Dental help and advice in Harrow From Blue Court Dental Centre

Our Thoughts on the New Sugar Smart App

It seems that, each day, many of us are eating too much sugar.

You may be surprised to discover the amount of sugar you are eating and how quickly the added sugar that many of us consume can build up during the day.

The government are now advising that parents take action by installing a new app onto their smart phone which is able to read the barcodes on many food products giving them a visual representation of the amount of sugar a product contains.

The “sugar smart app”, from Public Health England (PHE), functions by checking bar code scans and revealing total sugar content of the food in either cubes or grams.

Authorities hope it can help combat tooth cavities, weight problems and type 2 diabetes and encourage families to select more healthy options with their daily diet.

TOOTH CAVITIES & DENTAL DISEASE

Approximately 46,500 children and young people under 19 were admitted to hospital for a primary diagnosis of dental caries in 2013–14 according to The state of children’s oral health in England report by the Faculty of Dental Surgery – that’s more children than were admitted for tonsillitis.

As a nation, if we are going to reduce these hospital admissions for young people and we need to get dental disease under control.

Dental cavities arise when the bacteria in your mouth secrete acid. This acid secretion happens as they digest the sugar in your diet. This acid attacks the hard enamel of your teeth and can continue to penetrate deep into the tooth structure.

If this acid attack is left unchecked then the tooth can become seriously infected.

The only way to stop the dental cavity from continuing to grow is to visit the dentist, have the caries removed and then the hole filled. Advice on a good oral health routine can then be given as well as dietary advice.

It is this acid attack which can be limited if we control the amount of sugar that we have in our diets.

There are however other reasons to limit the amount of sugar.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Chris Askew, Diabetes UK Chief Executive, said:

“Diets that are high in sugar are fuelling the rise in obesity, and in turn the dramatic rise in Type 2 diabetes, a serious health condition that can lead to devastating complications such as blindness, amputations and stroke. This is unlike Type 1 diabetes which cannot be prevented and is not caused by being obese. With the average child consuming three times the recommended daily amount of sugar, the need for action has never been more urgent. The new Sugar Smart app will help parents to understand and take control of their children’s sugar intake.

PHE states that young people are eating 3X more sugar than is recommended in their new Change4Life marketing campaign. Their research indicates that normally children aged 4 to 10 years of age are consuming 22kg of added sugar annually. That equates to about 5,500 sugar cubes which is more that the average 5-year old weighs!

It’s all as simple as 3 easy steps:

Get The App
Start Scanning
Reveal The Sugar

HERE’S HOW TO USE THE SUGAR SMART APP

Download the application through the Apple Store or Google Play.
Based on how old you are, your everyday sugar allowance will differ. The application informs you on the maximum you should eat.
Select the product that has a barcode.
Open the application.
Permit the application the use of the digital camera on your phone- a box will appear requesting permission.
Line the barcode track up with the red-colored line and wait for a beep. If it’s doesn’t work, yo may be trying to scan too close up, so move the camera further away.
The application will let you know just how much sugar there is in the product – however the application does not have every food item available yet as it is still in it’s development stage.
After that you can share the end result together with your connections on Facebook, Twitter, Google & other social media sites.
Clicking the menu button gives you more about sugar content in meals, a scanning history and let’s you go to the app’s website.

If you have children we can highly recommend that they download the app and begins scanning food, this can be a fun way to educate your case about the amount of sugar in food.

More resources about sugar

ID-100289950 — How Much Sugar is Too Much?

Pre treatment — Do You Have a Higher Chance of Developing Tooth Decay?

Image Source: www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Bluecourt Dental is a Private dental practice in Harrow offering free dental health advice via their website, social media streams and regularly updated blog posts.

Mouth Cancer – Are You at Risk?

November 2015 is mouth cancer action month.

Mouth cancer action month was set up in 1998 to begin to combat the growing concerns about a significant increase in diagnoses of mouth cancer in the UK. The primary concern was that there seemed to be a lack of general awareness about the signs and symptoms of oral cancer, knowing what to look out for and being confident to report it to a healthcare professional. This year our dental practice in Harrow is doing its part to raise the awareness of mouth cancer.

Throughout this blog post we have placed several hyperlinks to additional resources, if you click on these you can find out more information about the subjects highlighted.

The causes of mouth cancer.

