Category: dental care

Your questions answered on tooth whitening

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

We have had a number of people ask us about whitening their teeth and the options for a brighter smile.  Whitening is a possibility and depending on your tooth enamel, numbers of fillings present and your gum health it is an option for most people.

Teeth whitening is an easy way to brighten and freshen your smile.  There are a number of products on the market for whitening teeth.

Whitening toothpastes and whitening strips will remove and help prevent the build up of external stain on the enamel.  For example, they will reduce the coffee and tea marks on your teeth.  They don’t have the strength to change the actual colour of the enamel.  Some of them can be a bit abrasive so stick with the renown brands or ask your dentist or hygienist when you see them next.  

Whitening gels from your dentist will change the colour of the enamel.  We prefer the “Zoom” whitening product for ease of use, gentleness to patients and successful whitening outcomes. 

  • We take impressions of your teeth, our laboratory makes trays which fit exactly to your teeth, and then you simply add the whitening gel. 
  • The whitening gel stays on your teeth for 45 minutes per day or overnight for approximately 7 – 14 days depending on the depth of colour change and is applied in the comfort of your home. 
  • Most of our patients prefer not to bleach their teeth “too white” and this is another advantage of the take home whitening, as you can choose when to stop.

Images of whitening our patient’s teeth. (Yes, she has lovely teeth!)

In-Office whitening from your dentist or hygienist is another option.  We find this option is less gentle on the teeth and your teeth can be very sensitive for quite some time.  It is also a long appointment with your mouth open.

Tooth sensitivity is often a side effect of whitening your teeth, especially if you have exposed root surfaces.  We can mostly manage this with desensitizing agents, such as Tooth Mousse and care during eating and drinking.

Try not to purchase whitening toothpastes or gels over the internet.  Often, they haven’t been approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, which signs off on the safety and effectiveness of any product.

Dental benefits – 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.

Clinic news – Welcome to Insuk as she joins our hygiene team. Zakia will be working with Dr Stone on Tuesdays and Insuk with Dr Nguyen on Wednesdays.

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. 

#letstalkaboutgums – dental Health week

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

Dental Health Week is here again!  The theme this year is #letstalkaboutgums.

So, lets talk about gums!  Your gums should be firm, stippled, pink for Caucasian/Asian heritage, brown/pink for African heritage and should come to a point between your teeth.  You should be able to floss between the front side and rear side of the gum point (papilla) and your tooth easily.  You should have no bleeding when you do this and the pocket you are flossing will be about 3 – 4mm deep.  The gum height between your teeth is related to the bone height.  The gum height is usually 2 -3mm higher than the bone height.

When your gums are unhealthy and inflamed, they will bleed, they might have pus and they will look red and swollen with no stippling.  There is, of course, a range between gingivitis (gum inflammation) to periodontitis (gum disease).  Gingivitis is relatively easy to treat.  We need to remove the hard plaque under the gums with a good, thorough cleaning of your teeth and with good flossing and brushing your gums will recover.  Periodontitis is further on in the range where the damage to the underlying bone results in loss of bone, loss of gum height, deeper pocketing and then onto mobile teeth.  Often, we will refer you to a specialist periodontist for surgical cleaning of the teeth to slow down the inflammation process and the loss of teeth. 

To prevent gingivitis and periodontitis occurring you can do the following:-

  • Floss or use interproximal brushes or a water/air flosser every day
  • Brush twice a day
  • Visit your hygienist and dentist at requested intervals.  (Prebook so these intervals don’t get extended.)
  • Use the antibacterial products suggested by your dentist or hygienist for your gums.
  • Eat well

Some medical conditions and medications can affect your gums as well.  For those of us lucky to be women our hormones can affect our gums too.  So, we often have more severe bleeding gums with menstruation and menopause.  People with diabetes are at more risk of gum disease than the general population and often have bleeding gums.

It is important if you have bleeding gums that you continue to floss and brush.  You might need to floss a bit deeper or use the interproximal brushes to help clean the triangle between your teeth.  Your dentist/hygienist will show you how.  Often that extra brushing and flossing will do the job but if it continues then please contact us.  Regular professional cleaning is also necessary as we all are not perfect flossers!  Your dentist/hygienist will suggest the interval between professional cleaning depending on your individual situation.

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. 

Do you know if you have mouth cancer?

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

So why do we look under your tongue and around your cheeks, lips and soft tissues of your mouth?  Oral cancers are a very rare form of cancer, but they are quite debilitating.  They occur much more frequently in people who smoke and the same will apply with vapes.  Smoking increases your risk of oral cancer by about 75%.  The chemical compounds in vapes are just as much of an issue as cigarette/cigar smoke or betel nut chewing.  More research is required though to confirm our suspicions about vaping.  Even for people who don’t smoke or vape or chew these products can develop oral cancer. 

Oral cancers can occur commonly on the lips and are often related to sun exposure. Care in the sun will reduce the likelihood of these occurring.  We all know the jingle – Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide!  We should also probably add Sip to hydrate as well to keep your lips moisture content up as added protection.  And that sip should be water!

Tongue cancers are difficult to see and that is why we pull your tongue around while looking at it.  Cancers in the floor of your mouth and on your cheeks are easier to spot.  In all soft tissue cancers of the mouth we are looking for red parts and white parts that shouldn’t be there.  But how can you tell as your tongue has lots of red and white bits?  For us it will look different from the normal red and white bits. 

If we have any concerns we will refer you to an oral surgeon, or oral medicine specialist.  We will take an intraoral photo of the site and send that photo and any other xrays direct to the specialist.  Often this referral happens very quickly as oral cancers are notorious for being fast growing.  You might not leave the clinic with an appointment for the specialist but once they have the emailed referral and photos they will contact you straight away.  We will also send you to see these specialists if you have an ulcer that is not healing as fast as it should. 

