Please ring 01572 822655 or email reception@rutlanddentalcare.co.uk or call in at the practice and we will book an appointment convenient for you. We will send you a reminder by text or ring you the day before your appointment if you wish. if you need to cancel or change an appointment please give us as much notice as possible, this allows us to offer the time reserved for you to someone else, and helps keep our costs and therefore our prices down.

There are no fees charged for an appointment cancelled or changed with at least 2 days notice. When appointments are cancelled with less notice we will do our best to reschedule the time reserved for you with another patient. If we are unable to do this there may be a cancellation fee. This fee is linked to the fixed running costs of the surgery and the amount of time lost. This fee also applies to any appointments missed or forgotten. However we do understand that illnesses and emergencies do occur and we do allow for this. There will be no charge in the event of a genuine emergency. We listen to the circumstances and try to do the fair thing.

We adhere to the latest government regulations advice and guidelines regarding equipment, cross infection and decontamination. This is all thoroughly checked by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission. All our equipment is properly serviced and maintained and our staff receive regular training to make sure we are completely up to speed. We take your safety and ours very seriously!

Please telephone the practice on 01572 822655 as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to help. The earlier in the day that you ring, the more likely you are to be seen that same day and at a time that suits you best. If the practice is closed, please telephone and listen to the answer phone message which will give you guidance for emergency arrangements during evenings and weekends and holidays.

The problem is it does not necessarily follow that not having pain means that you do not have a problem. Tooth decay and gum disease need to be well advanced before they cause pain. By the time they cause pain treatment becomes more difficult, more expensive and time consuming and the outcomes are less predictable. At our check-ups we will check your teeth and gums very carefully and advise you of any potential problems. We also always check for mouth cancer. If your teeth and gums are completely healthy, we will give you advice on how to keep them that way. We may also recommend you increase the interval between check-ups to a year or even 2 years if you are spectacularly good!

The nicotine and tar in smoke will stain your teeth, it will cause and accelerate gum disease which may lead to tooth loss, you may get bad breath and it increases the risk of developing mouth, throat and lung cancer. Smoking reduces the blood and oxygen supply to the gums. Quite often this will mean that if you smoke your gums do not bleed (first sign of gum disease) even though they are very unhealthy. If you are thinking of giving smoking up please go to smokefree.nhs.uk where you should find lots of information, support and advice to help you. In the meantime the Philips Sonicare toothbrush is most effective at reducing stain. You need to visit us regularly so we can check your mouth for the very earliest signs of mouth cancer which are easy to treat.

Periodontal (gum) disease affects the bone supporting the teeth and can result in the loss of teeth. You can prevent periodontal disease from developing or from getting worse by maintaining a good dental care routine and making regular visits to your dentist or hygienist.

There are two main stages of gum disease:
1. The first stage of gum disease is called gingivitis. This is when the gum becomes red and swollen. Such inflammation can be cured with a scale and polish and continuing good oral hygiene.

2. The second stage is called chronic periodontitis. Although periodontitis cannot be reversed once it has developed, you can prevent it from getting worse, if you clean your teeth properly and have regular treatment from your dentist who may recommend deep scaling or root planing.

3. Root planing is performed to clean the parts of the teeth which are below the gum line and cannot be reached with a toothbrush. Root planing cleans out the gum ‘pockets’ removing the plaque and calculus deposits from the root surfaces of the teeth. If this is not done the process of bone loss continues and eventually the teeth become mobile and painful and need to be removed. This treatment is often performed under a local anaesthetic and may require you to make several appointments depending on whether your mouth is treated in sections.

4. Hand and ultrasonic scalers are used to reach all parts of the tooth and to ensure that the tooth and root is completely clean. Root planing should cause the gum pocket to shrink resulting in the gum tightening around the tooth and becoming a healthy pink colour.

5. This treatment may need to be repeated on a regular basis.

6. It is important that you maintain a healthy mouth at home.

It does not matter how well you brush it does not reach the plaque ( food and bacteria) ‘in between’ the teeth without using something specially designed to reach these places. If you do not clean your teeth your gums will start to bleed, your breath may smell and you will start to lose the bone that supports the teeth. It does not happen overnight and some people are much more susceptible than others to gum disease and need more help keeping their mouths healthy. You can get into good habits and routines and use tape and TePe brushes every day then you are on the way to keeping your teeth and gums healthy for life. You know it makes sense!