Tobacco

Most mouth cancers can be linked back to smoking cigars and pipes, there are also instances of habits such as chewing tobacco being a contributory factor to mouth cancer. Alcohol also gives an increased risk of mouth cancer, particularly if consumed at the same time as tobacco.

Sunlight

With a tendency for people to lay out in the sun more, over exposure to sunlight can also responsible for causing some cancer of the lips.

Sexual Preferences

Many recent reports have linked mouth cancer to the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is the major cause of cervical cancer and affects the skin that lines the moist areas of the body. HPV can be spread through oral sex, and research now suggests that it could soon rival smoking and drinking as one of the main causes of mouth cancer. Practicing safe sex and limiting the number of partners you have may help reduce your chances of contracting HPV.

The signs of oral cancer

There are many different forms of oral cancer. However, the primary signs and symptoms may include:

A lump or thickening of the soft tissue in your mouth, including the gums, tongue and cheek.
Soreness and/or a feeling that something is caught in your throat.
Difficulty in chewing or swallowing.
Jaw pain.
Difficulty moving your tongue or jaw.
Numbness of the tongue or other area of your mouth.
Hoarseness.
White or red patches in the mouth the do not normally. (Typically these areas should heal within three weeks)
Mouth ulcers that don’t heal within three weeks.

Early detection of mouth cancer

The two best ways of detecting mouth cancer early are to be mouth aware at home and to have regular visits to your dentist. A modern dental practice should always undertake the mouth cancer check with every dental health assessment and this is a primary way of spotting the first signs of mouth cancer.

In order to be more mouth aware we have created a free guide, this goes through seven points for self-assessment at home. Looking at the risk factors for oral cancer and how you can lower them. You can download your 7 point mouth cancer self assessment guide here.

If your dentist believes they have found an early sign of mouth cancer than they will immediately refer you to the local hospital who can carry out more extensive tests which may include biopsies.

If mouth cancer is spotted early, the chances of a complete cure are good, and the smaller the area or ulcer the better the chance of a cure.

How to keep a healthy mouth

Blue Lip Selfie Campaign – #bluelipselfie

Get involved with our Blue Lip Selfie campaign and show your support for mouth cancer!

This year, the British Dental Health Foundation have joined forces with main sponsors Denplan and created a fantastic new campaign to help raise awareness of mouth cancer.

They’re asking people to wear blue lips as a visible sign of support for mouth cancer and take a selfie. We hope this positive, interactive approach will significantly boost awareness of the disease and get everybody taking about mouth cancer, the risk factors involved, the signs and symptoms, and what we can do to help reduce our risk.

So what are you waiting for? Show the world your perfect pout and be part of something huge that aims to get everybody talking about mouth cancer!

Take your #bluelipselfie and donate to mouth cancer

How to take part

Everybody can take part in the Blue Lip Selfie campaign; men or women, old or young, it doesn’t matter.

All you need to do is take a selfie of yourself or alongside family, friends or colleagues, and share it with the hashtag #bluelipselfie to help raise awareness get the campaign going viral and encourage others to show their support for mouth cancer.

Time to make that change

Years of bad habits and irregular visits to the dentist caused this patient’s teeth to deteriorate very quickly. Her top teeth were very uneven and heavily discoloured. Close friends and family always commented on how her teeth looked, which over time, caused the patient’s confidence to drop. She would never smile openly or laugh out loudly. Meeting new people was impossible and having photographs taken was never an option. This had a big impact on her life. She wanted to become the person she was, someone who was full of life and confidence.

After careful thought and planning, the best course of treatment recommended by Dr Dixit was to replace the existing crown and provide new porcelain crowns for the heavily filled and discoloured teeth. The teeth were prepared to the ideal shape for the crowns using custom-made templates to minimise drilling. A soft-tissue laser was used to painlessly recontour the gums enabling the final crowns to be of the ideal length for her face. The new colour was matched to perfection using a special hand-held shade taking device.

The patient was over whelmed with the results. Friends and family could not believe how confident it had made her. She was now able to hold her head up high and smile openly and laugh loudly.

Are British Teeth Finally Something to Smile about?

There have often been jokes about the state of the teeth in the UK compared to those of citizens in the USA, but are things changing? Are British teeth finally something to smile about?

