensuring your child’s oral health is in good condition is really not that hard and just requires a few simple steps.

Supervision

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Dental Emergencies

Advice from a Bristol dentist about what course of action to take.

With good general oral health care, including regular brushing and flossing, those six monthly visits to the dentist should hopefully result in no more than a simple oral health check, or perhaps, at worst, a minor procedure such as a filling or a scale and polish to help prevent onset of gum disease.

Even with the best will in the world though, sometimes dental emergencies arise. These can be the result of an accident or perhaps an infection which has affected the nerves of the teeth.

In most cases, a dental emergency is a painful experience and needs prompt treatment.

Pain relief

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