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Happy World Health Day to all our lovely colleagues, patients and friends.
Here’s a quick 1 minute video of tips and inspiration to help you to prioritise your oral health today and every day.
If you have any questions or would like some advice about improving your oral health, we would love to help.
Contact us on e-mail reception@mullangallagher.com or Tel: +442844612231
With Halloween happening in our homes this year, the idea of sugar-fuelled ghosts and ghouls in lockdown is quite the scary thought, isn’t it!?! Thankfully, there are lots of ideas floating around this ghostly month to entertain the kids and here are a few of our favourites….
Make some healthy treats together – avoid the sugar spikes and look after their teeth (and our sanity) in the process – bonus! And with food deliveries in high demand, you can have fun with whatever you already have in the house; fruits such as apples, oranges, kiwi and bananas are super to use as a base, while choc chips, mini marshmallows, strawberries, grapes, raisins and seeds make super googly eyes, teeth and tongues! For a little extra gore, you could smoosh up some strawberries or raspberries or if you’re looking for a more zombie-Frankenstein vibe, take a fork to an avocado… Mwahahaha.
Jamie Oliver’s and his son Buddy also has some super tips and a mini tutorial on their channel.
View this post on Instagram
Looking for more inspiration? These delicious vegetarian Halloween recipes from BBC Good Food have tempted us…Eyeball and Hand fruit punch anyone?
A few simple rules will keep you right on the day:
– Try to stick to a time period for treats and tempting as it is, avoid snacking all day
– Remember things like raisins can be sticky and coat teeth, pay extra attention as you brush & floss
– Taking time to create healthy treats embeds super habits for the future
– It is ok to play with your food !
Whatever you end up making, we’d love to see your creations – tag Mullan Gallagher on Instagram, Facebook or send them to us at reception@mullangallagher.com
A few other ideas that aren’t about food, or teeth and we loved are ….
Take an early evening walk in the garden, park or the woods with something that glows (balloons, sticks) or in a more open space, a sparkler. Make up a ghostly story, each taking turns. Roast marshmallows. Make a playlist, each picking your own songs to add, burn off some energy to the favourite tracks by making up a family routine (if you follow our instagram or Facebook accounts, you’ll know we practise what we preach – have a look at our MGDC family TikTok!!)
Or, if it’s all feeling a bit too much? An @lizclimo cartoon always has the answer …
The situation regarding the safety and advisability of dentistry during the covid-19 pandemic is changing rapidly.
Consistent with Government advice to limit social contact we are currently postponing all non-urgent dentistry in order to ensure that face to face meetings are kept to a minimum.
Telephone advice for emergency dental problems is available during normal office hours on 028 4461 2231 Mon – Fri … 9am – 5pm. On Sat – Sun you can telephone us on 07510 229536 … 9am – 4pm.
We can discuss your dental concerns and if necessary, depending on your overall health and specific dental need, bring you in to the practice for appropriate treatment.
The treatment we can carry out is limited to temporary dressings for broken teeth, extractions and issuing prescriptions. Anything requiring a drill cannot be carried out at present due to the dangers inherent in the aerosols created by the water spray used with our drills.
For clarity dental emergencies include but are not strictly limited to the following
In summary:
Please phone Mullan Gallagher Dental Care on 028 4461 2231 to be assessed by one of our dentists and if necessary be allocated an appointment time.
We will not be able to accept patients who have not telephoned first
Anyone using this service must attend on their own or with only one chaperone by arrangement with the practice.
You will be asked to wash your hands on entering and after your treatment and make payments by card only.
If you have a raised temperature or new, continuous cough you must follow national guidance and remain at home and call 111 for advice.
We look forward to caring for you in the normal way as soon as this unprecedented situation is over.
Thank-you so much for your loyalty patience and understanding.
Ciara Gallagher
On Behalf of the Mullan Gallagher Dental team
#Staysafe #stayathome #protectourNHS
It can’t be easy for you if you suffer from nerves whenever you attend an appointment with your dentist in the Downpatrick area. It can be really hard to settle and stop fidgeting in the chair. More over, it can also make it very difficult for your dentist to get to work on you. The only way to get the best dental treatment you need is to build that realtionship between yourself and your dentist and the best way of doing this is to talk about what it is that makes you nervous. Get to the bottom of this and it will give your dentist a better idea of how to calm you down before being treated. Some surgeries employ aromatherapy in their waiting rooms, but your dentist also has a few tricks when you finally sit down in the chair; there are many sedatives you can take in order to calm you down, some local anaesthetics will stop any pain during procedures. If you are really nervous about a difficult treatment, you can ask to be put under completely. However, by doing a little research beforehand, you will find that modern dental techniques cause very little discomfort. Talking things through can be very therapeutic, so why not give Mullan Gallagher Dental Care a call and have a chat, as we serve the Downpatrick area and can help with top-notch advice about your nervous disposition. We can offer both Relative Analgesia and IV Sedation for certain treatments on request.
