Author: adminvpdc

Do you need some mindfulness? Maybe try this.

Posted on by adminvpdc in general health

Selfcare and mindfulness as a priority in our lives is not the activity that many of us do well.  We tend to take things for granted until a health professional mentions that we need to improve some aspect of our lives for good overall health or in our case dental health. The health of your mouth, teeth and gums is vital for good overall health of your body as we saw from the last Dental Health Week campaign. Incorporating mindfulness into our oral health routine twice a day for the 3 minutes it takes to brush and floss might just be the time you need. 

So, what is mindful tooth brushing and why is it important?

Mindfulness is usually associated with meditation, deep breathing and being present in the moment.  Being present in the moment of oral health care will assist with the following.

  • Improved oral health – mindful brushing improves tooth and gum care as you are aware of thoroughly brushing all surfaces of your teeth and take the time to clean between your teeth properly with interdental brushes or floss.  Improving your brushing and interdental techniques will help prevent tooth decay, and gum disease so you can keep your teeth for life.
  • Helps reduce stress- mindful brushing is an opportunity to decompress and get ready for the day or ready for sleep.
  • Reduces the tendency to over brush too vigorously and hence helping to reducing loss of enamel and reducing recession of the gums over time.  Loss of enamel and exposure of the root surfaces of the teeth can result in sensitivity, more susceptibility to root surface decay and darker teeth.

So, how do we mindfully carry out an oral health routine?

  • Give yourself 3 minutes of alone time twice a day.
  • Take some deep breaths and then smile.
  • Brush in a small gentle circular motion on all the surfaces that your brush head can get to.  Watch in the mirror to make sure you don’t miss any spots. (Hint:  often people miss the area where they swap their hand around to get to the other side.  It is not on purpose it is just that the brush head is further away from your hand.  Your hand position doesn’t move but the brush head is on the end of a fulcrum and it does.  So when you turn your hand pull it back over the space you may already have cleaned so the brush head is in the correct place.)  If you are using an electric brush the brush will do the motion for you. Just be careful to place the brush head on the correct angle and don’t push in onto the tooth.
  • Use your choice of interdental brushes and/or floss to clean between the spaces of your teeth.  Slide the floss down both teeth curving it backwards against the tooth behind the gap and curving it forwards against the tooth in front of the gap. Make sure the floss goes under the gum on both sides.  Maneuver the interdental brushes around the triangle of the space between the teeth. Top of the triangle and down both sides in and out multiple times.
  • Rinse out with water and then use a mouthwash if your dentist or hygienist has recommended it.
  • Smile!

Good luck with mindful brushing and selfcare. Your teeth and body will love you!

Please remember, as we head towards the end of the year and, dare we say Christmas, we do book up very quickly.  For bookings in the next few months, start scheduling now.  Don’t forget your dental benefits limits for this year finish on 31st December for most funds.  Make the most of those benefits. 

See you in the clinic!  The Victoria Park Dental Care team.

PS:  check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps!  Maybe even the latest video on YouTube. 

hidden sugars in foods

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

Hasn’t the Spring weather been amazing! Just for you are wonderful dental family we have our Whitening Special on again. We are offering take home whitening trays, tooth mousse and the whitening gel for $400.00 saving you over $200. If you are interested, please chat to your dentist and hygienist to see if your teeth are suitable for this type of whitening. The special does not include the consultation or any cleaning of your teeth prior to whitening. Book in with us as the special only extends to mid December 2023.

In talking about sugar most of us are aware of the association between sugar in our diet and the risk of dental decay (the dreaded ‘HOLE!’), however there are many ‘hidden’ sugars in the everyday foods and drinks we consume that may be putting us at higher risks of getting holes in our teeth.

Some foods and drinks that include these hidden sugars include things like:
Tomato and pasta sauces, condiments, and dressings
Packaged breakfast cereals and muesli bars
Yoghurts, especially flavoured
Fruit juices and dried fruits- these often have concentrated natural sugars
Alcoholic drinks and mixers
‘Low fat’ meals that have more sugar to compensate the flavour
White and whole wheat bread

Weight loss shakes. (Think Fructose!)

