How do I book an appointment?
You can give us a call or email us and we will book an appointment convenient for you. We will send you a reminder by text or email before your appointment. If you need to cancel or change your appointment please let us know as early as possible, at least 24 hours.
Do you charge if I miss or cancel an appointment?
Wherever possible we require 24 hours notice if you are unable to attend an appointment. This allows us to give that appointment to someone else. However, we understand that weather can be a contributing factor and would always be understanding if this were the cause of cancelling at short notice. Similarly, illness cannot be predicted. However, if short notice cancellations are frequent, you may be charged £15 for every 15 minutes allotted to you.
Why do I need to come to the dentist if I am not in any pain?
The problem is it doesn’t necessarily follow that not having any pain, means you don’t have any dental problems. 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 check for mouth cancer. If your teeth and gums are completely healthy, we will give you advice on how to keep them that way.
How do you make sure all your equipment is clean and safe?
We adhere to all the latest government regulations advice and guidelines regarding equipment, cross infection and decontamination. 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!
I’m really scared of the dentist. Can you help me?
Many people feel a bit nervous at the thought of seeing the dentist, particularly a new dentist. Sometimes this fear or phobia is so severe it will stop people coming to see us unless they are in really severe pain. It could be you’ve had bad experiences as a child and the smells and sounds in the surgery bring those memories back, or your fear is very specific and you are really scared of injections or the slow drill. Whatever your problem is we can help!
The first thing to do is make an appointment and tell us you are nervous. You will find us sympathetic and friendly. We are nice and we don’t tell people off! We will listen to you and will do everything we can to help. We put you in charge so if you ever want us to stop you just wave at us and we stop. You mustn’t feel worried about telling us to stop if you’ve had enough. If you haven’t been to the dentist in a long time you may be really worried about how much treatment you need. Most of the time it is no where near as bad as you imagine. The biggest thing is picking up the phone and making the appointment!
How does smoking effect my mouth?
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 also increases your risk of developing mouth and throat (and obviously lung) cancers. Smoking reduces the blood and oxygen supply to the gums. Quite often this will mean that if you smoke your gums don’t bleed (first warning sign of gum disease), even though they are very unhealthy. If you are thinking about quitting please go to https://smokefree.nhs.uk/ where you should find lots of information support and advice to help you. Mouthwashes will help mask bad breath and may have some effect on the progress of gum disease. You need to visit us regularly so we can check your mouth for the very earliest signs of mouth cancer.
So what is the problem with fizzy drinks? I drink diet coke.. no sugar.. surely that is ok?
A high fluorides toothpaste can help prevent further damage. Diet coke is better than ‘full fat’ coke because it has no sugar in it and therefore doesn’t cause tooth decay, however all cokes and fizzy drinks contain carbonic acid which mean you are essentially bathing your teeth in a weak acid and this destroys enamel (dental erosion). This causes disfiguring tooth loss and pain and sensitivity. The odd can isn’t a problem but we know lots of 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 to reduce your intake or better still stop it completely. Use a straw and never ‘swish’ drinks around your mouth to reduce tooth damage. Alcopops and fruit juices can also be damaging. Water, milk and dilute low sugar squashes are the best things to drink.
Are dental x-rays dangerous?
The amount of radiation received from a dental X-ray is extremely small. Radiation is present all 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 use x rays to take radio graphs which give us much more information about your teeth and mouth than we can see just by looking. It can show us decay in between the teeth or under old fillings which if treated early is much easier and less expensive than waiting until the problem becomes obvious . They can show us the position of second teeth and what your wisdom teeth roots are doing.
My teeth are really sensitive. What can I do to treat it?
Sensitive teeth are usually triggered with cold food (icecream) or drinks, or touch (toothbrush or fingernail) or sweet foods (chocolate). The pain is severe but only lasts for a few seconds. If you get pain that lasts longer than this and is triggered with hot things more than cold you have toothache not sensitivity!
Sensitivity can be caused by exposing the more sensitive dentine on your teeth either by brushing too hard or drinking /eating too many acidic foods, fizzy drinks, white wine, fruit juice. The solution is to limit or exposing your teeth to acid attack, cleaning with an electric tooth brush and using toothpaste for sensitive teeth. Use the toothpaste as an ointment…rub it into the sensitive areas and leave it there.
If you find no improvement come and see us!
We accept the following payment methods
RBS
Sort code: 83-24-07
Account number: 00149702
Emergency Appointments
Please be aware that any same day emergency appointments you make you will be charged at £75 for the appointment (treatment cost not inclusive)
Any out of hours emergency appointments you make will be charged at £125 for the appointment (treatment cost not inclusive)
Payments for any emergency appointment slots will be required at the time of booking which can be paid over the phone
Any treatment required can be paid by your preference of payment method at the end of your appointment
