If your eyes are the windows to your soul than your tongue has to be a window to your overall health.

When we think about our visit to your local dental practice we often picture the dentist checking our teeth but never our tongue. It might surprise you to know that during our dental health checks at Smile Essential dental practice the first thing we actually check is the tongue!

We check that it looks healthy and also that the other soft tissues, glands and throat are healthy before moving onto checking the teeth.

Now it’s time to stick out your tongue and check that you don’t match any of the descriptions below:

If You See White Patches on Your Tongue

White patches on your tongue signify oral candidiasis, which is an overgrowth of yeast or thrush. Try cleaning your tongue with a toothbrush or a tongue scraper every day for a few weeks. If the patches persist, their cause is likely an overgrowth of candida you should visit your dentist to see if they need to prescribe you an anti-fungal drug.

Black and Hairy-Looking

There are a few causes for a black hairy tongue, including yeast infections, diabetes, cancer therapies, and poor oral hygiene. A buildup of dead skin cells on your tongue’s papillae results in the hairy look. No medical care is needed for this condition; simply practice excellent oral hygiene by regularly brushing your tongue (with the aid of tongue scrapers, as needed), and the problem should not persist. Remember to also change your toothbrush regularly.

Ridges on Your Tongue

Ridges occur when your teeth press into your tongue. This usually happens while you sleep. Fortunately, the ridges require no treatment and go away with time.

Bumps/spots on Your Tongue

If you spot bumps on your tongue they are most likely close relatives of the cold sore. These can be caused by many things, including biting, smoking, and stress. Home remedies can work well to treat this perhaps try gargling warm salt water mouth rinses, eating food that is soft and cold as to not agitate the tongue. Avoid foods that might trigger a negative reaction such as greasy foods. Lastly, ensure good oral health care.

You can ensure you stay healthy and your tongue stays looking nice and pink by having a healthy diet, not smoking or drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. You should also maintain good oral hygiene this includes daily cleaning of the tongue.

Have a look at what we inspect at our dental health checks…

Teeth grinding is medically known as a condition called bruxism. The painful symptoms of severe teeth grinding and clenching include headaches, jaw pain and even tooth damage.

Bruxism affects more than six million people in the UK. But the severity of the symptoms and the frequency of grinding varies. Most cases of bruxism (80%) are mild and occur subconsciously during sleep.

But, when it’s frequent and severe, grinding your teeth can aggravate the joints in your lower jaw, also known as the temporomandibular joints, or TMJ. Bruxism is usually associated with contributing factors, such as stress or anxiety.

Signs you may suffer from bruxism:

• Pain or tenderness in the face, jaw joint area, neck and shoulders, and in or around the ear when you chew, speak or open your mouth wide
• Limited ability to open the mouth very wide
• Jaws that get “stuck” or “lock” in the open or closed position
• Clicking, popping or grating sounds in the jaw joint when opening or closing the mouth (which may or may not be accompanied by pain)
• A tired feeling in the face
• Difficulty chewing or a sudden uncomfortable bite, as if the upper and lower teeth are not fitting together properly
• Swelling on the side of the face.
• Other common symptoms of TMJ disorders include toothaches, headaches/migraines, neck aches, dizziness, earaches, hearing problems, upper shoulder pain and ringing in the ears (tinnitus).

Treatment for Bruxism include:

Mouth guards – can be effective in preventing wear and tear on the teeth caused by grinding but doesn’t stop you from grinding your teeth

Mouth splints – splints stop you from being able to lock your jaw together so they can stop you grinding and clenching.

Reducing stress – sometimes it’s difficult to make life less stressful. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may be beneficial in helping you to manage your problems by changing the way you think and how you act.

Lifestyle – make some simple lifestyle changes, if you smoke then give up and don’t smoke before bed, reduce your alcohol consumption and take time out to enjoy some rest and relaxation daily.