In most cases the specialist will have a consultation with you, have a look, do a biopsy and it all turns out that the lesion is not an oral cancer.  Wahoo!  That is a great result!  If it is oral cancer then you will see both the specialist and probably an oncologist to determine the best course of treatment.

So how do you reduce your risk of soft tissue oral cancers?

  • Regular dental visits for a comprehensive examination of your teeth, lips, mouth and gums.
  • Stop smoking or vaping or chewing tobacco or tobacco like products
  • Healthy diet
  • Good oral health care – brushing and flossing
  • Limit amount of alcohol you drink
  • Practice safe oral sex

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. 

Your Jaw joint and you

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

Your jaw joint is a complicated joint incorporating your skull, lower jaw, ligaments, muscle attachments, a disc and fluid spaces. It has the ability to make tiny movements with only slight pressure to sip through a straw, or strong pressure when biting into hard food or wide opening with a yawn. All of these movements are coordinated through the facial, head and neck muscles.

Your lower jaw is cushioned in a hollow in the base of the skull with a boney prominence in front of it to stop the jaw joint disarticulating forward.  In between the head of your lower jaw and the base of the skull is a series of ligaments and a disc.  The disc slides with the lower jaw forward and backward protecting the joint with the ligaments holding it in place.  The muscles attach to the lower jaw allowing it to move.  Some muscles are more obvious that others!  The muscle on your cheek connects to the outside base of the lower jaw and up to your temple area where it joins with the muscle that fans across your head to the midline on both sides.  You can feel these muscles bulge and lengthen when opening and closing your jaw.  There is also a long muscle down the side of your neck that connects to the skull behind the jaw joint and down your neck to your collar bone.  This muscle connects to muscles inside the back of your mouth to the skull and ligaments for finer movements.

Your jaw joint can click and grate as we age, but also when we are stressing it out.  When we clench and grind our teeth, we are constantly making the joint move so we stretch the ligaments.  When the ligaments stretch, we can make the disc move erratically because it doesn’t slide as well with the lower jaw and the jaw will clunk and click over it. The jaw can also go over the boney prominence at the front with quite a clunk! Often though the first symptoms are from your large muscles on the cheek, neck and head resulting in headaches, muscle aches, stiffness in the neck, tenderness in the ear and sometimes also in the eye.

Treatment for issues with your facial, head and neck muscles and jaw joint range from physiotherapy, to daytime awareness of clenching and grinding, to making a nightguard to help prevent damage at night.  If you are having issues, please contact us and we will see what we need to do to help you.

In clinic news we are booked in for the upcoming Infection Control Day with the Australian Dental Association SA branch to go over the new Australian Standard for Infection Control.  There will be photos on our socials!  Adelaide Oval here we come!  Dr Nick Heide, Trudy and Sarah have moved clinics south of the city and we wish them well with their new roles.  We have adjusted the clinic days to Tuesday to Thursday.  Dr Stone on Tuesday and Dr Nguyen on Wednesday and Thursday. Zakia has joined us to assist you with your dental hygiene needs and she is available on Tuesday and Thursday. 

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. 

It’s mouthguard time!

Posted on by adminvpdc in dental care

It is mouthguard time!  Footy is back, hockey is back, basketball/netball are ongoing. Winter sports time is here.  We remind all patients of the terrible impact a sporting injury can have on our teeth, jaw and soft tissues.  A knock to the mouth can result in losing teeth as well as significant long-term damage.  Teeth do not repair themselves. Most sports are now no mouthguard, no play; an initiative which we fully support.  Here at Victoria Park Dental Care, we make professional mouthguards for both junior and senior sport. 

Our mouthguards are custom-made here in Adelaide supporting another locally owned and run business, Adelaide Laboratories.  They are comfortable and firm fitting to ensure maximum protection for you or your child.  They come with a case to keep them clean going to and from sport.  (They should never go in your footy socks! Gross!).  Our mouthguards are coloured in the design of your choice and even have your name in them.  We love the choice Michelle made for her custom mouthguard. 😊 

We are running a competition on the daggiest mouthguard.  Please see our socials this month and enter your daggiest mouthguard to win a new one as voted by our staff.

Should you or your child knock a tooth out, we would recommend the following steps:

•          Find the tooth, be careful to only pick it up by the crown or shiny part of the tooth

•          If it is an adult tooth and fairly clean, put the tooth back where it came from (if you can)

•          Gently bite on a tissue to support the replaced tooth and get to the Dentist for assistance

•          If you are unable to put the tooth back in, store it in milk or saliva in a container and get to the Dentist immediately.

It is not only sport that can injure teeth or mouths.  Falls, accidents, crashes etc can also play a part.  A chipped or broken tooth may also need to be assessed quickly.  Call and advise the clinic you have a mouth trauma and we will assess the tooth and decide on the best course of treatment with you.  We are here to support you in any emergency situation.  Call the clinic on 8332 1188 and will we assist you.

In clinic news everyone has updated their medical emergency training with CPR and we are booked in for the upcoming Infection Control Day with the Australian Dental Association.  It is great that the CPR trainer does simulations in our clinic to make it real world!  Erin has been accepted into Speech Pathology at University and Lana has joined us in reception.  Dr Nick Heide, Trudy and Sarah have moved clinics south of the city and we wish them well with their new roles.  We have adjusted the clinic days to Tuesday to Thursday.  Dr Stone on Tuesday and Dr Nguyen on Wednesday and Thursday. Zakia has joined us to assist you with your dental hygiene needs and she is available on Tuesday and Thursday.  We know you will welcome our new team members to our dental family.

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.