Category: General Dentistry

Dental Sedation

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Visiting the dentist can be a source of anxiety for many individuals, ranging from mild unease to full-blown dental phobia. Dental procedures, even routine check-ups, can trigger fear due to the perceived discomfort and potential pain. Thankfully, dental sedation techniques have emerged as a valuable solution, offering patients a comfortable and stress-free experience during their dental visits. In this blog, we will explore what dental sedation is, the different types available, their benefits, and safety considerations to put your mind at ease and encourage regular dental care.

Understanding Dental Sedation

Dental sedation is a technique used by dentists to relax patients and minimize their discomfort during dental procedures. It involves administering medication that induces a state of relaxation, helping patients feel at ease throughout their treatment. Dental sedation is primarily employed for individuals who experience anxiety or phobia related to dental visits, but it can also be beneficial for those undergoing lengthy or complex procedures.

Types of Dental Sedation

  • Nitrous Oxide: Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is one of the mildest forms of sedation. It is delivered through a mask placed over the patient’s nose. The gas induces a sense of euphoria and relaxation, reducing anxiety during the procedure. This option is primarily used on children in a hospital environment.
  • IV Sedation: Intravenous (IV) sedation is administered directly into the patient’s bloodstream through an IV line. This type of sedation allows the dentist to adjust the level of sedation during the procedure, ensuring the patient’s comfort. IV sedation is often used for more complex dental treatments or for patients with severe anxiety.

Benefits of Dental Sedation

  • Anxiety Reduction: Dental sedation is particularly beneficial for patients who experience dental anxiety or phobia. By inducing relaxation, patients can approach their dental visits with a calmer mindset, leading to a more positive overall experience.
  • Pain Management: Sedation can help manage pain perception during dental procedures. By minimizing discomfort, patients are more likely to cooperate with the dentist, facilitating smoother and more effective treatments.
  • Time Efficiency: For patients undergoing lengthy or complex procedures, dental sedation can help them remain relaxed and cooperative throughout the treatment. This can lead to increased time efficiency and better results.
  • Improved Dental Care Compliance: Regular dental check-ups are essential for maintaining good oral health. For patients who have avoided dental visits due to fear, dental sedation can encourage them to receive the necessary care, preventing potential dental problems from worsening.

Safety Considerations

While dental sedation is generally safe, dentists and dental teams must thoroughly assess each patient’s medical history and suitability for the specific sedation method. Patients should disclose any existing health conditions, allergies, or medications they are taking to avoid potential complications. Additionally, dentists should have the appropriate training and certification in dental sedation to ensure patient safety.

Conclusion

Dental sedation has transformed the way people experience dental care. By offering a relaxed and anxiety-free environment, patients can receive the dental treatment they need without fear or discomfort. Whether it’s the mild effects of nitrous oxide or the deeper relaxation of IV sedation, dental professionals can tailor the approach to suit each patient’s needs. If you’ve been avoiding the dentist due to anxiety, discuss dental sedation options with your dentist to pave the way for better oral health and a more pleasant dental experience. Remember, a healthy smile starts with overcoming your fears and taking that crucial step towards optimal dental care.

Restore your smile with dental implants

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Are you missing teeth and looking for a solution to restore your smile?

Dental implants might be the answer you’re looking for! In simple terms, dental implants are artificial tooth roots made of materials that are safe for the human body. They are surgically placed into the jawbone to provide a stable foundation for replacement teeth or bridges.

The process of getting dental implants involves a few steps. First, your dentist will evaluate your oral health and examine your jawbone through X-rays. If your jawbone is not strong enough, you might need bone grafting to build up the bone tissue.

Once your jawbone is ready, your dentist will insert the dental implant into the bone, which will gradually fuse with it over the next few months through a process called osseointegration. Once the dental implant has fully integrated with the bone, the dentist will attach a small connector, called an abutment, to support the replacement tooth or bridge. Finally, the replacement tooth or bridge is attached to the abutment, completing the dental implant procedure.

Dental implants offer numerous benefits, such as improved oral health, a natural-looking smile, better speech, and increased comfort compared to other dental treatments. They are also more durable and longer-lasting than traditional options such as dentures or bridges, which can be prone to slipping or shifting.

There are several types of dental implants available, depending on your specific needs and preferences. For example, All-on-4 implants are a specialized type of dental implant used to replace a full arch of missing teeth, while mini implants are smaller and narrower and often used to stabilize dentures or support a single tooth.

