A healthy smile is attractive and important when meeting people and making new friends. Being self conscious about your smile can shatter your confidence and seriously affect your selfie taking!

One of the big problems can be sneaking off to bed without cleaning your teeth properly or worse still skipping it completely. But what you will notice is:

• bad breath
• sticky yellow plaque on your teeth
• staining will accumulate on the teeth

If you constantly miss out on cleaning it could lead to problems below fairly quickly:

• tooth decay
• gum disease
• tooth loss

Once this happens it’s a visit to the dentist to get it all sorted out and probably a pretty mad mum and dad.

But theres more to taking care of your mouth then just cleaning your teeth. So what do you need to know? Here we’ve listed the top 6 things you need to seriously consider when you’re a teenager and what you can do to keep your breath fresh, teeth healthy and smile looking great.

1) Healthy Diet

Whenever you eat anything sugary, your teeth are under acid attack for up to one hour. This is because the sugar reacts with the bacteria in plaque and produces harmful acids. Plaque is a build-up of bacteria which forms on your teeth, whenever you eat anything sugary this with plaque produces an acid which causes tooth decay.

What can you do about it?

Try to stick to meal times and avoid snacking, constant snacking means your teeth are constantly under attack. Limit the amount of sugary foods you eat and how often you eat them. Chewing a sugar free gum after eating is a good habit to start and the bonus is it taste great and will keep your breath fresh (your friends will thank you!).

2) Ditch the sugary drinks

Switch from drinking sugary fruit juice drinks, fizzy drinks and energy drinks as these can all cause dental erosion as well as tooth decay. Dental erosion is the gradual loss of tooth enamel caused by frequent acid attacks.

Enamel is the whiter, hard, protective coating on the tooth surface. If it’s worn away then dentine ‘the yellowish part of your tooth underneath the enamel’ is exposed then they could look discoloured and become sensitive.

What can you do about it?

Drinking water and milk is best but if you’re used to drinking a large quantity of sugary or fizzy drinks you could find it hard. It’s always best to ditch the bad drinks straight away but if you struggle don’t give up!

Perhaps try just drinking the bad drinks with your meals then water all of the rest of time, carrying a bottle of water around with you. This will make this easier to keep you hydrated and less likely to drink the sugary stuff.

3) Smoking, alcohol and drugs

We all know of the dangers of smoking and lung cancer but smoking seriously impacts your teeth and your breath. It can also cause tooth staining, gum disease, tooth loss and mouth cancer. The signs of smoking on your teeth are so obvious the dentist will recognise them straight away.

Cases of mouth cancer are steeply rising, it used to be a disease associated mainly with older men but over recent years with more males and females drinking the age is getting younger. Mouth cancer is mostly associated with bad lifestyle choices, being a smoker, drinking and a poor diet significantly increases the likelihood of you suffering from this type of cancer.

Alcohol can also increase the risk of tooth decay and erosion. Some alcoholic drinks have a lot of sugar in them, and some mixed drinks may contain acids. So they can cause decay or dental erosion if you drink them often and in large amounts. Also after a heavy night of drinking you could be sick further increasing the problem with dental erosion.

Illegal drugs can lead to a range of health problems. Smoking cannabis can have the same effects as smoking tobacco. Other drugs can cause a dry mouth and increase the risk of erosion, decay, gum disease and bad breath. Drugs can also cause you to grind your teeth, which can cause headaches and other problems.

What can you do about it?

Just don’t do it! Invest your time into something else and be active in trying to get your friends to spend time doing safer activities like bowling, cinema or concentrate on sports.

4) Blinging it up

Sparkly tooth jewels involves sticking small jewels onto the teeth using dental cement, if done by a dentist this can be done safely. However most aren’t done by a dentist and when they come away can cause the enamel to break away with it resulting in you having to have a filling.

You also need to keep the area around the jewel clean, as plaque can easily build up around it and you will be more likely to get tooth decay.

Mouth piercings can cause all sorts of problems and we see them often at the dentist. The main issue we see is that the the piercing causes the teeth to chip, this is often due to people playing around with their piercing. But the other dangers are:

infection
swelling of the tongue
the tissues around the piercing can become inflamed
blood infections
it can be difficult to talk, eat and swallow
dental treatment could be difficult.

What can you do?

Avoid mouth piercings at all costs and if you do decide to have tooth jewellery then get a trained dentist to do the procedure.

5) Seriously consider braces

If you’re unhappy with how your teeth look because they are crooked or stick out, then perhaps speak to your dentist about your options they might be able to refer you to an orthodontist (brace specialist) for treatment. There are a number of benefits to having straighter teeth the main one being that your teeth are easier to take care of and you’ll be less likely to have problems with tooth decay and gum disease in the future.

The orthodontist will assess your teeth and advise on any treatment. Not everyone qualifies for treatment under the NHS but if you do then you could have the treatment cost covered. Adults don’t qualify for brace treatments under the NHS so if you decided later to get your teeth straightened it could cost you anything from £2000-£4000.

What can you do about it?

Speak to your mum and dad about your concerns and this will help you to have a chat with your dentist at your next dental check up appointment.

