Dental health guide

You only get one set of adult teeth, so look after them. With today's hectic lifestyles, it's easy to neglect one of your most important health and beauty assets: your smile. Here's the low-down on dentistry available today and how you can brush up on your own dental care

Visiting the dentist Types of treatment Relieving toothache Good dental habits Better dental health

Visiting the dentist
The British Dental Health Foundation (BDFH) recommends that we all visit the dentist for a check-up at least once a year. Ideally, we should go every six months - that way, early tooth decay or gum disease can be spotted before it causes any real damage. With decay affecting more than half of children under five, it's particularly important that parents insist their children have regular check-ups. As for babies, the BDFH says, 'We would even encourage that babies start going to the dentist before they develop teeth so that they become acclimatised to the sights, smells and sounds of the dentist, and don't develop dental anxiety in later life.'

If you're putting off booking that next check-up, it's worth remembering that, left untreated, tooth decay can cause the total loss of a tooth within 12 months. When you do pay the dentist a visit, it's up to you to ask for advice and learn how to prevent future problems rather than waiting for them to happen.

Types of treatment
NHS vs private
Dentistry is available both on the NHS and privately. NHS treatment seems to work on a 'first come, first served' basis. If a new practice opens or an existing practice is allocated more NHS places, those patients arriving late may find themselves unable to register. As the availability of NHS treatment is reduced due to shortages in government funding, more and more people find themselves forced to pay for private treatment.