Category: Did You Know

Did you know? Articles and blog posts with an interesting slant

Another reason to stay fit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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A recent study has shown that people who stay fit and healthy – exercising, keeping to a normal body weight and eating a healthy diet – are 40% less likely to develop gum infections that could lead to tooth loss.

Tooth grinding

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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Tooth grinding (also known as bruxism) and jaw clenching are common symptoms of stress and anxiety, and can have a devastating effect on your teeth as well as causing problems such as headaches, jaw pain and eating problems.

Many people grind their teeth in their sleep, and are unaware of the problem until either their partner complains of the noise, or they start experiencing dental problems.  Both grinding and jaw clenching can wear your teeth down, and can also cause teeth to crack or break.  They can also put excessive pressure on your jaw joint, which can lead to problems such as chronic headaches or migrains, neck, shoulder and back ache and ear and jaw pain.

If you think you might be grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, do speak to us about it.  There are a number of things we can do to help, most of which are very affordable and certainly cheaper than having to repair or replace damaged teeth.

 

Brushing with poor oral health

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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Nearly half the population regularly fails to brush its teeth before bedtime, according to a survey for National Smile Month. The research carried out by the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) earlier this year, found that more than a third of men and almost 60 per cent of women questioned did not always brush their teeth before bedtime. A small number of those questioned, just 11 per cent, said they regulary skipped brushing in the morning.

Tips for fresher breath

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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 Tips for fresher breath

1. To test if you have bad breath, simply lick the inside of your wrist, let it dry and sniff. If the smell is bad, you can be fairly sure you have bad breath.

2. Clean in between your teeth with ‘interdental’ brushes or floss. This will help clean all parts of the tooth and remove food caught between teeth.

3. Don’t forget to brush your tongue, or use a tongue scraper.

4. Chew sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva to help prevent your mouth from drying out.

5. If your bad breath continues, visit us at Blue Court Dental for advice and cleaning tips.

Toothbrush Hygiene

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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We all should change our toothbrushes every three months or risk potentially severe oral health problems – that’s the message from British Dental Health Foundation ( BDHF).

The BDHF  has urged more people to start investing in new toothbrushes more regulary, before it develops into a “breeding ground” for germs and bacteria.

The strongest argument to change your toothbrush regularly is to prevent re-infection following the flu or a cold.  A dirty toothbrush can also be responsible for many ear, nose and throat infections.

Another survey conducted by the Foundation as part of the nationwide oral health campaign showed that almost two-thirds of Britons would be happy to lend their toothbrush to their partners, children, friends and even celebrities.

Sharing a toothbrush leaves people susceptible to all sorts of oral and general health problems.  But even if you don’t let anyone else use your brush, you still need to replace it every three months to make sure germs don’t build up, and to keep your brushing as effective as possible.

What makes people smile

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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Chocolate has topped the poll for the big thing that makes most people smile.

The British Dental Health Foundation has been asking hundreds of people what makes them smile the most.  In a close fought competition a simple bar of chocolate has topped the poll, followed by “seeing a loved one”.

Around half of respondents featured chocolate on their list of items, with 60 per cent of women making it their favourite  choice.  Men preferred a Sunday roast to chocolate, but both scored highly.

The contagious nature of smiling was also highlighted by around a third of people saying they smiled when they “saw someone else smile”.  The Foundation also asked people to choose a colour which made them smile the most.  The top polling answer was the nice summery colour yellow with around a third of votes.

School Visit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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A local junior school in Stanmore/Edgware invited Dr Sonal Patel and her nurse, Neeta, to give a talk about dental hygiene and tooth decay to two classes of 8yr old girls.

The morning was a great success, with the girls having fun and learning at the same time.

How important is your smile

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

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Smiling is important from a social perspective.  A smile helps to create a positive first impression and makes you seem more attractive. 

Author Dale Carnegie, who wrote ” How to win Friends and influence People”, devoted the first chapter to the smile, calling it “the big secret of dealing with people”.

Smiling is contagious – if you smile at someone it improves their mood, and usually makes them smile back in response. It’s very difficult not to like someone who makes you feel good enough to smile.

Researchers have also found that just the physical act of smiling can boost your mood.  It releases endorphins (a natural pain-reliever) and serotonin, often referred to as a happy hormone.  Even if  it’s not a real smile, the muscle movement can fool your body into producing these substances, making you feel better!

ARE YOU TOO BUSY TO CLEAN YOUR TEETH?

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

A third of adults in the UK do not brush their teeth for long enough because they get distracted or are too busy.

Running late or rushing to get ready are the main reasons why many people cut their tooth-brushing time short, followed by getting distracted by children or phones.

Women are far more likely to get distracted than men while people in their sixties were more likely to brush for the recommended two minutes according to a survey by the British Dental Health Foundation.

Not brushing your teeth long enough means that your teeth are not cleaned adequately which can lead to tooth decay or gum disease. Everyday care is very vital and your toothbrush is one of the best weapons against decay and gum disease.

It is recommended that everyone brushes their teeth for two minutes twice a day, especially at bedtime using a flouride toothpaste. In addition to brushing, it is recommended that you floss your teeth or use interdental brushes to remove the debris from between your teeth.

Why Smoking Will Spoil Your Smile

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit

Dr Nishan Dixit is the founder and principal dentist of Blue Court Dental. Patients enjoy his relaxed, friendly and gentle approach while experiencing his meticulous attention to detail. He has a special interest in providing smile makeovers, natural-looking white fillings and cosmetic braces, but also provides a range of treatments from preventative and general dental care to complex dental rehabilitation.
Dr Nishan Dixit

Latest posts by Dr Nishan Dixit (see all)

If you are a smoker, you will have heard the arguments in favour of giving up so many times that the strongest of anti-smoking messages probably makes no impact on you at all.

Most of the warnings focus on hidden parts of the body such as the lungs and heart and even though they are designed to scare you into giving up, the notion that “it will never happen to me” means you are likely to continue lighting up.

But there is one area where smoking can have a far more visible effect, and more quickly – your smile.  The fact is that if you smoke, your teeth will become stained very quickly, turning yellow and then brown.  In addition you will be much more prone to gum disease – the primary cause of tooth loss among adults – you are also more likely to suffer from facial wrinkling.

One of the most noticeable effects of smoking is staining of the teeth from nicotine and tar but the huge problem for smokers is gum disease with twice as many smokers being toothless by the age of 65 as non-smokers.  This is due to the fact that smoking causes lack of oxygen in the bloodstream so when you gums get infected it does not heal.

If gum disease is left untreated, it will progress and in time your gums will pull away from your teeth, your teeth will loosen and eventually they will fall out.  

This is why it is vital for smokers to visit our practice regularly for professional cleaning which removes hardened plague from your teeth, helping to prevent gum disease.  Better still, why not consider stopping for good then you can discuss tooth whitening with our dentist which will bring the sparkle back to your smile!