Sometimes sugar can be harder to spot in things we eat- look for these ingredients in items that may have a higher level of sugar in them: Syrup(s), fructose, honey, rice malt, nectar, molasses, and watch out for foods that claim ‘NO ADDED SUGAR’ as these often still contain very high levels of natural sugars!

Thankfully we now have many teeth friendly sugar-free and reduced sugar options that we can look for in our diet and snacks that can greatly reduce the risks of dental decay, as well as general medical conditions like diabetes. Stevia- another plant-based sugar that is a lower decay risk, Xylitol, sorbitol, malitol, and isomalt, which are sugar substitutes that do not “feed” the bacteria in the mouth and produce decay-causing acids. Sugar free gum and sweets are a great way to reduce dietary sugars, and as a bonus chewing sugar free gum helps to stimulate decay fighting saliva when used after meals.

With so many things we eat and drink containing high levels of sugar, it can be difficult to cut out excess sugar in our diets. A great way to do this is to reduce the amount of added sugar and sugar items slowly/gradually. If you drink tea or coffee with sugar reduce the amount you are adding each day over a few weeks and eventually you will not miss it. Use whole foods in preference over processed and canned foods. Trying sugar alternatives or artificial sweeteners in your meal preparation.

Don’t forget to make the most of your dental health benefits for the year either. See you in the clinic! The Victoria Park Dental Care team.

PS: check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps! Maybe even the latest video on YouTube.

So you need a crown?

Posted on by adminvpdc in Uncategorized

We hope you have all survived the cold and rainy weather and are ready to support our fabulous local businesses at the Royal Adelaide Show.  There are even tooth brushes in the Yellow Brick Road Showbag.  Dr Stone can’t wait to check them out!  But in saying that we have a large array of soft tooth brushes both plastic based (that we can recycle through Terracycle for you) and bamboo ones.  There are also interproximal brushes that are plastic recyclable or bamboo as well. It is also winter sport finals time so good luck to all those involved whether as players, supporters or volunteers! Please wear your mouthguard in all contact sports.  We can repair broken teeth but it is always best if they aren’t broken in the first place.

Now that we are in September it is a good idea to plan to use your health insurance prior to the end of the year.   This could mean that the crown you were thinking of doing this year needs a plan now.  Please book appointments now before we run out of available places for treatment before Christmas. 

So, what is a crown and how do we complete them?  Crowns are used to hold teeth together.  If a tooth is very heavily filled or has fracture lines or is a root filled or has all three then a crown finishing on healthy tooth structure will hold the above the gum section of the tooth intact from biting forces.  They act a bit like thimbles do – although a lot more tooth coloured and shaped! We first take some impressions for our Adelaide based dental laboratory to make an impression tray that just fits you.  Most ordinary trays are very average and not so accurate!  Then we prepare the tooth so the crown will fit onto healthy tooth structure.  This does take a bit of fiddling to get the shape exactly right sometimes.  Once we are happy with the shape then we will either take a very accurate impression or we will use the scanner that takes a lot of pictures of your teeth and knits them together for an electronic impression.  Then we will construct a temporary crown to temporarily cement over the top of the shape we have made.  The impressions are then sent to the dental laboratory for a plaster model or a 3D printed model.  The plaster model is scanned by the laboratory, a design made and a crown is milled.  With the electronic scan this goes straight into the computer design and the milling machine then mills the crown.  Once the crown is milled it is trimmed and adjusted using the models, colours added, if need be, glazed and returned to your dentist.  At our next appointment the crown is fitted to the shape we had prepared and if it fits correctly, looks good and feels good it is cemented more permanently onto the tooth.  Then you have a tooth that is much stronger than the heavily filled and cracked tooth you had before.  It also looks better, but that is a different newsletter altogether and usually not what we did the process for!

Now if you are after a fresh spring or summer look, we are offering a tooth whitening special from 1st September to 15th December?  If you are keen, please chat to your dentist or hygienist if whitening is suitable for you.  Again, don’t leave it to the last minute though.

See you in the clinic!  The Victoria Park Dental Care team.

PS:  check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps!  Maybe even the latest video on YouTube.  

Wahoo! it’s dental health week

Posted on by adminvpdc in general health

The year has been moving so fast and before we know it, Dental Health Week is here again!  So, from 7th – 13th August we are asking everyone to check out the connections of your Mind, Body and Mouth. It is a bit like that skeleton song “Dem bones”. 

