Have you or your kids missed a routine dental check up? Now’s the time to top up your family’s smile care …
With the festive season is just about coming to an end!
Like many Australians, you may have been celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with family and friends, while enjoying the pleasures of beach barbecues and picnics.
The last thing you want is a toothache to spoil your holiday!
Whether you and your family are spending Christmas in Oz or holidaying abroad.
In this article – you’ll discover some surprising early warning signs of dental decay.
And why a trip to your local dentist this time of the year can mean worry-free, happy smiles with:
- Cosmetic teeth whitening and the gentle non-invasive
- EMS airflow® dental deep cleaning
- Cavity filling,
Get your teeth ready for the holidays!
Bring back your gleam with dental cleaning
Click here to book a visit to a dentist near you without delay!
A pre-holiday dental check up can save your smile in the New Year too
A general dentist check up should ideally be every six months. Not only for finding early signs of dental decay, but also for smile care – cosmetic teeth whitening or dental deep cleaning.
But what if you’ve missed your last few check ups? Or simply living with a loose, missing or chipped filling carried out years earlier?
You’re not alone! Around 1 in 3 Australians have not seen a dentist for a year, at least, say the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Tooth cavities can form in as little as 3-6 months although they mostly develop over several years. Much depends on key factors such as:
- How much sugary food and drink you regularly consume, and
- Your daily oral hygiene and brushing routines
There are no fixed timelines. Dental decay, leading to toothache and pain, can happen at any time. So booking in some pre-holiday, friendly dental care before symptoms appear will give you peace of mind.
To not only eat, drink and enjoy yourself over Christmas but also into the New Year too.
Early signs you should book some pre-holiday dental treatment
Depending on how far dental decay has penetrated inside the tooth, you will need to urgently book a dental clinic appointment if you experience the following symptoms:
- Bad breath, and /or
- Bad taste in the mouth
- Sharp pain and acute tooth sensitivity to hot / cold foods or drinks
- Sore, red or bleeding gums
- Face or gum swelling
- Mouth discharge and /or fever
IMPORTANT! Levels of toothache can vary in both duration and intensity, such as:
- Mild pain and discomfort –to- unbearable agony
- Sudden onset –to- increasing over time
- Only hurting when eating / drinking –to- constant, throbbing pain
So it’s vital not to ignore early discomfort in the hope it will just go away. Particularly, if symptoms persist beyond 1-2 days.
Let’s now look at the types of general and cosmetic dentistry to keep you smiling through the holidays and beyond.
Cosmetic teeth whitening
Teeth whitening is an area of family dental care referred to as prosthodontics, which specialises in oral health. The focus is upon treating teeth that are of poor appearance, damaged or missing.
How teeth whitening works
Dental whitening is a treatment process which:
- Bleaches the teeth to remove stains and lighten their surface colour
An active dental bleaching ingredient – normally hydrogen peroxide* or carbamide peroxide** penetrates the upper layer of the tooth enamel.
The peroxide then reacts to break down and safely remove the molecules that cause staining and discolouration – without affecting the surface or structure of your teeth.
*Hydrogen peroxide – normally a higher concentration used for a shorter period of time.
**Carbamide peroxide – normally a lower concentration used for a longer period of time.
What a dentist actually does to whiten your teeth
Step 1: Preparation – your dentist should insert a lip and cheek guard in your mouth, which is designed to comfortably keep your mouth open.
It’s also put in place to protect your tongue from the hydrogen peroxide whitening gel to be used in the treatment.
A further layer of protection is applied to the gums to minimise any irritation or reaction to the gel.
Step 2: Treatment – your dentist will then apply a high-strength, hydrogen peroxide dental whitening gel to the enamel surface of your teeth.
Because the peroxide bleaching gel is high concentration – compared to consumer versions sold in your local store – the whitening of your teeth is:
- More noticeably effective, and
- Takes a much shorter time
Also – you may be able to more quickly obtain the desired shade of white – if your dental clinic allows you to repeat the process more than once – within the same visit.
IMPORTANT! Over time, staining and discolouration will once again start to build. Especially if you daily drink tea, coffee, red wine or flavoured / sugary drinks – and particularly, if you are a smoker.
Keeping gleaming teeth and beautiful smiles means you should consider booking future appointments for regular teeth whitening.
What if you or your kids have super sensitive teeth and gums? And feel uncomfortable just sitting in a dentist’s chair?
EMS airflow® could be your answer.
EMS Airflow® dental deep cleaning
Here’s a teeth cleaning solution that overcomes dental anxiety because it’s as soft as a whisper.
Swiss-precision watch inventors, EMS (Electro Medical Systems), introduced its gentle, less invasive spa dental treatment for deep cleaning teeth in 1983.
Sometimes also referred to as “air polishing”, the latest advanced system – EMS Airflow® Prophylaxis Master – was launched in Australia in 2017. You should expect your professional teeth whitening dentist to use airflow dental deep cleaning technology.
How does EMS Airflow® work?
EMS Airflow® uses Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) technology.
This is a fine spray mix of:
- Air
- Warm water, and an
- Ultra-fine powder called Erythritol Plus, a natural sugar alcohol.
The solution is directed via a precision nozzle in a concentrated micro stream across the surface of the teeth. And up to 5 mm into inaccessible areas of the tooth.
This less invasive technology has proven to be more effective than traditional manual dentistry methods for removing:
- Surface staining and discoloration
- Dental plaque
- Biofilm* and calculus (tartar)
*Biofilm is … plaque which has solidified around the base and surface of a tooth to become a dark, yellow calculus (also known as tartar). Only professional dental cleaning can remove the hardened plaque.
Cavity filling
A pre-holiday cavity filling is, of course, essential if you have a broken, cracked or missing tooth or filling.
Slight niggly pain when eating or drinking? It’s best to have any dental decay removed and your tooth filled to prevent ruining your holiday fun!
Summary
Preparing for any holiday amongst family and friends should ideally include buffing up your smile. Professional dental concentrations of hydrogen peroxide will transform stained, discoloured tooth enamel to a more smile-friendly shade of white.
Using latest EMS Airflow® technology means it’s quick and easy for you and your kids to have some instant teeth whitening and deep teeth cleaning. Without hardly feeling a thing!
FAQs
Yes it is! Your child should be aged 12 and over, and no longer has their baby teeth.
Usually up to 2-3 years. But could be only a few months if you daily smoke or drink tea, coffee or other dark-coloured or sugary drinks.
Yes you can. The EMS Airflow® Prophylaxis Master is designed to tackle deep staining and hardened plaque. Alternatively, your dentist may advise opening up the teeth to insert an internal oxidising and bleaching agent.