Tooth sensitivity occurs when hot or cold food and drinks penetrate through to your tooth’s nerves, and cause pain or discomfort. This can happen when enamel wear leaves thousands of micro-channels exposed in your teeth. Heat, cold or pressure can affect your tooth nerves without enamel protection. Toothpaste, with sensitivity protection, fills in the micro-channels and builds ongoing protection for your teeth. Your tooth root surfaces are more vulnerable to tooth sensitivity then other parts of your teeth. This is because tooth roots do not have enamel for protection. Do not ignore sensitive teeth.

You should go for a dental check-up to determine the cause. If sensitive teeth lead to less effective brushing and flossing habits, in order to avoid pain or discomfort, then you are at risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

You might want to change the shape of your teeth for a number of reasons, such as lengthening teeth, closing teeth gaps and repairing damaged teeth. The four main dental options for re-shaping your teeth include:

• Re-contouring is a procedure that involves the use of a dental tool to carefully shave and sculpt away tooth material until the desired tooth shape is achieved.
• Bonding uses a resin-based sealant to fill in gaps and grooves in your tooth, to create a hardened protective coat over your tooth surface.
• Crowns tooth-shaped prosthetic placed over and bonded to a damaged tooth – after it has been treated and its surface prepared. It restores a damaged to its original form and function.
• Porcelain veneers are custom-made wafer-thin shells that fit perfectly over the front of your teeth. They are tooth-coloured and are bonded directly onto your teeth.

A tooth’s length, shape and surface can be changed through this reductive technique. If you have small teeth, you may not be a suitable candidate for re-contouring.

Yes, they are effective on superficial surface stains. Whitening toothpastes contain polishing agents with stain removal properties that gently buff away tooth stains. They do not contain bleach. That said, whitening toothpastes can’t match the bleaching power of a dental in-chair tooth-whitening treatment.

In-chairs whitening can lighten teeth by three to eight shades. Whereas whitening toothpastes lighten by one shade. And for stains that are deep inside the tooth surface, whitening toothpaste is ineffective.

If you grind your teeth while you sleep, how do you know? It’s difficult to find out when you’re awake, but there are some symptoms such as a stiff jaw, teeth sensitivity and tired jaw muscles in the morning. Teeth grinding, or bruxism, can seriously damage your teeth while you sleep.

It can be easily treated with a night guard, which is an oral appliance similar to a mouthguard. Night guards prevent bruxism, as well as teeth clenching which is just as harmful. If you don’t receive treatment, constant grinding can crack and damage your teeth. You may have to get them repaired or replaced as a result.

Drill-less dentistry is basically a dental technique that uses an air abrasion instrument. It is also known as micro-abrasion. It works like a miniature sandblaster. Instead of sand, it propels a stream of micro-particles (usually silica and aluminium oxide) under high pressure, towards any part of your tooth surface.

The micro-particle stream can be aimed at any area of your tooth to prepare tooth surfaces, remove tooth decay, and minor tooth stains and discolouration. The procedure is completely self-contained so that you won’t breathe in any micro-particles.

Wisdom teeth can cause dental problems such as impaction, over-crowded teeth, or over-erruption. This may cause damage to other teeth causing decay and pain . Wisdom tooth erruption commonly occurs between the ages of 18 to 25, If the eruption of your wisdom teeth does not cause any complications, then removal may not be necessary.

Your dentist can examine and assess your wisdom teeth to determine if extraction is necessary.

At Leeming Dental, our X-Ray is 95% to 97% lower than traditional X-Ray. The radiation levels you are exposed to during dental X-rays are extremely low – Lower than an airoplane flight! Modern X-ray films are higher speed so exposure times are far shorter than in previous decades. Better X-ray techniques reduce the need for repeat X-rays and further exposure to radiation.

Government regulations require X-ray machines to be checked and calibrated for accuracy and safety at regular intervals also.

They are necessary to enable a dentist to detect hidden problems inside or between your teeth, as well as below the gum line and existing dental restorations. X-rays provide a complete view of your teeth and gums. This allows your dentist to make an accurate diagnosis of any oral health issues that you may have before they become major problems.

At Leeming Dental, we tailor your dental care to your needs, your dentist will assess your needs and discuss the frequency for the best health outcomes for you. The main purposes of these visits are for a check-up and a professional dental clean. If you have healthy, problem-free teeth, then having a check-up once a year is fine. But if you have an ongoing oral condition, then consult your dentist for their recommendation. You might have to visit more often.