Do you have a healthy smile? What if your
smile looked like this….
Don’t think this could ever happen to you?
Well think again, because millions of us are
risking the
health of our teeth by failing to give them
the care and attention they deserve.
Problems with your teeth can affect you at
any age.
Babies should be taken to the dentist before
their first birthday to make sure that any
potential
problems are spotted early and prevented.
Little Yasmin here can’t brush her own teeth,
so her parents must help her out until she’s
about 7
years old. Remember to spit out the toothpaste,
but don’t rinse afterwards. Rinsing gets
rid of all
that good fluoride which helps protect tooth
enamel.
Bethany has black spots on her teeth. At school,
this is affecting her confidence, but this
doesn’t
have to be the case. A dentist can identify
tooth decay and other problems with the development
of
teeth, as well as providing solutions to fix
them. Bethany can go on to have a smile to
be proud of.
Kam has never needed any major dental treatment
before. However, his teeth are not as good
as
they could be. He gums bleed when he brushes
and some of his teeth are starting to feel
loose. This
is affecting how he eats his food.
Kam goes to see his dentist who shows him
how to brush and floss effectively to help
prevent plaque
and keep his gums healthy.
Now Kam is free to enjoy food without worrying.
Margaret is missing some teeth and this is
causing problems with both her speech and
her ability to
eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet.
Margaret’s dentist can make her a set of
dentures to replace the teeth she’s lost.
She isn’t alone: in
the UK, nearly 1 in 5 adults require the use
of dentures as they reach old age.
There are fixed charges for NHS Dental Treatment.
If you are on certain benefits, pregnant,
or up to
18 years of age (19 if you’re in full time
education), then NHS Dental treatment is free.
When a dentist looks inside your mouth, they
are not only checking your teeth. They are
also looking
for warning signs of problems such as gum
disease and mouth cancer and other medical
problems
such as diabetes.
Eating excessive amounts of sugar not only
damages your teeth, it can be responsible
for type 2
diabetes and is the leading cause of obesity.
Eating sugar should be limited to mealtimes
only.
Smokers and those that drink excessive amounts
of alcohol are up to 30 times more likely
to get
mouth cancer than those that don’t.
Mouth cancer cases have increased steadily
over the last decade. Early detection for
mouth cancer
results in a survival rate of 90%. However,
delayed diagnosis means survival rates plummet
to as
little as 50% - so seeing a dentist regularly
is more important than you might think.
Protecting your teeth and maintaining a healthy
smile couldn’t be simpler if you:
Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste
twice a day and floss regularly.
Watch the amount of sugar in your diet.
Visit your dentist regularly, so that any
problems can be identified and sorted quickly.
A healthy smile means a healthy life.
