Leopardstown

Patients from Leopardstown choose dental health checks at Dublin18 Dental Care

Dental health checks are extremely important for good oral health. We advise our patients to attend for a check-up every 6 to 12 months, depending on oral health status. These help to keep dental health problems at bay, and also enable the dentist to spot early warning signs of oral health conditions.

What does a dental health check involve?

Dental health checks are quick and painless. They allow the dentist to examine your mouth and identify any conditions or problems. Dublin18 Dental Care near Leopardstown carry out a 13 point health check for every patient, which involves looking for signs of oral cancer, checking for decay and cavities, examining the gums, salivary glands and tongue. We will also take a look at your bite, which is the way the teeth fit together, and X-rays may also be carried out. Patient feedback is also important in discovering underlying conditions.

Why are dental health checks so important?

They allow us to monitor oral health and see if problems are getting worse or new problems have developed. If you experience symptoms and allow the condition to develop, it can be more complex and expensive to treat. And no one likes to put up with pain, swelling and soreness.

In the last decade the number of cases of oral cancer has doubled in Ireland. Regular dental checks are essential if we are to ensure cases of oral cancer are treated early, and dentists are in an ideal position to spot the early warning signs. That is why oral cancer screenings form a key part of our dental health checks.

Dental health checks also help to keep the teeth and gums looking clean and healthy. Get in contact with our team today to make an appointment.

Dublin18 Dental Care Offers Regular Dental Checks for Patients from Leopardstown

The most important procedure you will ever have carried out at your dentist is your regular check-up. This appointment, often only made twice a year, can help keep your teeth healthy and spot any potential problems early, so they don’t become major problems. Dental health checks not only help patients maintain good oral health, but dentists can often spot the first signs of conditions such as mouth or throat cancer during these regular visits, diseases which are easier to treat if found early.

At Dublin18 Dental Care there is a comprehensive and detailed 13-point plan that all the dentists follow when giving patients a dental health check, whether they are new clients from Leopardstown or they have been coming here for years. Although each person is different and will have different problems and issues that they want to discuss with the dentist, the 13-point plan has been developed to cover the most common problems.

It will start with a general chat about the patient’s current oral and general health before the dentist carries out that vital screening for mouth cancer. Other areas of the mouth are then checked for any signs of disease, such as the salivary glands and the tongue. Only then does the practitioner move on to the parts of the mouth that other dentists usually start with i.e. the teeth and gums. After checking for any indication of tooth decay and any issues with the patient’s current fillings, crowns or false teeth, the next step at Dublin18 Dental Care is to make sure that both the teeth and the jaw are in the correct place.

After the gums have been checked the dentist will again have a chat with the patient about their oral healthcare routine. On a first visit, or if the practitioner has spotted something unusual, X-Rays may be required, but most dental health checks will end once both the patient and dentist are happy that all areas of the mouth have been checked and all questions answered.

Mouthguards are Available at Dublin18 Dental Care for People in Leopardstown

You don’t have to be a professional boxer or rugby player to need a mouthguard. In fact you don’t need to be interested in sport at all, as mouthguards of different shapes and designs can be used for many different purposes. Whatever the reason you need a mouthguard, the staff at Dublin18 Dental Care will be able to give you advice and information before you make your decision.

Quite a number of the enquiries we receive about mouthguards are from patients who grind their teeth while asleep. This is not just an annoying habit, but something that can cause problems with oral health further down the line. Often people don’t even realise they are grinding their teeth, until a new partner mentions it or they decide to try and find out just why they always have such a sore mouth in the morning. Specially-designed mouthguards can be worn at night to prevent damage to both the teeth and jaw. Mouthguards are comfortable to wear and many people get used to wearing their mouthguard at night within just a few days.

Anyone who has had orthodontic work done at Dublin18 Dental Care near Leopardstown will be given a retainer to wear once their braces are removed to make sure that their newly-straightened teeth don’t slip back into their old positions. An Essex retainer is different to the usual style and is more like a mouthguard, made of moulded plastic, which is comfortable to wear and easy to remove and maintain. Patients who are given an Essex retainer should wear it every night and for at least four hours each day, to make sure that they keep their new smile looking as straight as possible.

However, we do still get many enquiries from sportsmen and women about mouthguards that will protect them during their chosen activity and a lot of the time it is parents who are concerned about the safety of a child who has just started playing rugby at school or taken up boxing. Any sport that involves significant physical contact could require participants to wear a mouthguard, in order to protect their teeth in the event of an accidental or, in the case of boxing, deliberate blows to the mouth.

Can Root Canal Treatment from Dublin18 Dental Care Near Leopardstown Save Your Smile?

A root canal is a channel of soft dental pulp, containing nerves and blood vessels, which goes from the root of the tooth right down to the bottom of the crown (the parts of the tooth you can see in your mouth). There can be additional root canal in each tooth.

What is root canal treatment?

If your root canal becomes infected, most commonly due to tooth decay, you are left with two options. The first is to extract the tooth, which, as you can imagine, could completely ruin your smile. The second is root canal treatment from Dublin18 Dental Care near Leopardstown.

Root canal treatment involves the dentist drilling into your tooth and removing any dead or diseased pulp from within. Although that may sound intimidating, local anaesthetic is used, so you won’t feel a thing and your dentist will make sure that you are comfortable throughout the treatment. If necessary, your dentist may put some medicine inside the cavity to ensure that all the bacteria is gone. The now empty cavity is then filled up, most commonly with a rubber like substance called gutta percha and the tooth is sealed with a crown or a filling to stop bacteria entering the tooth again.

As the anaesthetic wears off you may experience pain or discomfort in the affected tooth. This is normal and can be remedied with painkillers. You will then have to go for checkups annually, so your dentist can check that everything is going smoothly.

It is well worth getting root canal treatment if you are a suitable candidate, as it is always better to save a tooth than deal with losing one.