Moreover, dental implants contribute to preserving your facial structure by preventing bone loss that often occurs when teeth are missing. This added benefit ensures that your youthful appearance remains intact, supporting a more vibrant and confident you. Furthermore, dental implants have been linked to improved nutrition, allowing you to savour a wide range of foods with ease and relish every bite. With their remarkable functionality and aesthetic appeal, dental implants truly revolutionise the way you approach life, empowering you to embrace each day with a beaming smile.

In conclusion, dental implants can provide a safe, effective, and long-lasting solution for those looking to restore their missing teeth or damaged teeth. If you’re considering dental implants, make sure to talk to your dentist to determine whether they are the right choice for you. With dental implants, you can regain your confidence and improve your quality of life with a beautiful, healthy smile!

Re-opening For Routine Care

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To our valued patients,

Firstly I hope you and your loved ones remain safe and well.

We are pleased to inform you that we will be returning to routine dental care as of Monday the 20th of July including provision of dental health examinations and hygiene appointments. We look forward to welcoming all of you back to the practice over the coming months!

All of the staff here at Eccleshill Dental are looking forward to seeing you all, and hopefully the start of things returning to normal. While many things have changed, our commitment to you and delivering exemplary patient care has remained steadfast.

Thank you all for your patience, support and loyalty throughout this period. Since our reopening on 8th of June, our team have worked really hard to see any patients who have reached out for our help and support during this pandemic. We have seen many of you already with urgent and essential issues, and now we can begin to return to routine care. We will ensure that every patient is seen and will ensure that nobody will be missed out.

As we have said before we wish to reassure you all that we will honour any ongoing treatment plans and membership plan appointments and benefits.

If you have an appointment scheduled after the 20th of July please assume that this is going ahead as normal and attend the practice at your appointment time. We will contact you if we need to amend this appointment but if you do not hear from us, please attend your appointment as normal.

For appointments that have been postponed because of Covid-19, we are working hard to reschedule all your appointments. Our reception teams have kept detailed logs of all postponed appointments and we will contact each patient affected to rearrange your care. We would appreciate if you do not contact us to rebook your appointment (unless you have received from us notification asking you to do so). This may actually slow our ability to work through our logs, plan for reopening and schedule your care.

We will be in touch via phone, text and/or email to each effected patient to arrange appointments, and we will ensure every patient is seen as soon as possible. As we resume routine care, we ask that you to bear with us and understand that we are doing our best to accommodate your scheduling needs. We know many of you are anxious to get back into to see us.

To help us schedule your care we are providing extra clinics and have increased our opening hours. However, the new safety and cleaning protocols mean we cannot accommodate as many patients in our practice as we normally would. In addition, we will still be scheduling appointments in a manner that promotes social distancing and allows for adequate time for us to disinfect all areas of use in between patient appointments. Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this time.

Safety and infection control has always been of the highest priority in our practice and we have meticulously considered the published scientific data and always aim to provide a safe environment for our patients and staff based on guidance from the NHS, Public Health England and the Government.

As a result of these increased protocols, your next visit to the practice may look and feel different. Our team members will be wearing enhanced PPE, we will be promoting social distancing and your journey through the practice may be different. We have created some information and practice videos to highlight of some these changes and will update you with these and more information in due course. We hope that these changes will be transient and over the coming weeks and months, we will return to normal. However, at present we must ensure the highest level of patient safety.

When attending the practice please wear a face covering and attend at your exact appointment time – the front door will be locked, however a member of the team will be expecting you and will be asked to sanitise your hands immediately upon entry. If you do not wear a face covering, we can provide you with a face mask for a small charge. To ensure social distancing, if the waiting areas are full we may ask you to wait outside or in your car.  We still need to ask that patients enter the practice unaccompanied, if possible. For those patients who need a guardian to accompany them, we ask that this be limited to a single family member.

Our waiting room and communal areas have been decluttered so please excuse our appearance. In addition we no longer offer magazines and leaflets as these items are difficult to clean and disinfect. 

Alongside our email updates, we would be grateful if you could monitor our website, FaceBook and Instagram pages for regular updates and information.

Please click on the image above to watch our patient journey guide.

We have noted that some patients have either not provided us with an email address, or have not given us appropriate consent to contact them via email (as per GDPR regulations). As a result, regrettably we have not been able to correspond with these patients personally. If you have not received our regular practice emails and would like to do so, could you please email the practice on info@eccleshilldental.com. In this email, please could you include your name, date of birth and your preferred email address. If your family members also attend our practice, please advise us of their details and preferred email address as well, so we can also update them.

Finally and again, thank you again for your trust, loyalty and patience throughout this pandemic. Please know that we are all really looking forward to seeing you soon. We have missed you!