Ricky Gervais' teeth — “These are my real teeth. You think I’d wear them all the time if they weren’t real? ” Ricky Gervais’ reply to interviewer remarking on his ‘false teeth’. (Source news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7633254.stm)

Over the years more and more Americans have had cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening and dental veneers have become commonplace, Linda Stradley (1) says:

A recent survey showed 80% of Americans aged 18 to 49 want whiter teeth, with women leading in this area at 85%. 6 out 10 believe a whiter, brighter smile would boost their self confidence especially in the 18 to 24 age range

It wasn’t that British teeth were particularly bad that put us as the butt of many a joke, It was simply that the idea of a perfect smile had become brighter and whiter thanks to the surge in Americans having cosmetic dentistry – British teeth were just more natural!

What we have noticed is that patients looking for cosmetic dentist‘s in the UK, particularly in our location of Harrow, Middlesex has also increased.

Natural smiles vs. Hollywood smiles

When dental companies first started to produce materials that enabled dentists to restore smiles with dentures, dental veneers and bonding the range of colours was very limited. Over the years this range of colours has grown and can be seen in the image below.

What is interesting to notice is that the three whiter Shade taps on the left of the image are additions. When Vita performed their original research to discover the different colours of teeth that existed throughout the populace they reproduced this in their a guide, from the lightest discovery through to the darkest discovery.

Since its original shade guide was introduced the American desire to have a whiter smile has forced the manufacturers to add on these three extra colours from mid-white through to the brightest dazzling white.

This session with having perfect teeth has been reflected in this Quora discussion.

Who is having cosmetic dentistry?

Source - American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Levin Group, Inc study 2013 — Source – American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Levin Group, Inc study 2013

The distribution of people having cosmetic dentistry is fairly even across all age groups although more than half of the people having cosmetic dentistry are over the age of 40.

This is possibly contrary to what many people think in that cosmetic treatments are only for younger people.

Why do people consider cosmetic dentistry?

This is another extremely interesting aspect to look at, why do people want cosmetic dentistry in the first place?

One might initially think that it’s because people want to look younger however the results of the survey showed that 89% of people asked for cosmetic dentistry to improve their physical attractiveness and/or self-esteem

Reasons for having cosmetic dentistry — Source – American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Levin Group, Inc study 2013

What options are people going for to enhance their smiles?

Not surprisingly one of the most common treatments in cosmetic dentistry is bleaching or whitening at 93%, however crowns and bridges top the poll at 97%.

What treatments that people have with cosmetic dentistry — Source – American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Levin Group, Inc study 2013

Why are British teeth now something to smile about?

The first reason is that more people are visiting the dentist. NHS statistics show that 52.3% of the adult population now visit the dentist and 69.2% of the child population visit the dentist. With more people visiting the dentist and having access to healthy teeth this will inevitably enhance the smiles of people in the UK.

One of the biggest problems however is that nearly 100,000 fewer children visited the dentist in the most recent research compared to previously produced statistics.If this trend isn’t reversed then the jokes about British teeth may become true again in years to come!

Campaigns such as this “Is your mouth making you sick?” infographic have also helped raise the awareness of going to the dentist, particularly with its links to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer

Proof that the British teeth are something to smile about

This patient had cosmetic dentistry using dental veneers to restore her smile.

The advent of additional treatment styles has also enable more people to access treatments which make their smiles look better. In the past these treatments were not available in the UK but modern orthodontics which allow invisible, rapid and lifestyle treatments to straighten teeth have now become commonplace.

Six month smiles is a great example of this, this modern treatment has allowed more patients to access orthodontic braces than ever before. Orthodontics is generally the preferred way to straighten teeth, rather than have dental veneers. Orthodontics maintains your natural tooth structure which is an optimum treatment for most dentists.

If you live locally and would like to visit our dentist in Harrow please complete the form on this webpage to request a free cosmetic dentistry consultation. We are always happy to help you achieve your perfect smile.

References

(1) http://whatscookingamerica.net/HealthBeauty/TeethWhitening.htm

The latest feedback from our patients

Answers to Some Common Questions about Mouth Cancer

Did you know that your routine six monthly dental health check should include a mouth cancer screening? There is unfortunately no national programme in the UK regarding screen for mouth cancer and it is down each individual to ensure they visit their dentist to be screened every six months.

As part of our oral healthcare information program we have written this blog post to answer your common questions about mouth/oral cancer.

First signs of mouth cancer.

