Dental Health Checklist

By assessing how much your gums bleed, we can tell objectively how well you are brushing your teeth at home. If you are unable to keep this score below 10% then it is highly likely you will develop gum disease and holes in your teeth. Our team aim to work with you on your oral hygiene routine to enable you to hit this 10% target.

There are also several medical conditions and risk factors that have the potential to cause problems with your mouth in the future. We alert you to these, identify any implications and help you to manage them if appropriate.

By assessing how much your gums bleed, we can also objectively tell how healthy your gums are. If you are unable to keep this score below 10% then it is highly likely your gums will develop gum disease.

Gum disease is an irreversible condition that causes a gradual loss of the bone that supports your teeth. If it is left untreated, your teeth will lose their bone support, become wobbly, and may be lost.

We formulate a diagnosis for your gums (periodontitis) that has four components:

1. The stability of your disease. This identifies whether your gums are likely to get worse and is based on how much they are bleeding.
2. The extent of teeth affected by gum disease. The locations of your gum disease will be mapped on a diagram.
3. The stage of your disease (early/moderate/late/end). This identifies how much bone support your teeth have lost and how likely it is that they will become wobbly and fall out.
4. The progression of your gum disease (slow/moderate/fast). A fast and sometimes moderate rate of progression left untreated is highly likely to lead to teeth becoming wobbly and lost at a young age.

There are also broadly four components to treating gum disease. We help you to improve your cleaning at home, adjust any fillings to aid oral hygiene, help you adjust systemic risk factors such as stress, diabetes or smoking, and periodically provide you with a professional clean to assist your work at home.

• Decay in your teeth can lead to pain, tooth breakage, unsightly teeth, bad breath, and ultimately tooth loss if left untreated.
• Cracks in your teeth are a sign that your teeth are close to breaking, and also make your teeth more susceptible to decay and pain.
• Breakages in your teeth cause food to get caught in and around them, leading to decay, pain and further breakages and ultimately tooth loss.

Treatment is usually a filling, onlay or crown, depending on the extent and location of the damage. Root canal treatment may also be required.

A poorly fitting crown or filling will begin to develop decay around its margins, leading to pain, tooth breakage, unsightly teeth, and ultimately tooth loss if left untreated.

We indicate the locations of any poorly fitting fillings or crowns on a diagram and can replace these with restorations with a better fit.

Clenching or grinding your teeth, fizzy drinks and acidic food can wear the surface of your teeth. If uncontrolled, this can affect the appearance of your teeth, your ability to chew and lead to tooth loss.

The location of any signs of tooth wear will be indicated on a diagram, and we work to replace the lost structure, eradicating the cause of wear if possible.

Teeth can become infected for many reasons, including deep decay, cracks, wear, deep fillings and severe gum disease. An infected tooth is likely to cause episodes of severe pain and can be detrimental to the health of the rest of your body.

We treat an infected tooth with root canal treatment and a crown. In certain situations where this is not possible, the tooth is removed.

Clenching and grinding your teeth can lead to tenderness in the muscles you use to chew, as well as clicking and popping sensations in your jaw joint. This can cause headaches, pain or limited jaw mobility.

We can help you reduce your clenching and grinding, reducing the tenderness in your muscles and returning your jaw function to normal.

Many diseases can occur in the soft tissues of your mouth. Oral cancer is extremely rare, but it is important to spot it early.

There are also many other abnormalities we can detect, giving us an indication of the health of the rest of your body. If we find anything abnormal, we will inform you of our findings and next steps.

Often, people would like a rough idea of how much it would cost to replace a lost tooth without feeling obligated to proceed.

If you have previously lost a tooth, we will provide a no-obligation guide to the cost and feasibility of replacement.

Often, people would like a rough idea of how much it would cost to improve their smile without feeling obligated to proceed.

If there are any obvious ways we can improve the appearance of your smile without causing long-term damage, we will provide a no-obligation estimate.