Parramatta Clinic
The Hall, 356 Church Street
(Corner of Church and Palmer St)
Parramatta, NSW, 2150
Maroubra Clinic
Office 1, 822 Anzac Parade
Maroubra, NSW, 2035
Many people are nervous or anxious about visiting and being treated by the dentist. Fortunately there are a number of techniques dentists have at their disposal to help their patients. These include inhalation sedation, intravenous sedation and general anaesthetic.
The most common technique is the use of a nitrous oxide and oxygen mix or the so-called ‘laughing gas’. The Nitrous Oxide mixture –
Patients will often experience a feeling of well-being and euphoria.
The technique involves placing a mask over your nose, and then breathing through your nose.
The gases have a slightly sweet smell and are well tolerated by even the most sensitive noses. The dentist will adjust the percentage of nitrous oxide to oxygen to suit you.
The technique has a number of advantages over other techniques:
It is suitable for children
Unfortunately, the technique is not suitable for all. Some anxious and phobic people require a deeper form of sedation. In general, pregnant women should not receive inhalation sedation. People with nasal obstructions and mouth breathers may also find this method unsuitable.
For people who require a greater degree of sedation, or if the procedure is of a nature that requires the patient to be sedated, intravenous sedation may be suitable. With this technique a sedative is injected into a vein in the arm by a qualified sedationist or anaesthetist.
The advantages are –
It is suitable for a wide range of people and procedures.
The ‘ultimate’ technique for the phobic patient is for the patient to be completely anaesthetised by an anaesthetist. Some surgeries offer this technique ‘in house’ or at their local hospital / day surgery.
At Dental Avenue, we follow strict guidelines on infection control. We use state-of-the-art cleaners and steam sterilisers to achieve a rapid high heat sterilisation of instruments.
Our practice utilises sterilisable dental equipment and instruments. Otherwise we use disposable items wherever possible. The general standard of infection control in all surgeries in Australia is excellent.
Gloves should be worn wherever there is a risk of exposure to blood or body substances, which is almost always the case.
In-chair whitening is done at the practice in a single appointment using a stronger professional gel for a faster result. Take-home whitening uses custom-fitted trays and a milder gel you apply yourself over a couple of weeks. Some patients combine both — we’ll recommend what suits your teeth, lifestyle, and goals.
When brushing your teeth it is best to position your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your teeth, aiming the bristles of your brush toward the gum line. The join between the teeth and the gum is a nice area for bacteria and plaque to accumulate, so it is important to get to this area.
Once you have the brush at the correct angle, all you need to do is jiggle the brush gently back and forward, only brushing one or two teeth at a time. Don’t be excessively vigorous but also don’t be too mild.
Remember. You are trying to penetrate the bristles into the gaps between teeth to remove a very soft plaque.
You need to be systematic – brushing all teeth in order, inside and outside – and you really should do it in front of a mirror so you can see what you are doing.
Proper brushing should take two to three minutes.
Good brushing is very important to help prevent dental decay and periodontal disease, however brushing alone is not enough. It is also very important to clean between your teeth. This is why flossing is so important.
You should floss at least once a day, every day.
Holding floss is the key. You should have a decent length and make sure it is tightly wrapped around and locked onto the middle finger of each hand. Some companies also make small flossing aids. You should floss using a gentle sawing motion, against the sides of your teeth. If you find this tricky — speak to our team at Dental Avenue. They will be able to advise you on the best oral hygiene aids for you, and show you exactly how to use them. Remember — prevention is the key!
If your gums bleed or become sore after flossing, do not panic. If you have not been flossing regularly then the gums will be inflamed and will bleed more easily. If the bleeding persists — see us at Dental Avenue.
The best toothbrush is one with a small head and soft bristles. Electric toothbrushes can also be very good, particularly for people who find proper brushing techniques difficult to master.
Always use a toothpaste containing fluoride. Fluoride combines with minerals in your saliva to strengthen your tooth enamel and help stop decay.
Root canal or endodontic treatment is a process whereby inflamed or dead pulp is removed from the inside of the tooth, enabling a tooth that was causing pain to be retained.
Dental pulp is the soft tissue in the canal that runs through the centre of a tooth. Once a tooth is fully formed it can function normally without its pulp and be kept indefinitely.
After removing the pulp, the root canals are cleaned, sterilised and shaped to a form that can be completely sealed with a filling material to prevent further infection. The treatment can take several appointments, depending on how complex the tooth is, and how long the infection takes to clear.
Subsequently a crown or complex restoration to restore or protect the tooth may be a necessary recommendation, as a tooth after undergoing treatment may be more likely to fracture.
If you have a damaged or injured tooth, root canal treatment may help to save it. Inside your tooth is soft tissue containing nerves, and blood and lymph vessels, known as the tooth pulp. When the pulp cannot repair itself from disease or injury, it dies. A fracture in a tooth or a deep cavity commonly cause pulp death, as the pulp is exposed to bacteria found in your saliva.
When the pulp becomes infected, it is best to remove it before it spreads to the tooth and surrounding tissues. The whole tooth may be lost if the infection is left untreated. Root canal treatment can save your tooth.
Your dentist at dental avenue may perform root canal treatment to find the cause of your tooth’s problems. It is a safe and clinically proven way to save teeth. The diseased pulp is removed, while you keep your tooth.
The pulp is the soft tissue inside your tooth that carries the vessels (blood and lymph), nerves and connective tissue. It extends from the crown of the tooth right to the tip of the root (in the bone of the jaw).
If the pulp cannot repair itself from disease or injury, it will die. A cracked tooth or deep cavity can allow bacteria to enter the pulp and cause pulp death. If the infection is not treated, an abscess or pus can form in the root tip. This can eventually cause damage to the bone around the teeth.
Initially, you may experience pain and swelling from an infection. Damage to the bone surrounding your tooth can also result. Without root canal treatment, your entire tooth may have to be extracted.
Root canal treatment may involve one to three visits to the dentist. A general dentist or an Endodontist (a specialist in pulp problems) will remove the pulp of the tooth. They will then clean and seal the pulp chamber and root canal/s.
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