There are a range of signs of mouth cancer which typically include things like:

Mouth ulcers which don’t heal.
Persistent discomfort or pain in your mouth.
Read or white patches in and around your mouth or towards your throat.
Lumps in your neck caused by enlarged lymph nodes.
Difficulty in swallowing which may be accompanied by pain or burning sensation when chewing.
Bad breath otherwise known as halitosis. Bad breath in itself is not a sign of mouth cancer but if you have cancer bad breath can be worse or more frequent than normal.
A lump on/or thickening of your lip.
Unusual numbness or bleeding in your mouth.

Checking for mouth cancer.

When your dentist undertakes your dental health check and includes a mouth cancer screening they will:

Check inside of your mouth with the help of a small mirror.
Look at your neck and underneath your jaw.
Check to see if your lymph nodes are swollen.
Observe your face and neck looking for swellings, skin abnormalities, moles and asymmetry.
Look for any changes in colour or texture around the board of your lip.
Visually examine your gums and the inside of your lips/cheek.
Examine your tongue for changes in colour, texture, Mobility and symmetry.
Move your tongue from either side to check underneath.
Asked you to say “Ah” and check the back of your mouth and soft tissue areas.

We have also written a self examination guide for mouth cancer screening in Harrow, this can be downloaded here.

Free guide available for immediate download…

“7 Point Self Examination Guide for Oral Cancer”

One of the most important things with mouth cancer is early detection, so in this guide we will talk about how you can examine yourself at home, the risk factors for oral cancer and how you can lower them.Our guide is exclusively available by e-mail so please enter your details opposite for immediate access.

Dr Nishan DixitBDS (Lond) 1994,

LDS RCS (ENG) 1994

GDC Reg No. 70208

Mouth cancer prognosis.

The prognosis for mouth cancer depends largely upon how advanced your cancer is and the type of cancer that you have. It also depends upon exactly where your cancer is located. Cancer Research UK gives the following statistics.

Rates for individual mouth cancers include

Lip cancer – nearly 90 out of 100 people diagnosed (89%) will live for 5 years or more

Tongue cancer – 55 out of 100 women (55%) and 44 out of 100 men (44%) will live for 5 years or more

Oral cavity – this includes all other mouth cancers (not lip or tongue) and nearly 55 out of every 100 women (55%) and 48 out of every 100 men (48%) will be alive 5 years later

The key with improving the prognosis for mouth cancer is early detection. The National Institute Of Dental and Craniofacial Research reports that A five-year survival rate for those with localised disease at diagnosis is 83% compared with only 32% of those whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Steps you can take to lower the risk of mouth cancer.

There are various steps you can take to lower your risk of developing mouth cancer, these include:

Monitoring your tobacco/alcohol use. Many cases of mouth cancer can be linked directly to smoking cigarettes.
Be aware of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases. Human papillomavirus (specifically the HPV 16 type) have been linked also to the increased risk of developing mouth cancer.
Exposure to the sun. You might think that you don’t sunbathe with your mouth open, so how can this increase your risk of mouth cancer? The reality is that mouth cancer can also happen on your lip , which does indeed come into contact with direct sunlight.

Mouth cancer treatment.

As we have already said the prognosis depends upon the type of cancer and how far advanced your cancer is. So long as your cancer has been detected early and hasn’t spread to other areas of your body then a complete cure may be possible with a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Once again, the effectiveness of treatment really does depend on early detection.

The NHS has written an excellent introduction to the various treatments of mouth cancerincluding:

Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Surgery
Radiotherapy
Chemotherapy
Cetuximab

A patient’s experience of oral cancer

This gentleman gives a very positive story of oral cancer and how its early detection impacted him.

Blue Court Dental Centre are a local family dental practice in the heart of Harrow, Middlesex. As well as offering a range of dental treatments to the local people they also offer dental healthcare assessments including routine oral cancer screening.

Did you know that 48% of people believe that a smile is the most memorable feature after first meeting someone?

Everyone should be able to smile with confidence, did you know that 48% of people believe that smile is the most memorable feature after first meeting someone And people are 57% more likely to get a date based on the picture alone if they have straight teeth.

These statistics led let us to create the following infographic helping you understand more about straight teeth treatments with Six Month Smiles here at Blue Court Dental in Harrow.

We hope you enjoy and please feel free to share…

I’m not happy with my smile, what are my options for cosmetic dentistry?