6) It’s a knockout

The most common cause of tooth loss in teenagers is from getting injured whilst playing sports. Playing any contact sport or sport involving moving objects could cause broken, damaged teeth and even a broken or dislocated jaw.

What can you do about it?

Wearing a mouthguard will help to protect the teeth. There are lots of different options available online but having one fitted by your dentist means it will fit properly around your teeth, feel better and give you peace of mind.

If you have any questions about taking care of your teeth or are concerned about your oral health then give our friendly team a call on 0116 2891317 or email your question in.

Ok so at some point in your life it’s likely that you have suffered from bad breath, for the majority it can be a simple case of morning breath and easily cured. But what about if bad breath is a frequent problem? Bad breath can seem like minor issue however if it stops you from speaking confidently, makes you keep people at arm’s length, then it can make you feel bad about yourself turning into a problem that affects you everyday of your life.

Here we look into bad breath in more detail, what causes it, what factors affect or contribute towards it and what can you do to cure and prevent it.

How can you tell if you have bad breath?

You might be familiar with the bad breath test, simply licking the back of your hand and having a good old sniff is the most socially acceptable way.

Or you could ask a friend or family member to give you some honest advice.

If you notice people turning the cheek when they kiss you or stepping back when you talk it could be a sign that you have bad breath.

What are the causes of bad breath?

Firstly as we started at the start bad breath is likely to affect us all at some point in our lives and it is a very common problem.

There are many causes of bad breath and it’s important to understand the different causes.

The most common causes of bad breath are:

1. Persistent bad breath is usually caused by the smelly gases released by the bacteria that coat your teeth, gums and tongue. Usually this happens when you aren’t cleaning your mouth effectively.
2. Food that gets trapped between the teeth and on the tongue will rot and can cause an unpleasant smell. Strong foods and drinks such as coffee and garlic and onions can cause or add to the problem of bad breath.
3. Lifestyle choices i.e. smoking will cause bad breath not to mention the other health issues.
4. Gum disease, over time not taking proper care of your mouth could lead to gum disease. It’s important to get a proper assessment form your dentist.

So taking care of your dental hygiene is clearly very important in the battle against bad breath to brush your teeth correctly and regularly. This will help keep your breath smelling fresh.

The bacteria on our teeth and gums (called ‘plaque’) also cause gum disease and tooth decay. One of the warning signs of gum disease is that you always have bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth. Again, your dental team will be able to see and treat the problem during your regular check-ups. The earlier the problems are found, the more effective the treatment will be.

Other causes of bad breath aren’t so common but perhaps your bad breath could be the caused by a medical condition.

Xerostomi or as it’s commonly know “dry mouth’ is a condition that means your mouth produces less saliva. This causes bacteria to build up in your mouth and this leads to bad breath. Dry mouth may be caused by some medicines, by salivary gland problems or by continually breathing through your mouth instead of your nose. Older people may produce less saliva, causing further problems.

Other medical conditions that cause bad breath include infections in the throat, nose or lungs; sinusitis; bronchitis; diabetes; or liver or kidney problems. If your dentist finds that your mouth is healthy, you may be referred to your family GP or a specialist to find out the cause of your bad breath.

If you suffer from dry mouth, your dental team may be able to recommend or prescribe an artificial saliva product. Or they may be able to suggest other ways of dealing with the problem.

How can we help?

We monitor at your regular dental health checks for any areas where plaque or food is caught between your teeth.

If you have bad breath, you will need to start a routine for keeping your mouth clean and fresh and we will show you the best way to clean your teeth and gums and generally keep your mouth healthy.

Whilst soft plaque can be removed at easily at home with a good dental routine, it is common to require additional cleaning twice a year to remove hard plaque deposits known as calculus or tartar. This will ensure that your breath stays feeling fresh and your dentist will advise any tricky areas to concentrate your cleaning on that you may be missing during your home care routine.

Preventing bad breath

To keep your breath fresh you must get rid of any gum disease and keep your mouth clean and healthy, this will help you keep nice, fresh breath.

If after this you feel that bad breath is still a problem then try keeping a food diary of everything you consume including drinks and note any days you feel you suffered from bad breath. This can you to identify any links or alternatively bring it into your dentist and they may be able to make some suggestions that will solve your problem.

Brush your teeth and gums last thing at night and at least one other time during the day, with a fluoride toothpaste. Don’t forget to brush your tongue as well, or use a tongue scraper. Cut down on how often you have sugary food and drinks.

The perfect routine:

Visit us as often as we recommend. The frequency that you visit us here at the dental practice varies significantly from person to person. Some people may need to come and see us at the dentist every 3 months, others 6 months and some once a year.

Clean in between your teeth with floss or interdental cleaning aid such as interdental brushes at least once a day before brushing your teeth. In-between your teeth accounts for a 1/3 of your teeth surfaces not doing so is equal to not brushing for 2 days a week!

Brush all teeth as recommended by your dentist.

Use a mouthwash – some contain antibacterial agents that could kill bacteria that make your breath smell unpleasant.

If you continue to suffer from bad breath come and visit us to make sure that there isn’t a more serious underlying problem.

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