Dental Health Reviews

• a. Are you taking any pills, potions, lotions, infusions or using an inhaler?
• b. Have you been to a doctor or hospital since we last saw you?
• c. Could you be pregnant or menopausal? Your answers here might give us reasons to pay particular attention to an aspect of your dental health – in particular, your gum health, which we now believe could be even more important than we ever thought before.
• d. Any heart or chest problems, diabetes, arthritis or Alzheimers? We ask this because we now know that gum health may be related to some of these conditions and it might make it more important that we look after your gum health if you or anyone in your close family has these conditions.
  • a. Do you have any allergies?

• a. Is there anyone else in your household with gum conditions? Gum disease is contagious and genetic – so it might be particularly important that we look after your gums.
• b. Do you smoke? This will make it more important that we look after your gum health, as smoking makes it more likely that you will have gum problems, and both smoking and gum problems can make it more likely that you could have heart problems. Also, you must promise that you will never miss an appointment with us, as we must screen you regularly for oral cancer.
• c. Alcohol consumption. If your drink more than 21 units per week, you are in a higher risk category for oral cancer. If you smoke and drink alcohol, you are at a much higher risk for oral cancer.

• a. Have you noticed any lumps or bumps inside your mouth or red or white patches that haven’t healed? Mouth cancer is on the increase and we need to help you modify any risks. We carry out a mouth cancer assessment every time we see you.
• b. Any head, neck or shoulder pain? Are you aware of any grinding or clenching?
• c. If crowns – any taste, movement or smell that you’ve noticed?

• a. Do you use electric or manual toothbrush? How often do you use it?
• b. Do you use anything between your teeth? How often?
• c. Do you use mouthwash? How often and when?
• d Have you noticed any bleeding?

• a. How often do you have sugar attacks in your mouth/eat or drink anything with sugar?
• b. And how often do you have fizzy drinks or fruit? It’s not how much, as far as we’re concerned, but when and how often. You are better keeping these food and drinks to mealtimes.

You will be asked to show us how you use floss or TePe brushes so that we can make sure you are doing so correctly.

This is for screening only and if your results are high or low, we may recommend you pay your doctor a visit.

Here is an example of a particularly nasty plaque sample under the microscope to show how active plaque bacteria can be.

Your smile is important for lots of reasons. We offer a full range of treatments to improve the colour and appearance of your teeth and the health of your gums. Whether it’s a niggle or a decision to finally do something about a smile you may be dissatisfied with, we will find a solution to suit your budget and lifestyle.

• 10. Health of jaw
• 11. Health of muscles
• 12. Health of glands
• 13. Health of the inside of the mouth
• 14. Health and stability of the teeth– including wear
• 15. Health and stability of restorations
• 16. Health of gums. Your previous gum scores will be compared. If you have gum problems you are more likely to have a cardio-vascular incident and those with diabetes find it more difficult to control their disease. There is also growing evidence linking gum health with other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimers, so we as a practice are taking no chances, and insisting on keeping our patients very dentally healthy.
• 17. X-rays will be taken, if clinically necessary, to check the health of the areas inside, under and between your teeth and also the health of your bone.
• 18. Health of the bone levels