Monthly Archives: March 2020

7 ways to protect your kids teeth whilst staying at home…

1) Keep your basic routine

Right now, it’s easy to let routines slip. We appreciate it’s like groundhog day. However, keeping to a routine will not only help you to keep your sanity, but it will also help to keep the kids in the routine of cleaning their teeth.

2) Don’t let them snack all-day

Boredom can often result in snacking. Unfortunately snacking puts the teeth under constant attack and increases the chances of tooth decay. 

3) Hit refresh

It’s been incredible to see how well kids are now washing their hands. Why not use this extra time to help teach them on improving their toothbrushing too? When you next go to the shops pick up some new toothbrushes to help signify that your refreshing your routine and freshening up their brushing routine.

4) Don’t reward with sweets

The days are so long staying at home! We’re all surviving the best we can. Most parents are guilty of sugar-coated bribe! But try and reward with non-sugar alternatives. 

5) Look for healthy swaps

The NHS has a wonderful website about keeping children fit, active and healthy. It has some fantastic recipes that are pretty simple and some ideas for sugar swaps that can help reduce the amount of sugar your child consumes. Take a look: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life 

6) Embrace technology

There are loads of ways that technology can help to improve your child’s brushing, and it’s getting better all the time! From YouTube videos for littles ones to apps that link your toothbrush to a phone app.

We dedicated a whole blog to this topic- ‘Brushing your kid’s teeth and how technology can help…’

7) Watch what they drink

Ideally, children (and adults!) should only be drinking water between meals and save sugar-containing drinks for mealtimes. If your child is used to drinking juice between meals, then be sure to choose no added sugar cordial. 

Covid-19 UPDATE TO SERVICES

To our patients and Friends of Smile Essential Dental Practice. 

Our team have been working tirelessly to keep Smile Essential a clean and safe environment for you. 

As a Dental Practice, we work in an environment where the prevention of the spread of a whole range of infections is woven into everything we do. In addition to our usual scrupulous cross infection control measures, we have been paying particularly close attention to all government guidance and updates related more specifically to Coronavirus.  

Following consultation with countless colleagues, opinion leaders, governmental bodies, medical colleagues in the direct frontline of dealing with Covid-19 and numerous in-house staff meetings, it is with a heavy heart that we have made the immediate decision from Monday 23rd March 2020 to temporarily suspend all routine dental care and restrict care to severe dental emergencies only for the time being. 

Whilst sad, we believe this is unequivocally the best and only choice in the present circumstances. Our absolute priority has always been to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our patients and our staff. 

Our duty of care is not only to protect our patients and staff but also to minimise the spread of Covid-19 by enacting upon the social distancing measures as stressed by the government in recent days. 

As a team, we are doing everything we possibly can to remain fit, well and able to work so that we can continue our usual high standard of dental care for you when things return to normal. 

Our reception team will be here by telephone to answer any questions you may have or to help you in the case of a severe emergency. Please contact us on 0116 2891317 or email us on info@smileessential.co.uk.  If you have an appointment with us in our diary already in the upcoming days/weeks then one of our team members shall be giving you a call in the near future to reschedule it to a later date. 

Again to reiterate, we would like to reassure you that, as always we are here for you and shall continue to act to ensure the health and the safety of our patients and team. 

We shall, of course, keep you updated with any developments and when the time is right we look forward to welcoming you back to Smile Essential and bringing a smile back. 

Thank you for your support, and please be safe, take care of your loved ones and your communities. 

The Team at Smile Essential Dental Practice. 

 

 

Keeping up with your dental care at home…

Staying as healthy as possible has moved to the top of the list for all of us right now. Did you know that your oral health has a connection with your overall health?

But with more and more of us staying at home it can be easy to fall into bad habits and let regular routines slip. However, now could be the perfect time to refresh your routine! Here are our top tips for ensuring you maintain a healthy mouth.

• This is always on the top of the list for a reason! Ensure you’re cleaning twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste. The fluoride in the toothpaste helps to repair and strengthen the teeth.

• Change your toothbrush every two to three months or sooner if the bristles are splayed or worn. Toothbrushes aren’t as effective when worn down, and they also harbour an increasing amount of bacteria. 

• Clean in between your teeth. Toothbrushing only cleans three of the five surfaces of your teeth. Your breath will never be fresh or your teeth clean if you don’t clean in between them. The other two tooth surfaces can be cleaned by either flossing or using interdental brushes. You’ll be surprised at just how much food and plaque you will find hidden there!

• Avoid getting into the bad habit of snacking! Snacking throughout the day means your teeth are under attack and you stand a good chance of developing tooth decay.

• Brushing your teeth last thing at night with fluoride toothpaste helps to protect them. During the night, your mouth becomes dry and is more susceptible to problems.

• Stick to drinking water or herbal teas between meals.

Still want to improve your oral health further! Then you’ll enjoy reading our 3 quick switches to improve your dental routine…

Everything you need to know about the tooth fairy!

We have an excellent relationship with the tooth fairy at Smile Essential. We work closely with the tooth fairy and families with children to ensure the tooth fairy gets a top-quality product – well looked after milk teeth so children can receive some money.

Here are some fun things for you to know!

  • The tooth fairy often pays more for a first tooth
  • The most common amount given to Leicester children is £2 for a first tooth and £1
  • The tooth fairy pays more if the milk tooth is healthy
  • Parents on the West side of Leicestershire pay more than those on the East side Leicestershire!
  • If you accidentally lose the tooth, you can leave a note detailing where the tooth was lost, and the tooth fairy might be able to locate it. If found, then the fairy will leave you some money.
  • You have 20 milk teeth, and they start to fall out around 5-6 years old.
  • 36% of parents admit that their children spend their money on sweets!

So how much should you pay?

  • First tooth £2 (a large gold coin)
  • All teeth after that £1 (a gold coin)
  • If teeth have tooth decay 50p

But remember this is just a guide, and if teeth are particularly healthy or unhealthy, then the tooth fairy may leave a different amount. Price also varies dependant on market supply and demand.

Did you know that keeping your child’s milk teeth could potentially save their life?

There was a story in the Leicester Mercury about using the stem cells from milk teeth to help treat a range of diseases. Stem cells are usually taken from bone marrow, but scientist discovered that milk teeth are also full of these useful little cells! Stem cells are cells that can develop into many different cell types. Researchers believe that stem cell-based therapies will one day be able to treat a range of destructive disorders. We certainly hope so. Maybe we’ll end up paying the tooth fairy for our teeth back!

Is your child registered at a Leicester dental practice? Take a look at our children’s dentistry…