Yes. Bacteria from the mouth can get into the blood stream and affect the heart, lungs and bring on early labour and diabetes. People with gum disease are almost twice as likely to have coronary artery heart disease as those with healthy gums. To prevent gum disease you need to make sure you remove all the plaque from your teeth every day.

Although diet coke has no sugar in it and therefore does not cause tooth decay, all cokes and fizzy drinks contain carbonic acid which means you are essentially bathing your teeth in a weak acid and this destroys the enamel (dental erosion). This causes disfiguring tooth loss, pain and sensitivity. The odd can of coke is not a problem but we know that many people drink up to a litre a day! Not only does the carbonic acid damage your teeth it also damages your bones….so please try and reduce your intake or better still stop completely. Use a straw and never ‘swish’ drinks around your mouth to reduce tooth damage. Alcopops and fruit juices can also be damaging. Water and milk are the best drinks. Sometimes the damage can be repaired using tooth coloured fillings bonded to the teeth or in more severe cases using porcelain veneers. Duraphat toothpaste which contains high levels of fluoride can help prevent further damage.
 
Diet health tip
The most common cause of tooth decay is refined sugars, which by encouraging plaque build up can also lead to gum disease. Examples of refined sugars include sucrose, glucose, dextrose, corn syrup and glucose syrup. Even natural sugars such as those found in fruit and honey can cause plaque acids. Examples of natural sugars include fructose, lactose and maltose. Acid in plaque builds up only seconds after eating sugars but may take 30 minutes to return to safe levels. It is not only the quantity of sugar that can cause damage but the frequency, so if you do eat sweets, avoid spreading them out over a long period of time.

The amount of radiation received from a dental x-ray is extremely small. At Rutland Dental Care we have invested in digital radiography, which greatly reduces the radiation exposure compared to traditional x-rays. Radiation is around us all the time. You get about the same amount of radiation from having two dental x-rays as you do travelling on a flight to Spain. We take your safety and ours very seriously. We take radiographs when we require more information about your teeth and mouth than we can see by just looking. They can provide a huge amount of information including decay interproximally or under old fillings; the amount of bone supporting the teeth and any subgingival deposits which if treated early is easier and less expensive. We usually take radiographs about every 2 years.

We are very proud of the care we provide and we know that most of our patients most of the time are very happy, but sometimes despite our best efforts we do get it wrong. We promise we will always do whatever we can to put it right. So if you are unhappy please tell us. There are several things that you can do. If it is something small, please write it on one of the patient comment cards in the waiting room and put it in our suggestion box in reception. We look at these regularly and discuss your comments at every staff meeting. If it is something clinical please do speak initially to the dentist. She will always do whatever she can to resolve problems. If you are uncomfortable doing this for any reason then please speak to Dipti Lad our Complaints Manager. Alternatively you can write, email or telephone. However you communicate with us please be assured we take your feedback very seriously and it will be acted on….quickly. Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality; if you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so, unless they are a child under 16.

Many people feel nervous of seeing the dentist, especially a new dentist. Sometimes this fear is so great that the person will only come when they are in severe pain. It could be due to a bad experience as a child and the smell or sounds in the surgery bring back the memories or it is a specific fear of injections or the slow drill. The first thing to do is to make an appointment and tell us you are nervous. You will find us sympathetic and friendly. We will listen to you and do everything we can to help. We can apply a cream to numb the gum before we give the injection. Most importantly though, we put you in charge so if you want us to stop, however often and for whatever reason, you just lift your hand and we stop. We go at your pace and we do the treatment in short bursts. We play music but you are welcome to bring your own and we are happy to listen to your choice. The more you come to visit us the more your fear should lessen and regular dental care can become a normal part of your life, honestly! If you haven’t been to the dentist for a long time you may be worried about how much treatment you need. Most of the time it is nowhere near as bad as you imagine. The biggest thing is to pick up the phone and make an appointment.

Implants are amazing. Placing implants is also a very specialised branch of dentistry At Rutland Dental Care we are very fortunate to have our own resident Implant specialist Dentist all offered from our calm and caring environment. Should you wish to explore this option please discuss with your Dentist or feel free to call 01572 822655 or email reception@rutlanddentalcare.co.uk for a consultation with our implant specialist.