We find that many people are looking for options to restore their smile but simply don’t know what those options are. This blog post has been written to allow you to understand what the options are available, possible prices, the procedures and what to expect from cosmetic dentistry.

Cosmetic dentistry is broadly broken down into 4 main areas.

Straightening crooked teeth.
Whitening dark teeth.
Restoring broken down teeth.
Replacing missing teeth.

Let’s look at each of these areas in turn.

Options to straighten crooked teeth.

As with many areas of dentistry there is in one simple way of doing this, which actually works as an advantage as it means that you can choose the best approach for you. We thought one of the easiest ways to break these treatments down Is to look at treatment time is and how quick you could have straight teeth again.

Straight teeth in around 2 to 3 weeks

If you’re looking to have straight teeth in the quickest time possible them possibly dental veneers are the way forwards. Dental veneers are a precision made thin-layer which fit over the surface of your existing teeth. They made from a high-strength dental ceramic by a highly skilled dental technician and so often come with a higher pricetag than many other options.

Dental veneers can also be used to restore broken down teeth and whiten dark teeth, so at the same time straightening them you could end up with a perfect Hollywood smile at the same time!

One of the big disadvantages with dental veneers are that they often require some form of reduction of your natural teeth underneath. Many dentists prefer to work on a minimally invasive nature, whilst dental veneers are relatively minimally invasive they do still often require drilling of your natural tooth.

If your natural tooth is otherwise healthy then you need to know that some of this may be reduced in order to accept the new dental veneer.

Before cosmetic dentistry from our Harrow dentists — Before dental veneers

>> Information from the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry about dental veneers

Straighter teeth in around 12 to 16 weeks

One of the disadvantages of dental veneers is the fact that they often require a small amount of reduction of your natural tooth. Whenever possible we prefer to keep your natural teeth fully intact and so this is where the next treatment to straighten teeth comes in, it involves moving them with orthodontics and the technique which is fastest is known as the Inman Aligner.

The Inman aligner is a revolutionary new technique whereby a removable orthodontic appliance is used to push and pull your teeth in the correct direction. You need to be committed with your Inman aligner and wear it for at least 20 hours per day, removing it only for cleaning and eating.

Here’s a video of how the Inman aligner works by pushing and pulling at the same time.

>> more information on the Inman aligner

Straight teeth in around six months.

Many people dislike the fact that the Inman aligner, whilst being rapid, is a removable appliance. Some people prefer to have a fixed appliance. Fixed appliance orthodontics are generally able to move teeth slightly more than a removable appliance and the one that we prefer is Six Month Smiles.

This orthodontic system uses fixed, tooth coloured brackets to move your teeth around six months, this is much faster than conventional orthodontics which often takes between one and two years. The reason we can move the teeth quicker is down to a revolutionary type of bracket and the fact that we are often only moving the front teeth.

Before Six Month Smiles

After Six Month Smiles

>> more information on Six Month Smiles

Cosmetic dentistry to whiten dark teeth

You have two options to whiten dark teeth:

Teeth whitening.
Dental veneers.

Teeth whitening and cosmetic dentistry

Teeth whitening is one of the most easily accessible treatments in dentistry as it can be offered to almost anyone. So long as you have natural teeth (dental veneers or crowns cannot be whitened) and you are in good dental health then you are more than likely candidate of teeth whitening.

As with any dental treatment it is absolutely vital that you are in good dental health before embarking on any programme of whitening. This is one of the reasons it is important to visit your dental practice to have your whitening treatment, if your gums are unhealthy or perhaps bleed on contact then this can affect the whitening process and inflame any gum disease you may already have.

Teeth whitening works by placing a small amount of peroxide gel in contact with your teeth. This peroxide whitening gel is held in place by close-fitting and precision made bleaching tray which is the spoke to you and cannot be used with anybody else. These trays need to be made with absolute precision.

They need to seal around the age of your tooth/gum margin to ensure that none of the peroxide gel touches your sensitive gums. This is another reason why we recommend going to see your dentist for whitening, they can accurately make sure that this tray fits precisely prior to beginning any treatment.

You will typically wear your teeth whitening bleaching trays overnight for approximately 2 weeks. The good thing with the treatment is that if you experience too much sensitivity or you reach your desired tooth colour then you can stop treatment immediately.

Dental veneers for whitening teeth

If your teeth are extremely dark, perhaps because they have died then we may find that whitening is not adequate to get them to the shade required. If this is the case then dental veneers can be used to cover up the dark teeth underneath.