May the Road Rise to Meet You
May the wind be at your back
May your days be filled with sunshine
And your teeth be free from plaque!
We wish all our patients and friends a very happy St Patricks Day!!!
It is recommended that children should go to the dentist with their parents as soon as possible. You should then take them regularly, as often as your dental team recommend. This will let them get used to the noises, smells and surroundings and prepare them for future visits. The earlier these visits start, the more relaxed the children will be.
First (or ‘baby’ or ‘milk’) teeth usually start to appear when your child is around 6 months old. All 20 baby teeth should appear by the age of 2.
The first permanent ‘adult’ molars (back teeth) will appear at about 6 years, before the first baby teeth start to fall out at about 6 to 7. The permanent ‘adult’ teeth will then replace the ‘baby’ teeth. It is usually the lower front teeth that are lost first, followed by the upper front teeth shortly after. All permanent teeth should be in place by the age of 13, except the ‘wisdom’ teeth. These may appear any time between 18 and 25 years of age.
All children are different and develop at different rates.
Cleaning your child’s teeth should be part of their daily hygiene routine.
Your teeth can get fluoride in a number of different ways, including from toothpaste, specific fluoride applications and perhaps the drinking water in your area. These can all help to prevent tooth decay. If you are unsure about how much fluoride you need in your toothpaste ask us. You can check the level of fluoride on the packaging of the toothpaste. Children should be supervised when brushing up to the age of 7. You should make sure that they do not rinse but spit out the toothpaste, and that they don’t swallow any if possible. This way the fluoride stays in the mouth for longer and will be more effective.
There are many different types of children’s toothbrushes, including brightly coloured brushes, some that change colour, some with favourite characters on the handle, and some with a timer. These all encourage children to brush their teeth. The most important thing is to use a small-headed toothbrush with soft, nylon bristles, suitable for the age of your child.
Using a power toothbrush can help to make brushing fun and make sure your child brushes for the correct amount of time.
Toothache is painful and upsetting, especially in children, and the main cause is tooth decay. This is due to too much sugar, too often, in the diet.
Teething is another problem. It starts at around 6 months, and it can continue when the adult teeth start to appear. If your child needs pain relief, make sure you choose a sugar-free medicine. If the pain continues then contact your dental team for an appointment. Remember to check with your doctor or pharmacist that you are being prescribed sugar-free medicines at all times.
The main cause of tooth decay is not the amount of sugar or acid in the diet, but how often it is eaten or drunk. The more often your child has sugary or acidic foods or drinks, the more likely they are to have decay. So it is important to have sugary and acidic foods just at mealtimes. If you want to give your child a snack, try to stick to cheese, vegetables and fruit. Try to limit how much dried fruit you give as it is high in sugar and can stick to the teeth.
Don’t give them drinks containing sugars, including fruit juices, between meals. Give them water or milk instead. For babies, don’t add sugar to their drinks, or to foods when you introduce them to solids.
It is also worth remembering that some processed baby foods contain quite a lot of sugar. Try checking the list of ingredients: the higher up the list sugar is, the more there is in the product. Generally anything ending in ‘ose’ is a sugar, for example: fructose, glucose, lactose or sucrose. Thorough brushing with a fluoride toothpaste last thing at night, and at least one other time during the day, will help to prevent tooth decay.
Children can sense fear in their parents, so it is important not to let your child feel that a visit to the dental team is something to be worried about. Try to be supportive if your child needs to have any dental treatment. If you have any fears of your own about going to the dentist, don’t let your child hear you talk about them.
Regular visits to the dental team are essential in helping your child get used to the surroundings and what happens there. A child can be much more anxious if it is their first visit to a dental practice. Pain and distress can happen at any time and it is important to prepare your child with regular visits.
Tooth decay happens when the enamel and dentine of a tooth become softened by acid attack after you have eaten or drunk anything containing sugars. Over time, the acid makes a cavity (hole) in the tooth. ‘Dental decay’ is the same as tooth decay and is also known as ‘dental caries’.
Dental decay is caused by plaque acids that gradually dissolve away the enamel and dentine of the tooth. Decay damages your teeth and may lead to the tooth needing to be filled or even taken out.
