Myths sometimes develop around new and sometimes misunderstood treatments. Our Chelmsford dentists answer this genuine question…. It is probably only in relatively recent years that people have even started to become aware of dental implants. For some this will have been because celebrities have had the treatment, while others may have heard some of the ‘horror stories’ in the media of procedures that have gone wrong when patients have travelled abroad hoping for cheaper versions of this increasingly popular tooth replacement. Even though implants are now more widely known, there are still som ..read more

Brushing your teeth regularly is great, but making basic mistakes can undo some of the benefits. Brushing your teeth both morning and night is the bedrock of good oral health care. There are other factors that will improve this too of course, including a more tooth friendly diet and the use of dental floss, plus regular monitoring by one of our Chelmsford dentists. Without brushing our teeth, we are setting ourselves up for problems like tooth decay and gum disease so regular brushing is essential. Even if you already do this though, and we hope that you all do, there is always room for improv ..read more

How best to look after your new straight, white smile? Probably just behind teeth whitening when it comes to popularity in cosmetic dental treatments, veneers are an excellent way to improve the appearance of the teeth. They improve not only the colour, but in some instances, the shape of the teeth too. While a teeth whitening procedure will whiten your natural teeth, it can’t do anything about chips and cracks in the way that veneers can. This procedure can also be used to protect teeth where the enamel has worn away, leaving the tooth more exposed to harmful bacteria and also to extremes of ..read more

Is this new trend taking dental aesthetics a step too far? Trends come and go, as they have done throughout the ages. Some of these are frankly quite silly while others have a longer lasting impact and can change fashion and style for a decade or more. While most of these trends leave no long lasting negative effects, this is not always the case and in today’s Blue Sky Dental blog, we are going to take a look at a trend that is causing some concern in the dental world. As we have mentioned in previous blogs, one of the first things that people notice about us when they meet us for the first ti ..read more

This early stage of gum disease is relatively common, so do we really need to be concerned about it? At some point in our lives, most of us will probably have gum disease to some degree. In most cases this will probably be relatively mild and may produce little or no symptoms. This might occur when we are ill or when we neglect our teeth a little due to life being hectic (though even that shouldn’t really be an excuse!) . Usually when this is the case, it is soon  reversed when we get back to our usual teeth cleaning regime. Given that, in these situations, the gum disease is usually temp ..read more

A brief look at the lengthy training process undertaken by our Chelmsford dental team. As a part of the medical profession, dental care is important, not only to enable a functional mouth but also as a part of preventative health care. Although a few patients might think that it can’t be too difficult to drill a hole in a tooth and fill it or to pull a tooth out, the reality is much different and a lot more involved. People often don’t realise that a tooth is not a single block of material but is much more complex than that. There is also gum health, supportive bone structure and surrounding n ..read more

Why do we sometimes grind our teeth together when we sleep and what damage can it cause? Some of our Chelmsford patients will no doubt have seen cartoons where the main character becomes angry and starts to ‘gnash’ their teeth together, sometimes shattering them visibly in the process. This is obviously done for dramatic effect and the reality is that it is extremely unlikely to happen in this way. Teeth grinding, or bruxism, usually happens more subtly than this and any damage done usually, although not always, occurs over a longer period of time. Teeth grinding also usually occurs when we ar ..read more

This ‘gold standard’ tooth replacement procedure can set you up for life…. We are now at the start of a new year and some of us will have started to make plans for what we want to achieve this year. With a whole year to go before the next one, some of these plans will be looking to the longer term, rather than a ‘quick fix’ solution. In the world of dental care, we are, thankfully, able to offer many treatments which can and do restore dental issues very quickly; for example, fillings. Some treatments though are probably best looked at from a long term perspective. One area where this is true ..read more

Don’t let your oral health care slip during the festive season! We expect that many of you will be looking forward to the Christmas and new year break, especially if you have some time from work to make the best of it. If you have children, that always adds something special too, though also brings its own headaches of course. We hope that all of our Chelmsford patients have a great time anyway but we would just like to offer a few words of caution too. It is far from unusual for us to have a slightly busier spell just after the break, with the number of calls for emergency dental appointments ..read more

Upgrade your smile ready for the new year ahead! This time of the year is a strange one for many. The weather has started to turn colder and Christmas isn’t too far away, yet it doesn’t feel as close as perhaps the decorations in town suggest. There can be a sense of a lull during the next few weeks before the often frantic preparations for Christmas begin in earnest. This is a good time then, to take stock and consider changes that we would like to make in our lives when the new year comes (and even before). With the festivities just a few weeks away, this is a popular time for many of our Ch ..read more