Birdwell Clinic, Long Ashton, Bristol

See our dental website www.birdwelldentist.co.uk

Dental News

Healthy Teeth for Children!

dentist Helen Boylan treating child at Birdwell Dental Clinic Your child’s first visit to the dentist must be a pleasant experience, as a bad first impression may last a lifetime. Bringing a child when there is no emergency will make the visit an enjoyable experience. You should first take your child to visit the dentist as early as possible, and then take them for regular check-ups, preferably on our Healthy Teeth for Children days. These days are especially for children; they will see the hygienist to learn how to care for their teeth, and get a special goody bag. This will help to keep their teeth healthy for life. Our children’s days are in April and October – they are very popular so book now!

children at dentist children dental patients at Birdwell Clinic, competition on weight of pumpkin

Keep sugary foods to mealtimes. Help your child to brush their teeth until they are able to do it well by themselves, usually around the age of seven. Remember to encourage your child, as praise often gets results.

Dental Workout

At Birdwell Clinic we want to promote dental health. Traditional dentistry has focused on repairing damage done by tooth decay with fillings, and removing teeth affected by gum disease. But as always prevention is better than cure! Don’t wait for a problem before coming to see us – look after your mouth with regular visits, just as you look after your body by exercising and eating well. For the best preventive care we recommend regular visits with our hygienist, Jenny. She can act as your personal trainer, recommending the best diet and tooth brushing ‘home workout routine’ for you, and motivating and encouraging you to persevere with it. Jenny is very popular with our patients, for being very gentle and passionate about your dental health.

Your 12-Point Private Dental Health Check explained
At each 12-Point Dental Health Check, our dentists assess the overall health of your mouth in each of the following areas. We are looking for ways to keep you as healthy as possible in each one so that you reduce your risks of future problems/ treatment and look and feel great forever!
1 We ask you how healthy you feel your mouth is when you visit us.
2 Do you have any concerns that we need to deal with?
3 Is there is anything in your medical condition, or in medicines you take likely to affect your dental health?
4 Are you are happy with the appearance of your smile?
5 We check your teeth to see that they’re healthy and strong.
6 We check that any fillings or other restorations are still strong and healthy.
7 We check your gum health – as we now know this is absolutely critical if
you are to keep your teeth for life!
8 We check for the presence of plaque (which does all the damage to mouths – yet can be controlled to preserve health!).
9 We check to see if the inside of your mouth (cheeks, lips, tongue, roof and floor of mouth) is healthy.
10 We also check the outside of your mouth.
11 We check inside, under and between the teeth for health.*
12 Finally we check the bone which supports your teeth.*
We will then tell you how healthy we find you in each area and advise you on how to:
• Keep dentally healthy, or
• Become more healthy (and less likely to need future treatment, lose teeth, suffer bad breath or other problems!).
* Our checks of these aspects are updated via ultra low dosage radiographs – taken approximately every 1-2 years.

Improved treatment room

We are delighted by the “makeover” to our main dental room. It is really bright, with better positioning of dental and IT equipment, and gives us more space to work in, making it much easier to maintain our high standards of sterilisation. We hope you will enjoy the bright, clean, comfortable surroundings as much as we do!

There is increasing evidence that people with gum disease are more at risk of heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and, in the case of pregnant women, giving birth to underweight babies.

This year, National Smile Month is focused on this issue. Gum disease is caused by poor dental healthcare and is, therefore, totally preventable. Around 19 out of 20 people suffer with gum disease at some point in their lives, but with a good dental healthcare routine they can easily prevent it from developing into something more serious, and help their bodies stay healthy as well as their teeth.

Birdwell Clinic, the Long Ashton centre for healthy mouths and lovely smiles, has a strong focus on preventive dentistry, and your dental health and general wellness is our main concern. Why not book a dental health check for individual advice?