Some of you will already be aware of how clenching and grinding your teeth is connected to your facial muscles, which are connected to your neck and head muscles requiring treatment by a nightguard and/or daytime awareness and some physiotherapy as well to help retrain the muscles.  It can lead to fracturing teeth, nerve death and increased looseness of teeth.  More often than not clenching and grinding is a habit built up from a reaction to stress.  It can also come from chewing gum regularly.  We had a great time on our team day learning from physiotherapists from Thryve Physio Plus about jaw joints and facial muscles and posture. Great start to the day with some pilates moves and cork exercises for our facial muscles. Ask your dentist or hygienist about those when you come in!

Our ladies will be aware that pregnancy and menstruation really upsets your hormone balance in your gums resulting in inflammation and bleeding and the need for extra special cleaning, flossing and sometimes mouthwash to assist.  This also can happen with people with diabetes and heart disease, and without a regular visit to your hygienist and dentist, can result in loss of bone and loss of teeth.  We shouldn’t expect to lose teeth as we age!

Eating disorders and uncontrolled reflux can cause erosion and loss of the enamel tooth surface. The erosion has a different pattern depending on the cause.  As we lose enamel the teeth become darker because the inner part of the tooth shines through. Treatments can range from nightly tooth mousse or other remineralization agents to assist in strengthening the tooth surface to full crowns on every tooth. 

Smoking and vaping are injurious not just to your lungs but also to your gums and mouth tissues.  The chemicals in both are carcinogens that can create tongue and mouth cancers.  Smoking and vaping can cause gum disease that can lead to loss of gum tissue, bone height and teeth.

Your hygienist and dentist will be checking your teeth, mouth and gums to see if an underlying health condition is causing issues with them.  Please let us know if there are any changes in your medications or medical history.  We may also suggest a visit to your GP to check up on something. 

On a lighter note, we hope you enjoyed attending the Illuminate Festival last month.  So many awesome light installations to view and interact with.  Our city has amazing festivals! Also did you know that the Victoria Park Social Club diagonally across the road has all you can eat Pizza nights on Thursday nights from 4pm! Check their website for details. https://www.vpsclub.com.au/dineandbar

See you in the clinic!  The Victoria Park Dental Care team.

PS:  check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps!  Maybe even the latest video on YouTube. 

Why Dry july will help your teeth

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

Sangria, sparkling, rose, red, moscato, white, beer, ale, cider, sweet, dry or with passionfruit overtones. All of these fabulous alcohols are a no go this Dry July as people go alcohol free for July and raise money for Charities Supporting People with Cancer.

Teeth and alcohol do have some issues. Most alcohols are acidic and the acid can remove the surface layers of enamel from teeth and can erode exposed root surface areas. Recommendations for wine makers and professional wine tasters have been in use for almost a decade in relation to acidity and their teeth. The recommendation is to use a remineralising creme regularly to prevent loss of tooth structure. We have the GC products containing the peptide complex CPP-ACP (casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate) at the clinic available for purchase to assist in remineralising teeth from acid erosion and to help prevent further erosion. This product, called Tooth Mousse and Tooth Mousse Plus (added Fluoride) is derived from milk protein. They come in a variety of flavours but none with passionfruit overtones! Your dentist may also recommend that you have special flexible trays made to keep the remineralising agent on your teeth for longer.

Other sources of acid that can remove the surface layers from teeth and erode the exposed root surfaces areas are lemon in water, sparkling waters or tonic waters, iced tea (loads of sugar), bubble tea (also loads of sugar), sports drinks (also loads of sugar), regular sipping of fruit juice and carbonated drinks. Tooth mousse and Tooth mousse plus will also help with reducing this erosion but prevention is better than cure. Water is a fabulous alternative to hydrate!

Ultimately the issue with removing the enamel surface of the teeth is that the teeth become darker as the dentine part of the tooth shines through the surface and they become much more sensitive. We can help replace the enamel with tooth-coloured resins or porcelain. This can be a more complicated process and can be quite costly. We can sometimes use a dental bleach on the enamel but the thinner the enamel is the less successful the bleach can be and your teeth can be much more sensitive during the process.

See you in the clinic! The Victoria Park Dental Care team.

PS: check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps! Maybe even the latest video on YouTube.