Enamel is the hard, protective outer coating of the tooth and is the hardest part of the body. It does not contain any nerves or blood vessels and is not sensitive to pain.
Dentine lies under the enamel, forming most of the tooth, and it can be very sensitive to pain. Dentine covers the central ‘pulp’ of the tooth.
The pulp is a soft tissue which contains blood vessels and nerves and is in the middle of the tooth.
Plaque is a thin, sticky film that keeps forming on your teeth. It contains many types of bacteria.
Decay happens when sugars in food and drinks react with the bacteria in plaque, forming acids. Every time you eat or drink anything containing sugars, these acids attack the teeth and start to soften and dissolve the enamel. The attacks can last for an hour after eating or drinking, before the natural salts in your saliva cause the enamel to ‘remineralise’ and harden again. It’s not just sugars that are harmful: other types of carbohydrate foods and drinks react with plaque and form acids. (These are the ‘fermentable’ carbohydrates: for example ‘hidden sugars’ in processed food, natural sugars like those in fruit, and cooked starches.) Always check the ingredients. Generally anything with ‘ose’ in the name is a sugar, for example: sucrose, maltose and so on.
Having sugary or acidic snacks and drinks between meals can increase the risk of decay, because your teeth come under constant attack and do not have time to recover. It is therefore important not to keep having sugary snacks or sipping sugary drinks throughout the day.
In the early stages of dental decay there are no symptoms, but we may be able to spot a cavity in its early stages when we examine or x-ray your teeth. This is why you should visit your dentist regularly, as small cavities are much easier to treat than advanced decay.
Once the cavity has reached the dentine your tooth may become sensitive, particularly when you have sweet foods and drinks, and acidic or hot foods.
As the decay gets near the dental pulp you may suffer from toothache. If the toothache is brought on by hot or sweet foods this may last for only a few seconds. As the decay gets closer to the dental pulp the pain may last longer and you may need to take painkillers – paracetamol or ibuprofen – to control the pain. You must visit us straight away as the tooth is dying, and you may develop a dental abscess if it is not treated.
Toothache is a sign that you should visit your dentist straight away, as it is a warning that something is wrong. If you don’t do anything, this will usually make matters worse and you may lose a tooth that could otherwise have been saved.
The biting surfaces of the teeth and the surfaces between the teeth are most likely to decay, because food and plaque can become stuck in these areas. But any part of the tooth can be at risk.
If the decay is not too serious, your dentist will remove all the decay and repair the tooth with a filling. Sometimes the nerve in the middle of the tooth can be damaged. If so, the dentist will need to carry out root canal treatment by removing the nerve and then repairing the tooth with a filling or a crown. If the tooth is so badly decayed that it cannot be repaired, the dentist may have to take the tooth out.
No. In the very early stages of decay, your dental team may apply a fluoride varnish onto the area. This can help stop more decay and help ‘remineralise’ the tooth. However, it is important to follow the cleaning routine your dental team suggest, using a fluoride toothpaste to prevent decay starting again.
As each of the adult molars (back teeth) appears, and if the tooth is free from decay, a ‘pit and fissure sealant‘ can be used to protect the tooth. The sealant is a plastic coating that fills all the little crevices in the tooth surface, creating a flat surface that is easier to clean. Adults can also have this treatment if the teeth are free from decay. Your dental team will discuss whether this is right for you. Children can also have fluoride varnishes painted onto their teeth twice a year which will help to reduce the chances of decay.
The best way to prevent dental decay is by brushing your teeth thoroughly last thing at night and at least one other time during the day, with a fluoride toothpaste. Make sure that you brush the inner, outer and biting surfaces of your teeth. Using ‘interdental’ brushes, or dental floss or tape, also helps to remove plaque and food from between your teeth and where they meet the gums. These are areas an ordinary toothbrush can’t reach.
Visit us regularly, as often as every 6 months with the dentist or more regularly with the hygienist if required. Have sugary and acidic food and drinks less often. Avoid having snacks between meals, to limit the number of times your teeth are under attack from acids.
Chewing sugar-free gum for up to twenty minutes after a meal can help your mouth produce more saliva, which helps to cancel out any acids that have formed.
Our dental team will show you what areas you need to take most care of when cleaning. They will also show you how to brush correctly and clean in between your teeth with ‘interdental’ brushes or floss.
If you need any dental hygiene advice or tips on how to get the best out of your cleaning routine, contact us to make an appointment and we will be delighted to help.
