FAQ
Quick answers to the most common questions
Dental check-up allows your dentist to see if you have any dental problems and helps you to keep your mouth healthy. Leaving problems untreated could make them more difficult to treat in the future, so it's best to deal with problems early, or, if possible, prevent them altogether. Generally speaking you should have a dental check-up every six months, but some people may not need to go so often and others may need more frequent checks. Your dentist will suggest when you should have your next check-up based on how good your oral health is.
Being afraid of the dentist means different things to different people. Maybe it's the thought that treatment will hurt, or that the sounds and smells bring back memories of bad experiences as a child. The good news is that our dentists understand patients’ fears. With a combination of kindness and gentleness our dentist can do a lot to make your dental treatment stress free.
Tips to ease dental fear
- Dentists at Watervale Dental believe in providing quality care in a most compassionate way.
- Make the dental staff aware of your phobia while making an appointment. This will enable staff to inform the dentist about your phobia and it will enable dentist to plan your treatment accordingly.
- Generally, the first appointment will be a check-up so don’t worry that you’ll be launched into having a filling, the drill or a needle. See the first visit as your chance to get to know the dentist.
- Take a friend or a family member with you to your appointment. The dentist won’t mind if they accompany you throughout the check-up or treatment.
- Agree a sign with the dentist to signal that you need a break and want them to stop. It can be as simple as pointing your finger, and will help you feel more in control.
- If you think it will help, start gradually with a clean and polish then work up to more extensive treatment once you’ve built up trust and rapport with your dentist.
- If you're extremely nervous, ask your dentist to refer you to a sedation clinic. These clinics are specifically for nervous dental patients.
Whiter teeth look better, but that doesn’t not mean they are always healthy. You can keep your teeth as white as possible by brushing regularly with fluoride toothpaste, flossing and by teeth whitening procedures. Avoiding food and drinks that can stain teeth, such as tea, coffee and red wine will also help to keep teeth white. Teeth are not meant to be pure white. However, in some cases, discoloration can indicate decay or other disease, so it is worth getting stains checked out by our dentist. In a nut shell, white teeth are not essentially healthy and off-color teeth do not mean they are unhealthy.
Fluoride is considered safe and beneficial for strong teeth. In fact, fluoride works best when it is taken in very small amounts throughout the day via sources such as fluoridated tap water, foods and drinks containing fluoride and fluoride toothpaste. Yes, most tap water in Australia has added fluoride.
Some baby tooth paste brands do not have enough fluoride in them. It is advisable that children up to the age of seven years should use toothpaste with approximately 500 ppm of fluoride. Children more than seven years of age and adults should use toothpaste with approximately 1000 ppm of fluoride. Check the packaging to see if it contains enough fluoride.
While processed foods (sweets, cakes, fizzy drinks and chocolate) are bad for your teeth and your general health; dried fruit, fruit juice and honey contain natural sugars that can cause tooth decay. Limit the amount all type of sugary food is advisable. Brushing teeth twice a day also help to remove any deposition of plaque in between teeth.
Even though your child will lose their milk teeth, they still have to be brushed to prevent early damage. Establishing good habits early in life helps ensure life-long dental health. Brush your baby's teeth twice daily from the moment their first tooth cuts through.