Did you know that the most common reason for losing teeth is actually not tooth decay but gum disease?
The tell-tale signs of gum disease are bleeding and swollen gums, gums shrinking away from the teeth, and sometimes even smelly breath. We would much rather you kept all your own teeth for your entire life, and with our help you should be able to achieve this.
If you have regular visits with our hygienists, as well as coming to see us for check-ups, we can continually monitor the health and condition of your mouth, and give you the advice and treatment that you need to look after your gums and so keep your teeth.
We really do have a very special team here. Both of our hygienists, Marjorie and Karen, have extremely high standards of training. At your appointment they will clean your teeth professionally and polish away any stains, but - more importantly - they will also assess the health of your gums to see where any particular care may be needed. For example, they will check to see if there are any areas where your gums are beginning to shrink away from your teeth, forming a gum ‘pocket’. Pocket areas will need extra care and regular monitoring to ensure you keep the affected tooth over the long term.
Once you know where the difficult-to-clean areas of your mouth are, Fiona and Gill will help you formulate a home care programme that works for you, and encourage you on how you can really look after your teeth and gums effectively on a day-to-day basis. They will also discuss your dietary habits in order to make sure that you are giving your teeth the best possible protection and care.
At the Lindfield Dental Surgery, every dental checkup and hygienist appointment includes an examination to check for any abnormal conditions in the mouth, including oral cancer. Mouth cancers are now responsible for a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer or skin melanoma. So your check-up appointment with your hygienist or dentist provides you the reassurance that everything is OK.
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