Learn more about treatment options by clicking here…

While your children can create healthy habits at any age, it’s easiest to teach and instil habits if you get them started early enough that it becomes the norm. Follow our 3 easy steps for taking care of your children’s teeth so they can benefit from a healthy mouth for life.

Step one: visiting the dentist

There is no need to ‘prepare’ your child for a visit to the dentist. It should be a casual visit, just like going to the shops. Book yourself a visit to the dentist and bring them with you. This way you can lead them by example and it will your child to get used to the practice and get to know the dentists. There is no need for a young child to be examined or sit in the dental chair at first. The most important thing is that we can build a great and relaxed relationship with yourself and also the child.

Step two: taking care with your child’s diet

It’s vital that children develop good eating habits. This will do more to protect their general health as well as dental health in later life.

• Ensure water is the main drink consumed if you want your child to have juice keep it strictly for meal times only
• Stick to regular meal times and discourage overly snacking
• Limit sugary foods sweets and fizzy drinks should be avoided as much as possible. These foods should be encouraged as treat foods and never foods that are consumed on a regular basis.

TOP TIP – cheese is great for snacking on and can be combined with many fruits such as apples, grapes and pear to give a delicious yet healthy snack.

Step three: tooth brushing

As soon as your baby has a tooth, brush it gently with a soft baby brush and a smear of toothpaste twice a day. Your baby will soon want to try brushing, and this should be encouraged even though they might just chew the brush a lot at first!

Children need to follow a very simple routine of using a fluoride toothpaste (appropriate for their age), brushing for two minutes and cleaning twice a day.

Give your child lots of praise, reinforce the message that they have very healthy teeth and show them how lovely and clean they are in the mirror.

Learn more about how we take care of your child’s teeth…

What’s the Association Between Gum Disease and Diabetes?
Many people are surprised to discover the link between dental health and diabetes. Research has been ongoing for many years now and shows that there is an increased prevalence of gum disease among those diagnosed with diabetes.

If I Have Diabetes, am I at Risk for Dental Problems?
Managing your blood glucose levels is a crucial factor in deterring any likely problems. If your blood glucose levels are poorly controlled you are more at risk of developing serious gum disease, more so than non-diabetics.

What’s more is that serious gum disease may be a factor in causing your blood sugar to rise and make your glucose levels even harder to control.

Other oral problems associated to diabetes include: thrush, an infection caused by fungus that grows in the mouth, and dry mouth which can cause soreness, ulcers, infections and cavities.

How Can I Help Prevent Dental Problems Associated with Diabetes?
First and foremost, control your blood glucose level. Then, take good care of your teeth and gums, along with regular dental checkups every six months. To control thrush, a fungal infection, maintain good diabetic control, avoid smoking and, if you wear them, remove and clean dentures daily. Good blood glucose control can also help prevent or relieve dry mouth caused by diabetes.

Do I Need to Tell My Dentist?
Having the most up to date information on your medical health enables us to offer you the very best care and advice possible. To be able to advise you accurately it’s crucial we have a full medical history to stop any problems from arising.

Need to register at a new dentist? Click here to see why you should choose us…

When will my child start to lose their baby teeth, is a question we get asked often at Smile Essential Dental Practice by parents and eager children. Children start to lose their primary set of teeth, also known as baby teeth commonly called milk teeth because of their milky colour.

The age a child starts to lose their first set of teeth varies so don’t be alarmed if your child is early or late and seek advice from your dentist if you’re at all concerned.

Interestingly teeth often tend to fall out in the same order that they appeared. The first teeth generally fall out between the ages of 5 and 7 they are usually the bottom front two teeth followed by the top front teeth (central incisors), then the next two on either side of the bottom jaw, and finally, the two next to the top front teeth (the lateral incisors). Usually once these 8 teeth have been lost there tends to be a little break from the tooth fairy until the age of 10 – 12.

When your child starts this second phase of losing teeth aged around 10 – 12 it can take up to the age of 17 and it’s not unusual for it take up to 21 years old to lose the rest of the milk teeth.