If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Best wishes
Karan
Mr Karan Rishi BDS MJDF RCS (Eng) PG Cert (Clin Ed)

COVID-19 UPDATE

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WE REMAIN AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGHOUT THIS COVID-19 PANDEMIC. VIDEO AND PHONE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE FOR ALL PATIENTS.

Click here to contact the practice for further assistance, read our blog for dental advice or visit our facebook page for the latest information and updates.

5/1/2021: COVID – 19 UPDATE

Following the Prime Minister’s update on 4th January 2021 advising that the country is moving into another lockdown, we received further guidance from the Government and NHS England that dentistry is exempt from the new restrictions.

This means our practice will remain open for both routine and urgent dental care for all patients. We can still offer face-to-face appointments, although these could be limited due to the constraints of our additional safety protocols.

Continue reading “COVID-19 UPDATE”

Managing your toothache at home

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Following NHS guidance, every dental practice in the UK has been asked to effectively close their doors and manage patients remotely where possible.

If you do develop dental pain, in almost all cases, we are able to assist our patients remotely and we can provide analgesics, antibiotics and more specific dental advice to help our patients overcome their dental problems until we are able to see them again at the practice.

However, should you be experiencing swelling on your face, bleeding due to trauma, severely broken tooth or finding it difficult to swallow, this does require urgent professional attention so please call us on 01274 633406 where we can assist you further and refer you to an urgent care centre.

There are a few things you can do to that may help reduce the pain without having to leave your house and manage pain from teeth, gums, ulcers and/or broken teeth until you are able to see us:

How to manage pain from teeth while self-isolating?

Anti-inflammatory tablets (NSAIDs)

Anti-inflammatory tablets (NSAIDs) can reduce the sensitivity. A combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol has been found to be beneficial if you can take them both. However, patients who have confirmed COVID-19, or believe to have COVID-19 should take paracetamol in preference to ibuprofen. Please take in accordance to instructions on the packet.
Tip: Don’t stop taking the anti-inflammatory when the pain stops (or it will come back again).

Desensitising toothpaste

Desensitising toothpaste such as Sensodyne repair and protect or Colgate sensitive pro relief can help.

Anaesthetic gel

Anaesthetic gel such as Orajel applied to the area can help to numb the pain.

Keep your head elevated

Keep your head elevated at night when you lie down to go to sleep, the blood pressure in the tooth can increase which increases pain. An extra pillow can help keep your head elevated when you sleep.

Saltwater Rinse

Saltwater works to reduce dental bacteria by creating an acidic environment as you swish it around your mouth. It can also help to dislodge bits of stuck food that may be causing pain, helping with managing tooth pain.

Cold Compress

Sometimes tooth pain can lead to swelling. A cold compress can help reduce your swollen face and can also offer some temporary pain relief. It is especially effective when you have a chipped tooth or one that was knocked loose. However, if red gums and a fever accompany the pain, there may be an infection, and you should immediately us.

Tip: Never put heat externally on your face as this can draw the infection into the tissues in your face causing external swellings.

How to manage pain from gums while self-isolating?

If there is bacteria or food debris trapped between the gum and the tooth, this can cause pain.

Clean the area

Thoroughly clean the area with floss or a Te-Pe interdental brush. You could put Corsodyl Gel onto the brush to help clean the area.

Rinse thoroughly

Rinse thoroughly with Corsodyl mouthwash can help (but Corsodyl will stain your teeth so we don’t recommend this for long term use).

How to manage pain from ulcers?

Mouth ulcers can be a sign of underlying medical conditions, so if they don’t heal within two weeks, please get them checked by a dentist.

To reduce the discomfort, you can try:
• Anaesthetic gel such as Orajel
• Warm salty mouthwath
• Difflam (Benzydamine) spray or mouthwash
• Thorough cleaning (even if painful)
• Corsodyl mouthwash (max. 1 week use)
• Soft diet
• Painkillers

To help with healing of ulcers, you can try:

Gengigel can be effective as well as soothing the pain

How to manage pain from broken teeth while self-isolating?

If a tooth or filling has chipped or cracked, this can cause sensitivity from the tooth being exposed or pain to your tongue from sharp edges.

The sensitivity can be reduced by rubbing a de-sensitising toothpaste onto the tooth or placing a temporary filling material over the broken corner until a more definitive filling can be placed.

Download a short guide on how to manage your toothache, which has been put together by the creative @digimax_dental team.

It may be a few more weeks before we can resume ‘normal’ dental care, however, we are available over the phone to help with any of your dental needs so please don’t be afraid to contact us on 01274 633406 for any dental advice.

Thankyou for reading & stay safe!

From the Eccleshill Dental team