• Brush your teeth for 2 minutes twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.

 This is so important and to do it well. So many of us are too quick to rush this aspect of our day and as a result our teeth are not cleaned to the standard they should be. We recommend that you time yourself while brushing and take a small rest if need be to ensure your brushing is off a good standard throughout the 2 minutes. Also try and floss , using either dental floss, or interdental cleaners such as tepe brushes.

Brushing twice a day is very important and probably one of the most important times to brush is before sleeping , hence the night time brushing. A good idea at night can be to brush your teeth for 2 minutes, rinse off . Then to brush fresh paste back onto your teeth and this time just spit off the excess out of your mouth , leaving your teeth coated with Fluoride toothpaste while your asleep. Try it , it wont be nice at first but as you get use to it , it should improve and protect your teeth.

• Cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks.

This is important to consider ,especially when snacking applies. Try and keep sugary foods with main meals and try not to snack especially with sugary foods . An easy alternative can be to switch to sweetner ( especially in tea or coffee ) . Sweetners do not have the same cariogenic ( decay causing ) effect as sugar does and so will not damage your teeth . Its not usually the tea and coffee that is causing the decay to teeth , its usually the sugar you have in those hot drinks which causes the damage.

• Visit your dentist regularly, as often as recommended.

Visiting a dentist regularly is important. At each visit the dentist will explain all that you need to know , answer any questions and usually give them a scale and polish too. Come along anytime , should you have any concerns about any aspect of your teeth or want to just pop in and have a chat about any aspect of your dental care.

Posters will be displayed around the practice and little campaign products will be available. For more information on the National Smile Month Campaign visit: www.smilemonth.org

This month we as a practice are promoting NO SMOKING DAY which takes place on the 14^th March 2012. It is expected that on this day more than one million people are focusing on a quit attempt.

Smoking can lead to Tooth Staining, Gum Disease, Tooth Loss and more seriously Mouth Cancer.

It is known that  people who smoke are more likely to have gum disease at a quicker rate than non- smokers. Smoking can reduce the blood flow in the gums and supporting tissues of the tooth and makes them more likely to become inflamed. Because of the reduced blood flow smokers may not get the warning symptoms of bleeding gums as much as a non-smoker would. Gum disease is still the most common cause of tooth loss in adults.

This is why visiting the practice on a regular basis for oral health checks and reviews will enable the dentist to keep a close on  any conditions that may be spotted.  Our practice as a specially approved practice to deliver ` Smoking Cessation Services ‘ would be particularly able to help in this regard .So don’t hesitate and book an appointment today.

On a different note congratulations to Coventry Road Dentalcare Dentist Miss Amanpreet Bal who was selected as a finalist to Miss Indian UK finals that took place on Saturday 4th February in London. The Miss Indian competition takes place in 35 countries and the winning girl from each country goes through to Miss India Worldwide. Miss Bal an exceptionally talented dentist did well in this competition and came amongst the top 10. Well done.