Children's Dentist Archives - Coatbridge Family Dental Care https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/category/childrens-dentist/ Best Dentists in Coatbridge Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:45:01 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-Coatbridge-Fam-Dental-Care-fav-32x32.jpg Children's Dentist Archives - Coatbridge Family Dental Care https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/category/childrens-dentist/ 32 32 Top 5 Teeth Tips For Surviving Easter https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/top-5-teeth-tips-for-surviving-easter/ Mon, 29 Mar 2021 13:37:38 +0000 https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/?p=2560 The post Top 5 Teeth Tips For Surviving Easter appeared first on Coatbridge Family Dental Care.

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Top 5 Teeth Tips For Surviving Easter

Even in our house, where there are two dentists, with every passing year Easter seems to have become more and more about the chocolate! In my occasional ventures to the supermarket over the last couple of weeks – mask on, hand gel at the ready – I’ve struggled to resist the temptations that are bags of Mini Eggs (devoured in one sitting) and boxes of Creme Eggs (one is never quite enough anymore – surely they’ve made them smaller?) Check out below for our top 5 teeth tips for surviving Easter.

It feels like life is punctuated with events at which we and our kids overindulge on sweet treats – Christmas, Hallowe’en, birthdays… in fact the average Brit eats almost 9.5kg of chocolate per year and the UK is joint 4th in the chocolate eating world league!!

There is so much I could say about this and the effect it is having not just on dental health but on our overall health, but really, given the current state of affairs, who am I to jump on my soapbox and take your sweet treats away from you?  We all need our little pleasures at the moment to get us through the day!

But what I will do is pass along a bit of advice on how to get through Easter weekend with minimal dental fallout!

Your Top 5 Teeth Tips For Surviving Easter

 

1.Choose Wisely

Not all sweet treats are the same.  A creme egg has 6 teaspoons of sugar in it – that’s 26g of sugar (the whole thing only weighs 40g!).  An adult’s recommended daily intake of sugar is 25g, so effectively if you eat one creme egg, that’s all your sugar for one day!

What?!!

Milk chocolate and white chocolate have a higher sugar content than dark chocolate, and eggs which are filled with gooey-sugary fondant definitely have the most!

Chewy sweets which stick around in your mouth are always going to be worse than something like chocolate, so in a hierarchy of Easter evilness, we find dark chocolate to be the best of a bad bunch!

 

2. Have Your Eggs for Pudding

As with all sweet treats, it’s better to save them to mealtimes.  Grazing on them during the day means that your whole mouth is constantly under an acid attack and never has a chance to recover.

If you can imagine, when you eat something sweet, all the plaque in your mouth has a party on the sugar and then poos out acid, which then causes holes in your teeth!  The fewer parties there are for the plaque in your mouth, the fewer problems there are for your gnashers. More parties = more problems, so try not to nibble on sweet things between meals.

 

3. Consider A Gift Instead

The more you give your kids chocolate at Easter the more they will expect it.  I remember reading a report a few years ago which suggested that the average child would receive eight Easter eggs!  Eight!!  Things like little Easter craft kits, Easter colouring sheets or  books can be great alternatives to chocolate and can also keep kids busy over the Easter holidays.

I’m looking at you, grandparents …

just because you’ve got dental implants from Coatbridge Family Dental Care, doesn’t mean your grandkids want them!😜

 

 

Grandparents and granchildren doing easter crafts

4. Drink Water

Drinking water after you eat something sweet helps to wash away any remnants of the treat and can stimulate your saliva, raining a little on the party the plaque is having in your mouth.

 

5.Brush Your Teeth, but Wait a While

It would seem to follow that brushing your teeth straight after your easter eggs would brush away all the chocolate and the plaque at the same time and be a win-win for your teeth.

BUT!

Remember all that acid the plaque was pooing onto your teeth?  Well, it makes the surface of your teeth (the enamel) soft and brushing it with a toothbrush can cause more harm than good, so wait for 30 minutes after eating or drinking something sweet before you brush.

 

 

You Can Stop The Rot!

 

We all know it’s a little bit more difficult to see a dentist at the moment, but the good news is that tooth decay is a

100% preventable disease

– so there’s loads you can do to help yourself and your family.

 

If you’d like a little more info on looking after your teeth check our fab hygienist Laura’s “how to brush your teeth” videos on our website and one for your kids on our youtube channel.

Have a very lovely Easter and we hope to see you very soon.

 

Coatbridge Family Dental Care: a team who cares, the smile you want, dentists who listen. 

Call our team on 01236 421103 or arrange a consultation.