Before restoration with veneers to whiten teeth

Restoring broken down teeth in cosmetic dentistry

We’ve already discussed the ability for dental veneers to straighten crooked teeth and white and dark teeth, they can also be used to restore broken down teeth. Because we’ve already spoken about dental veneers we’re going to focus our attention now on dental crowns.

A dental crown is a precision made and highly aesthetic replacement for the natural crown of your tooth. The most aesthetic ones are made from pure high-strength dental great ceramic which is extremely long lasting and can withstand the force is exerted when you eat and chew.

Your dentist will remove any decayed area of tooth, prepare the remaining teeth and take an impression which will be sent off to the dental technician. The dental technician, who was a highly skilled member of the dental team will then make your new crown to fit exactly over the stump which the dentist has prepared.

This whole process takes approximately 2 weeks from start to finish, was the technician is making a new crown you will be supplied with a temporary crown.

Replacing missing teeth in cosmetic dentistry

We’ve written blog post in the past offering top tips for people wanting to replace missing teeth, so we’re not going to spend too much time here talking about this. What is important to know is that replacing missing teeth can also be done in conjunction with other forms of cosmetic dentistry.

If you have missing tooth it may be that in order to replace it we need to create more space, if this is true then we may use orthodontics to move the surrounding teeth around to create enough space. You may also want to restore broken down teeth and white and other teeth at the same time as replacing missing teeth. This then becomes a more complex form of cosmetic dentistry with complicated procedures.

If you’re going to have these more complex procedures we recommend you search for your cosmetic dentist on the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry website, in the search facility if you type in Nishan Dixit and enter the area as Harrow you will find that he is a full member of the Academy who has been qualified for more than three years, demonstrated a commitment cosmetic dentistry by fulfilling their strict requirements which include attendance at meetings and ongoing postgraduate education in subjects relevant to the practice of cosmetic dentistry.

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Dr Nishan Dixit runs a dental practice in the heart of Harrow offering cosmetic dentistry to the local people. The practice offers a free cosmetic dentistry consultation with the treatment co-ordinator, please complete the relevant form here

Who said I’m camera shy !

“Please make me look nice for my daughter’s big day!” These were the words of a loving mother who desperately wanted nice teeth for what was going to be one of the most important days of her life, her daughter’s wedding. For most of her life, she had lived with a smile she was very unhappy with. Her top teeth were very uneven and discoloured. The old existing crowns towards the back of the mouth had began to deteriorate, as well as a tooth which had become very stained and unsightly. The gap in between her front two teeth always seemed to draw attention to her not so great smile. This made her feel very self conscious and even embarrassed. She would never smile in front of the camera, and even in general conversation, she would raise her hand to cover her mouth. Friends and family always thought she was very quiet, but in reality, she lacked so much confidence that smiling, laughing and even talking was something she found very difficult. She wanted a smile that would make her look and feel great.

With careful thought and planning, Dr Dixit achieved this transformation by using a combination of all ceramic crowns and veneers. To make the teeth brighter , the teeth were whitened using the home whitening system. The heavily filled teeth were protected with new crowns and the new veneers helped to improve the shape and position of the teeth. The colour was matched exactly to the patients new teeth colour. The crowns and veneers were made to look as natural as possible.

The patient was very pleased with the results. It had given her so much confidence that she felt like a new woman. She looked and felt amazing. The discoloured front tooth and filling had gone and the visible black lines were no longer there. She finally had the smile she always wanted.

What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth?

Many people are looking for that brighter, whiter smile but did you know that research (1) seems to indicate that it’s not actually a white smile which people find attractive, rather, it is a yellow smile which people find unattractive.

The researchers found that:

Whitening had no effect beyond that produced by natural colouration. This indicates that these colour induced alterations in ratings of attractiveness are mediated by increased/decreased yellowing rather than whitening per se.

As we get older our teeth yellow with age and whitening them back to their natural colouration is all that is required to achieve the most attractive smile, so what is the best way to whiten your teeth?

The best way to whiten teeth.

Here’s a simple list:

Good oral hygiene.
Over-the-counter teeth whitening products.
Home teeth whitening.
Restorative treatments such as immediate veneers, dental veneers dental crowns.

Good oral hygiene.

