Welcoming patients back for treatment

It has probably felt like an eternity for some, and especially those of you who have suffered dental problems that did not qualify for urgent emergency care.

Troublesome teeth can seem all consuming and even a relatively short wait for treatment can seem like forever. For those who have had to wait almost three months, it has probably been a very difficult time indeed.

The good news is that we have now opened our practice again following the lockdown. This means that you can finally start to receive treatment again and we look forward to seeing you all as we try to catch up on lost time. There will, of course, be some changes with how we operate and we will cover some of these factors in today’s blog.

Appointments

Our reception team is now awaiting your phone calls for appointments but please do bear in mind that we may not be able to see you as quickly as we did before the pandemic. There are a lot of operational changes being made which are likely to reduce the number of patients that we are able to see each day. Our Woking dental practice team will obviously do all that they can, but the safety of our staff and patients must come first.

We will also be doing our best to see those of you who are in more urgent need of dental care. We certainly don’t want you to suffer unnecessarily and will do what we can to treat you as a priority. To the rest of you, please bear with us whilst we work our way through the most urgent cases. We are sure that you would want us to do this if it was yourself that was suffering.

PPE

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Synergy Parkside Dental looks at the possible oral health consequences of ‘lockdown stress’.

Although there is no formal news about dental practices opening yet and it may still be a little while away, things do seem to be slowly improving in the Covid-19 crisis and some shops are now gradually planning to re-open (with appropriate distancing and other precautions) in the near future.

We are also hopeful that the government will look at the options for opening dental practices soon as there will be an increasing number of people who are suffering with fairly uncomfortable oral problems.

Whilst treatment is available in special dental units for the most serious cases, even a moderate toothache can be very distressing even with the use of painkillers. There will be other problems too that people will be having to deal with without professional dental support.

All of this will add to the general stress of the restrictions that have been placed on us. In today’s blog, we take a look at some of the ways that this stress may have affected your teeth and gums.

Reduced home dental care

Even if unintentionally, it is quite possible that some of us will not have brushed our teeth as often or as well as we used to do. This is likely to apply more in the morning as we are out of a routine. Even a small reduction in this could have an effect on our teeth and gums, leading to possible tooth decay and gum disease. If you suspect that you may have been ‘guilty’ of this, remember that it is not too late to start to improve this now with regular brushing and flossing.

Increased snacking

There have been reports that, perhaps unsurprisingly, there has been an increase in snacking during lockdown. Whether this is through boredom or stress doesn’t really matter in terms of the result. Any snacking over a period of time is not good for the oral health of our Woking patients. Even relatively healthy foods, if consumed in this way, can be harmful as there is insufficient time in between snacking for our saliva to clear the mouth of food particles and excess bacteria. In addition to this, many ‘snack’ foods tend to be high in sugar, a well known problem for our teeth.

If you do snack; in addition to brushing and flossing, try to drink water after your snack, swilling it around your mouth before swallowing. This will help to remove some of the offending food particles.

Bruxism

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Further advice for AJ Dental Group patients whilst we are closed due to Covid-19

In our last blog, we offered advice to our Woking patients about what to do to help keep their teeth and gums healthy during this current ‘lockdown’. Hopefully, this advice will mean fewer dental problems will arise during this period.

As the current UK advice on social distancing now looks likely to be extended for possibly a few more weeks, it is almost inevitable that some dental issues will arise for at least a few of our patients.

Hopefully these will not fall into the ‘urgent emergency’ category but could, nonetheless, be uncomfortable until treatment becomes possible again.

Unfortunately we cannot carry out any ‘face to face’ treatments at the moment, but you can still call us for dental advice. We will possibly be able to refer you to an emergency regional dental centre but this will only be for true emergencies.

Although we generally advise against home treatment for dental problems and encourage patients to see us as soon as they can if they have a toothache etc, this is currently not possible. So to help those of you who aren’t fortunate enough to avoid problems during this time, we offer some helpful ‘treatment’ advice below.

Toothaches and sensitive teeth

Even a relatively minor toothache can be uncomfortable and will make this period feel longer that it is. There are a number of practical things that you can do to relieve it though.

Anti inflammatory tablets

These tablets can help to relieve some of the discomfort associated with a toothache and also help to reduce swellings. Most of us will have some of these at home in the form of paracetamol or ibuprofen but please be certain that they are suitable for you before taking them.

Toothpastes for sensitive teeth

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Advice from our Woking dentists about keeping your teeth healthy whilst ‘isolating’.

Hopefully, all of our patients are following government instructions and staying at home wherever possible. These are challenging times for everybody and boredom and anxiety are likely to be problems for a lot of people.

Whilst the key health issue here is obviously the Covid-19 virus and hopefully avoiding it, we also urge patients of the Synergy Parkside dental practice practice to continue to look after their teeth as well as possible during this extended period at home.

There are some potential pitfalls for our oral health in the weeks and months ahead, but with a little thought and care, most of us will be able to keep our teeth healthy for when this difficult period is behind us.

The basics

Make sure that you have the essentials available. This includes a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss. You should be able to get most of these from the shop when you do your other essential shopping. If not, with a bit of searching, you should be able to find these online. If possible, try to keep a spare toothbrush or make sure that you have replacement heads for an electric brush. If you suspect that you have any symptoms, you should throw away your old toothbrush or change the head of the electric one when the infection has passed. This will help to avoid re-infection if that is possible and also helps avoid infecting others who use the bathroom with you.

Your routine

Many of us will have drastically changed routines for the next several weeks. This can cause us to forget to do things that we usually do. For example, brushing our teeth might be the last thing we do in the morning before leaving for work. If you are now working from home or are temporarily out of work, try to write down a routine that works for you and creates one where you brush your teeth after doing something else, such as shaving or after you walk the dog in the morning. There are no hard and fast rules and you should use whatever works for you. But please try to keep the discipline.

Avoid too many comfort foods

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