Surrey
Dentist - We are the first choice for people seeking an
outstanding Surrey Dentist.
Whether
you need a filling, need specific dental work doing,
or would like some cosmetic dental work doing to improve
your confidence, Premier Dentists are the first
place to look. We work with some of the very best
Surrey Dentist professionals to ensure that
you have access to some of the very best dental care
available.
We
know how frustrating it can be flicking through the
Yellow Pages, phoning around countless dentists trying
to find one that you feel comfortable with doing the
work you require. Finally there is a way you can find
a first class dentist without doing any of the legwork
yourself.
Just
fill out the form and let
our dentists get in touch with you. You will be contacted
by 5 of our best Surrey Dentist professionals, whereupon
you just choose the one who you feel most comfortable
with.
To
fill out our form just click here.
Remember
to fill out all the boxes when completing the form
so that our dentists can provide a more accurate quote
for you.
Our
Surrey Dentist professionals offer a wide variety
of treatments ranging from routine dental hygiene
all the way through to tooth implants and cosmetic
smile makeovers.
Helpful
Information
What
causes a cavity?
Your
mouth is a busy place. Bacteria - tiny colonies of
living organisms are constantly on the move on your
teeth, gums, lips and tongue. Having bacteria in your
mouth is a normal thing. While some of the bacteria
can be harmful, most are not and some are even helpful.
Certain
types of bacteria, however, can attach themselves
to hard surfaces like the enamel that covers your
teeth. If they're not removed, they multiply and grow
in number until a colony forms. More bacteria of different
types attach to the colony already growing on the
tooth enamel. Proteins that are present in your saliva
(spit) also mix in and the bacteria colony becomes
a whitish film on the tooth. This film is called plaque,
and it's what causes cavities.
How
does Plaque cause a cavity?
The
hard, outside covering of your teeth is called enamel.
Enamel is very hard, mainly because it contains durable
mineral salts, like calcium. Mineral salts in your
saliva help add to the hardness of your teeth. Mineral
salts, however, are prone to attack by acids. Acid
causes them to breakdown.
The
plaque that forms on your teeth and doesn't get washed
away by saliva or brushed away by your toothbrush,
produces acid as it eats up sugar. This acid is produced
inside the plaque and can't be easily washed away
by your saliva. The acid dissolves the minerals that
make your tooth enamel hard. The surface of the enamel
becomes porous - tiny holes appear. After a while,
the acid causes the tiny holes in the enamel to get
bigger until one large hole appears. This is a cavity.
It's important to see your Surrey Dentist before a
cavity forms so that the plaque you can't reach with
your toothbrush or floss can be removed.
What
about sugar?
Sugar
plays a harmful role in tooth decay. The bacteria
that form together to become plaque, use sugar as
a form of energy. They multiply faster and the plaque
grows in size and thickness. Some of the bacteria
turn the sugar into a kind of glue that they use to
stick themselves to the tooth surface. This makes
it harder for the bacteria to get washed away with
your saliva.
However,
sugar is not the only culprit!
We
feed the bacteria in our mouth everytime we eat carbohydrates.
These come in two types:
1. Sugars
2. Cooked starch - like bread and biscuits,
which are broken down to sugars by an enzyme in the
saliva. The bacteria in the mouth then treat them
as though you had eaten plain sugar. Sweets like cake
and candy are not much worse for your teeth than bread,
biscuits, potato chips, fruit salad, and a glass of
milk.
Recent
research shows that some candy is potentially less
destructive to the teeth than bread, biscuits and
some fruits (apples, bananas) which were previously
considered safe or even protective against cavities,
may actually promote tooth decay.
To
the bacteria in your mouth, sugar is sugar, no matter
what package it comes in. So candy is as bad as, or
as good as, apples for the teeth.
Two
important factors affecting tooth decay are:
1. How often you eat: The mouth normally contains
a wide variety of bacteria. These bacteria take advantage
of food whenever it is available. So they become active
whether you eat a full meal or just a small snack,
and they remain active - producing acids that can
cause cavities - for about 30 minutes after you eat.
This is how frequent eating contributes to tooth decay,
and can be easily modified by exerting a bit of self-control.
2. How long a particular food stays in the mouth
after you eat it: The most commonly thought of
sticky foods are chocolates. The chocolate is mostly
sugar that dissolves in saliva and is cleared from
the mouth fairly quickly. However, foods like biscuits
and potato chips stay longer in the mouth than chocolates.
This is because these do not dissolve in saliva and
clear the mouth until they have been broken down into
simpler sugars by the enzymes in the saliva. This
process is likely to take hours, and in the meantime,
the bacteria have a feast and secrete acids, which
destroy the enamel of your teeth.
Why
does it take so long to hurt?
Nerve
fibers, the way that pain is sent through the body,
aren't present in tooth enamel. While the acid is
attacking the enamel, you can't feel a thing. Once
the acid has begun to create a cavity and attacks
the dentin under the enamel, the nerve fibers begin
to send out a message that something is wrong. But
by then, you have tooth decay. That's why it's important
to have regular, preventive dental check-ups with
your London Dentist. Don't wait until it hurts!
Between
Meal Snacks- are they OK?
As
long as children are not eating all day long and are
brushing properly with a fluoride toothpaste, we can
stop nagging them about snack selection.
For
those of us who are now using a fluoride toothpaste,
even the issue of frequency of eating has become less
significant than it was in the past. Concepts concerning
diet and cavities have changed dramatically. Today
there is decreasing emphasis on dietary counseling
as the most effective strategy to prevent cavities
in children.
The
traditional advice to avoid sticky sweets and between-meal
snacks is being relaxed for most cavity-free children
who are exposed to fluoride and comprehensive dental
care. Many children need snacks daily to help meet
their nutritional needs, and parents should choose
and offer snack-foods accordingly. |