The first step to enjoying whiter teeth is to maintain good oral hygiene. Firstly this will help keep your natural teeth as white as possible, if plaque (2) is kept at bay then staining is less likely to build up on your teeth. Secondly, before you have any of the other teeth whitening treatments you’ll need to ensure that your teeth and gums are in good condition. Most dentists will not offer any form of cosmetic or whitening treatment if you’re oral hygiene is not up to scratch!

Over-the-counter teeth whitening products.

There are many products available to buy over-the-counter in your local pharmacy, However, the Daily Mail (3) says:

Experts warn that some products which claim to whiten could actually harm your teeth, gums and even your stomach lining.

While some of these products may work their effectiveness and safety isn’t monitored by a dental professional and therefore they come with some risk if you use them at home.

Another trend in teeth whitening is to go to beauty salons or other establishments other than a dental practice. Whilst this may be cheaper than going to a dentist it is also illegal! Teeth whitening falls under the category of “the practice of dentistry”, the General Dental Council (4) says:

The practice of dentistry is limited to GDC registrants. It is the Council’s view that applying materials and carrying out procedures designed to improve the aesthetic appearance of teeth amounts to the practice of dentistry. So too does the giving of clinical advice about such procedures. Therefore all tooth whitening procedures, including bleach and laser treatment, are seen as the practice of dentistry by the General Dental Council.

It is important to know the teeth whitening products contain an amount of peroxide, this peroxide can be dangerous if not used correctly and it is for this reason that we recommend you only visit a suitably qualified dental professional for your teeth whitening.

Home teeth whitening.

When you have home teeth whitening you will be provided with a custom made and closed fitting bleaching tray, into this tray you will apply the bleaching gel which is held against your teeth.This bleaching tray has some unique features:

It will be extremely close-fitting ensuring that you use the minimum amount of gel with each application, this means the gel goes further and lasts longer.
The tray is customised for you, it can only be used by you.
It will put a very slight amount of pressure around the tooth/gum margin. This is to create a seal in this area to prevent the peroxide gel from touching your sensitive gums.

These design features are extremely important to ensure that the treatment is not only effective but safe too, only a qualified dental professional is able to prescribe one of these trays.

Something to watch out for, the bleaching tray is made from a thermoplastic, this means you will need to keep tray away from hot/warm water as it could distort.

Restorative treatments such as veneers or crowns.

In some extreme cases with very dark teeth conventional teeth whitening is not able to lighten the teeth enough.

As you can see from the case above these teeth were particularly dark and the patient wanted them particularly liked, there was also another complication, and existing Crown on the front tooth. Dental crowns and veneers cannot be lightened with teeth whitening techniques, so if you have an existing restoration then this will need to be replaced as part of the whitening process.

This lady wanted to improve her smile, have it more natural looking and whiter than it was before so we prepared her teeth for porcelain crowns to achieve an excellent result, what do you think?

>> Read more about this case here

Summary

Many times a combination of treatments can be used to whiten your teeth, you may have a single tooth which is too dark to whiten using the bleaching method, but we may be able to whiten the surrounding teeth and then use a single dental veneer or crown on the very dark tooth to whiten that the same shade.

The cost of teeth whitening treatments will also vary enormously depending on the complexity of your case. To give you an idea of dental fees please visit our fee guide. By far the cheapest way of maintaining unnaturally bright smile is to keep your teeth in excellent dental health. This will keep plaque at bay and ensure that the buildup of any staining on your teeth is kept to a minimum. The next most cost-effective method is to consider teeth bleaching however this is not always suitable for the reasons already stated.

Teeth Whitening References:

“Evidence to Suggest That Teeth Act as Human Ornament Displays Signalling Mate Quality” Colin A. Hendrie, Gayle Brewer Published: July 31, 2012DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042178 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0042178 site accessed 18/12/14
Information on Plaque From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_plaque site accessed 18/12/14
The Daily Mail: DIY dazzlers: High Street tooth whiteners put to the test Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1282977/DIY-dazzlers-High-Street-tooth-whiteners-test.htm site accessed 18/12/14
General Dental Council : Tooth whitening Q and A’s. http://www.gdc-uk.org/dentalprofessionals/standards/pages/tooth-whitening.aspx site accessed 18/12/14

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Blue Court Dental Centre is a local dentist in the heart of Harrow, Middlesex. They offer a range of dental treatments including teeth whitening, dental veneers and oral hygiene programs to help keep your teeth looking fresh and bright for life.

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