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If you have put up with crooked teeth for years, you might have toyed with the idea of orthodontics. The good news is it’s never too late to reap the benefits of a straighter smile and today’s modern braces aren’t just for teenagers. So what are some of the top reasons for wearing braces?

Improved Appearance

This is why most people want to straighten their teeth as an attractive smile can be a valuable asset. It is a great reason, but possibly not the most important.

Improved Dental Health

If your teeth are significantly overlapping or crooked, you’ll find they are much easier to keep clean once straightened. Your toothbrush will be able to reach a greater surface area and flossing can become a cinch. Having a straighter smile may help reduce your risk of gum disease and tooth decay so it really could be an excellent investment in your dental health.

Teeth Will Wear More Evenly

Teeth that are significantly out of alignment tend to bite together unevenly, placing more force on some teeth than on others. This can lead to some teeth wearing down more quickly than others or even chipping or cracking under the additional forces and it can place increased pressure on your jaw joints. Braces can correct this, protecting your jaw joints from increased wear and tear while ensuring your teeth bite together correctly.

Integrated Dental Care can provide a wide range of braces to suit your needs and lifestyle. After an initial consultation, we can help you choose the best appliance to give a beautifully straight smile.

Has it been a while since your family’s last dental visit? Here is why you should make that booking right now.

1. Regular check-ups save you money in the longer term. The sooner we pick up any problems, the more cheaply they can be treated.
2. Your family’s natural teeth will last longer. Mending chipped teeth or replacing aging fillings preserves teeth for longer.
3. You are protecting your family’s general health. Dental health and general health are interlinked, so ensuring your family has healthy teeth will help protect their general health.
4. We look at the health of your entire mouth, not just teeth and gums. Our dentists regularly screen for oral cancer.
5. Reduce your risk of a dental emergency. Booking an emergency dental appointment is never desirable and leaving dental visits until a family member is in pain greatly decreases the chances of us being able to save a tooth.

Dental accidents can happen, often at the most inconvenient times. Knowing what to do can help reduce stress levels until you can get to our dental practice.

1. Toothache can sometimes be caused by food trapped in between your teeth, dislodging a tooth slightly and causing pain. Try very gently brushing and flossing the tooth to see if that helps.
2. A broken brace will need repairing professionally. Save any brackets as we may be able to re-attach them. If you break a wire, snip it off close to the brace and tuck the end in using a pencil eraser. You can also cover up any sharp edges with a little piece of orthodontic wax.
3. If a crown falls out, please don’t try to glue it back in yourself as you will damage your tooth and the crown. You can buy temporary dental cement from the chemist.
4. If you knock out a tooth you need to see us or another dentist immediately. You can try to re-insert the tooth yourself or store it in saliva or milk. Reinsertion is only possible in the first half an hour to an hour so please act quickly.

You brush twice a day and floss once-a-day and regularly visit your dentist, so you must be doing everything possible to lower your risk of tooth decay, or are you? Good preventative dental care is only part of the equation as your diet does matter.

While most people are well aware that eating lots of sugary foods increases the risk of cavities, it also matters how frequently you consume these items. It would be impossible for many of us to cut out sweet treats altogether, but being a bit smarter about when you eat them can make all the difference.

The main problem is frequent snacking as this raises acidity levels in the mouth for longer periods of time, increasing acid erosion and the risk of cavities. Acid erosion will gradually thin tooth enamel, eventually causing tooth decay.

Choosing to eat any sugary foods as part of a main meal can help a lot, and the same goes for foods that are naturally acidic. If you want a snack, choose foods rich in calcium such as cheese or sugar-free yoghurts, or opt for fresh veggies and yoghurt based dips or hummus.

After you have eaten, wait at least half an hour before brushing as this allows the mouth to become less acidic, reducing your risk of acid erosion and tooth decay.

What is a Smile?

A smile is an amazing thing and begins as an emotional reaction to a situation which registers in a particular part of your brain. Next, the brain tells your facial muscles to move and in particular the muscles in the cheeks which will pull the corners of your lips upwards and the muscles surrounding your eyes will contract, squeezing the outside edges into crow’s feet. The whole event only lasts a few seconds but can have a powerful impact on its recipient.

You brush at least twice a day and floss once-a-day (we hope!) and probably feel you do a pretty good job of looking after your teeth. But what about those everyday habits that are all too easy to overlook and which could be ruining all your good work?