 

 

 

Blog post written 29th Mar 2021

(Please note prices and information are correct at time of publishing and may be subject to change. Please contact us on 01236 421103 or info@coatbridgedentist.com for the most up-to-date pricing and information)

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]]> What to look for if your child bangs their tooth https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/what-to-look-for-if-your-child-bangs-their-tooth/ Fri, 15 Jan 2016 15:53:00 +0000 http://coatbridgedentist.co.uk/what-to-look-for-if-your-child-bangs-their-tooth/ I was at swimming lessons in Coatbridge with my girls the other day when one of the mums asked me to have a look at her daughter’s mouth as she’d fallen in the playground and banged her tooth.  Now, being a dentist this happens quite a lot!  You’ll be on a night out and someone […]

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]]> I was at swimming lessons in Coatbridge with my girls the other day when one of the mums asked me to have a look at her daughter’s mouth as she’d fallen in the playground and banged her tooth.  

Now, being a dentist this happens quite a lot!  You’ll be on a night out and someone will find out you’re a dentist and the next thing you’ll be standing in the middle of the pub examining someone’s wisdom tooth and discussing the merits of sedation!  

Anyway, my friend’s daughter had done a lovely job and had a swollen lip and a huge cut across her frenum (the wee attachment you can feel when you stick your tongue up between your front teeth and your top lip).

She’s only 5, so was feeling quite sorry for herself, but I was able to reassure her that the cut would heal amazingly quickly.  Her mum, naturally, was more concerned about her teeth, so I had a wee look.  Now bearing in mind her age, she still has her baby teeth.  When I looked, I was looking to see if any of them had obviously been broken or moved.  Fortunately, they hadn’t and actually everything looked normal.  

However, what I did say to her mum was to keep an eye on things.  With trauma to teeth,  the nerve in the tooth can sometimes die off.  So what I asked her to keep an eye out for was

  • Any pain in the tooth
  • Any discolouration in the tooth (turning grey)
  • Any swelling or a little bubble forming above the tooth
and I asked her to go to her dentist or speak to me if she saw any of those things.  

Usually if a baby tooth turns grey we would leave it in place until it comes out itself, but pain and swelling are signs of infection and an indication the tooth would need to come out.

My daughter did the same thing on daddy’s watch a couple of years ago, and although her front tooth discoloured, theres been no signs of infection and she’s due for it to fall out soon.

Trauma to an adult tooth can be an entirely different kettle of fish, but I’ll look at that another day.

In the meantime, if your kids traumatise there teeth, or even you for that matter, give us a call at Coatbridge Family Dental Care on 01236 421103.  We’ll be more than happy to give you some advice.

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]]> Is your child using the right toothpaste? https://www.coatbridgedentist.co.uk/is-your-child-using-the-right-toothpaste/ Fri, 23 May 2014 10:04:00 +0000 http://coatbridgedentist.co.uk/is-your-child-using-the-right-toothpaste/ New advice issued last month, to dentists, by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) has advised that the choice of a child’s toothpaste can influence how effectively tooth decay is prevented. As dentists we’ve known for a long time that it’s important we assess each child as an individual in terms of their risk for […]

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New advice issued last month, to dentists, by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) has advised that the choice of a child’s toothpaste can influence how effectively tooth decay is prevented.

As dentists we’ve known for a long time that it’s important we assess each child as an individual in terms of their risk for dental decay.  This assessment allows us to determine the appropriate toothpaste (with the right level of fluoride) to recommend for a child.

The guidelines recommend that most children up to the age of 18 should be using toothpastes with 1000-1500 parts per million fluoride (ppmF).

Children with increased risk of tooth decay should use toothpaste with higher concentrations, with children up to 10 years recommended 1500ppmF and children from 10-16 years recommended 2800ppmF.

So do you know how much fluoride is in your child’s toothpaste and which toothpaste they should be using?

Toothpaste can currently be bought in concentrations from 700ppmF to 1500ppmF, so it’s worth checking if your child’s toothpaste is up to the job!  All toothpastes have the level of fluoride marked on the box and on the back of the tube like this:

Toothpastes containing 2800ppmF and 5000ppmF are available on prescription.
The SIGN guidelines also stress that parents can play the most important role in helping their children avoid tooth decay by ensuring children routinely brush their teeth effectively.
The other key recommendations are:
  • Children should not rinse after they have brushed their teeth
  • Fluoride varnish should be applied by dentists at least twice a year for all children
  • Children under 3 should have only a smear of toothpaste on their brush
Your role as a parent:
  • Ensure your child brushes twice a day for 2 minutes (doing it for them until they can do it effectively themselves, usually around age 7/8)
  • Ask your dentist/childsmile nurse for guidance on toothbrushing technique and which toothpaste your child should be using
  • Ensure your child attends the dentist as regularly as we advise
  • Set a good example by looking after your own teeth and visiting the dentist regularly.
And remember here at Coatbridge Family Dental Care we are always here to give you advice with toothbrushing and your child’s oral health, whether it’s over the phone, an appointment with one of our qualified child smile nurses, or a health check with one of our experienced dentists.
Together we can give your children beautiful, healthy , confident smiles.

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