Here are some other points you might like to know:

• New teeth may look bigger, especially those first few. That’s because they are!

• Adult teeth also tend to be less white than milk teeth – this is normal.

• New teeth can have pronounced ridges this is just because they haven’t been used yet for biting and chewing. They will eventually smooth over.

• Milk teeth don’t have roots when they fall out because they have been reabsorbed by the body

• Girls generally lose teeth earlier than boys

If you would like to know more about children health then click here…

Bad breath if we’re honest is a problem for most of us at some point in our life. That nasty whiff can have us turning up our nose and crinkling our toes faster than Usain Bolt running for the last bus home.

August 6th 2016 marks National Fresh Breath Day so we have scoured the internet and asked our dentists here at Smile Essential in Leicester about all things breath related so we can help make your life a little sweeter.

There are 3 main reasons why people suffer from bad breath. First of all, it can just come down to what you eat garlic, onions and coffee are all known to cause a stench. Then there’s dental hygiene. Many people think that brushing their teeth twice a day is enough to keep bad breath at bay, but they’re wrong. Over a third of your tooth surfaces are in between the teeth so if you’re not flossing then you are leaving behind plaque and food which is going to breed bacteria and cause a pong. Lastly, bad breath can be caused by an underlying medical cause for that, such as throat, nose or lung infections and sinusitis, bronchitis or diabetes.

How do I know if I have bad breath? There are a few ways to find out if you have bad breath. You could ask a close family member or friend for their honest opinion. Or you could lick the back of your hand and wait for the saliva to dry a little then sniff.

How can I tell someone they have bad breath? Telling someone they have bad breath obviously runs the very high risk of offending them. If you don’t have to meet the person too often then perhaps just casually offer them a stick of gum or a breath freshener. We liked these tips from wikihow –

Exercise good oral hygiene when you’re around them –

After lunch say, “I’m going to go to the bathroom to quickly and brush my teeth; that dressing had so much garlic in it!”

Show them or talk about how you always keep floss and mouthwash in your desk because you cannot stand having bad breath.

Or if you feel close enough to that person perhaps you could be a little more direct –

“I noticed something, and I’m not sure if you’re aware, but your breath smells a bit off today”

“If the situation was reversed I would want someone to tell me, so I thought I’d let you know that you could use a breath mint right now.”

How can I keep my breath fresh?

Eat a balanced diet, including lots of veggies as it helps to promote a more alkaline environment, so the bad-breath-causing acid in your body balances out.

Snack on crunchy, healthy foods such as apples or carrots these can help to cleanse the surface of your teeth and remove any plaque build up – like a natural toothbrush.

Drink water throughout the day. This will help your mouths own cleansing abilities to avoid your breath turning stagnant and saliva sticky.

Brush, floss and clean your tongue every single day. Remove as much plaque build-up and food debris as possible from all areas of your mouth, not just the teeth surfaces reached with a toothbrush. Also, rinse with an alcohol-free mouthwash once daily to keep bacteria at bay.

Chewing on fresh mint leaves or drinking mint tea will help to freshen your breath naturally.

Chew sugarless gum or mints which contain xylitol. Chewing gum increases salivary flow and helps remove some bacteria and staining, but you want to make it’s sugar-free so you’re not feeding the bacteria in your mouth and contributing to bad breath. Opt for a brand that contains the sweetener xylitol, which is antibacterial. It helps fight cavities and bacteria while improving the health of your teeth and gums.

Steer clear of cigarettes. Smoking not only dries out your mouth and body tissues, the nicotine actually squeezes the blood vessels so you’re not getting healthy saliva flow. This combo is what disrupts your mouth’s normal functioning process and leads to bad breath. To avoid this from happening, stop smoking or never start. Ever.

Visit your dentist regularly. They can carry out any hygiene work that’s’ required or look at an underlying problem.

If you need to schedule an appointment to see a dentist then take a look at our new patient package here…