Helping patients understand hypersensitivity

Throughout your dental education and career, you will no doubt come across dentine hypersensitivity often. In this article, we explore the causes of this very common condition and consider why some people are more susceptible to sensitivity than others.

As dentists, when we diagnose patients with periodontitis, our first priority is to treat that disease and help our patients address their oral health problems, including through behaviour change.

This article will give you a quick 101 on what you will find in toothpaste, to help you find your patients the right toothpaste for them.

Toothbrushing can be a difficult sport, one not so easily grasped by all those on the playing field. Particularly for our young ones, trying out for the first time. So when is it really time to start getting more involved? Poor oral hygiene is commonly seen in many who lack the understanding and education around oral hygiene practices. Which is why with early intervention and awareness around toothbrushing, amilies are more likely to experience positive outcomes for our future generations.

LGBTQIA+ patients are often subject to a great deal of societal stigmatisation and discrimination. Read on to learn how to create a safe and inclusive space for LGBTQIA+ patients in the dental clinic.

“What toothpaste should I use?” is a common question posed to dental practitioners. Find here tips to understand ingredients and recommend toothpastes to patients based on their oral health and lifestyle needs.

“Fake news” seems to be today’s “real news”. Gone are the days where people relied solely on the morning newspaper and the 6 o’clock news for their information, or their trusted health professional for up-to-date oral health advice. We now have so-called experts and sources anywhere and everywhere, which, through all the various media platforms out there such as social media, have the ability to reach our patients in ways they were never able to previously. With the plethora of sources, this can no-doubt cause some confusion to our patients. There is a probability that many of these sources are not professionally educated, which may then lead to potential health ramifications for our patients. We as the true oral health professionals need to therefore be firstly aware that this is happening, and secondly, understand the basis of these fads so we know how to tackle them head-on. As professionals, we need to differentiate ourselves from these other sources and be able to provide our patients with a much clearer understanding of what is fact or fiction.

Cosmetic dentistry is sometimes associated with the need to shave down a patient’s tooth in order to improve its aesthetic. It’s important to us as dentists to help guide patients through their smile journey, to ensure they obtain a safe but nice result improving the aesthetics of their smile. In this short article, Dr Sam Koh will summarise cosmetic dental treatments and suggest how we can improve a patient’s smile with different options, and whether these require us to shave down a patient's teeth.

As dental professionals, we undoubtedly experience many challenges and stresses in our careers from treating patients who are anxious about dentistry but also providing treatment to patients whilst they are conscious. Without proper care and management of these stresses and challenges, it can be easy for dentists to feel overwhelmed and eventually burnout. In this article you will understand what burnout is and how you can utilise self care habits to prevent it from happening in your career.

Shopping for a new toothbrush can be a daunting task, with the shop aisle usually stacked with a vast array of options of brushes in all different sizes, shapes and styles. With new brushes coming out regularly, how do we know what to recommend to our patients to buy for their oral hygiene? In this article, Dr Sam Koh discusses some of the key elements of what to look for when choosing a toothbrush.

Fluoride is the cornerstone of caries prevention with numerous methods of application including that applied by professionals, along with toothpastes, mouthwash, water fluoridation and once upon a time supplements in the form of tablets or drops. With all these sources of fluoride and different methods of application for at home and professional use, what methods should be used?