Oral Care Advice As We Look Towards The New Year

Our last blog of the year offers advice and suggestions for our Chelmsford patients as we move into 2026.

As we come towards the end of 2025, with just the festive period in between now and the start of a new year, it’s a time when we start to take stock. Did we do all that we wanted to do? Did we forget the new year resolutions that we actually thought we might keep? How do we feel generally about how the year went?

The answers to the above will vary from person to person of course, but the fact is that there is little or nothing that we can do about things in the past. This is why, after a little self reflection, most of us will start to turn our thoughts towards the future. With this in mind, we thought that we would offer a few ideas and suggestions that might help or inspire some of our patients at Blue Sky Dental for the year ahead, with particular reference to their personal oral care.

Damage already done?

There will be some amongst us who probably neglected their oral health a little and are probably now paying for that. We understand that some patients, especially those with a fear of the dentist, may now be living with the consequence of poor choices oral health wise. Unless a dental problem is very painful, such as a toothache, too many of us tend to put up with ‘minor inconveniences’ such as a mild toothache or small chips missing from our teeth.

If you fall into that category, or perhaps missed your last check up (or more), The ideal way to make a new start would be to arrange to have a check up with one of our Chelmsford dentists so that we can diagnose and treat any problems, however minor, so that you can get your oral health back on track. Once this is done, we usually find that it helps people to maintain healthier teeth and gums moving forwards.

Irritating dentures

Some of you will be wearing dentures and people’s experience of these varies quite a lot. Some are absolutely fine with them, while others find them irritating, both caused by friction against the gums, but also the way that they sometimes don’t want to stay stable in the mouth and choose to move around visibly just at the wrong moment.

We are not saying that you should throw away your dentures and rush to our practice to have dental implants placed instead, but the new year can be a time when you certainly give thought to it. Once placed and stabilised, dental implants offer a stronger and completely secure tooth replacement with many patients that have them saying they wished they had done so earlier.

The treatment itself is not painful but it can require a longer treatment time due to its complexity. There is no need to rush into things. Take a look at the dental implant information on our website, take a look at the implant testimonial videos, and finally, if you are wondering whether to make the move or not, give us a call and arrange to come in for a chat about them. Having dental implants could change your eating experience, and possibly your life too.

Dental hygienists

This is an area that quite a few patients skip. They acknowledge the importance of seeing the dentist twice a year but probably feel that is all that is needed to keep their teeth healthy. While check up appointments are essential, we believe that so too, are dental hygienist appointments.

While patients are concerned about their teeth, which is understandable of course, they sometimes underestimate the importance of good gum health. It is not a well known fact among the public, that gum disease is responsible for as much tooth loss as decay, and quite possibly more so. Your gums offer support to your teeth and if they become infected, they can become painful and bleed, so say nothing of giving you bad breath. As the infections take hold, the bacteria can work its way to the bone that supports your teeth. As it attacks this, the bone weakens and your teeth start to become wobbly and may even need to be removed.

Regular six monthly hygienist visits are a great way to help maintain healthy gums. A combination of gum health advice and a thorough professional clean to remove hardened tartar from the gum line, will help you to keep your mouth healthy and in ‘tip top’ order.

When you’re smiling

Dentists aren’t just about health these days. While that aspect is the most important, it should also be recognised that an attractive smile not only looks better than a discoloured or crooked one, but that it is likely to give you a significant confidence boost too.

Cosmetic dentistry is becoming increasingly popular with each year and many younger people see it as essential as buying new clothes etc. While advertising for treatments like teeth whitening has probably been targeted at the younger market, older people can really benefit too. All of us will find that our teeth darken as we grow older. This is a natural thing caused by the darkening of the dentin beneath the enamel layer. Many patients will try teeth whitening toothpastes, only to find that, due to minimal content of the whitening ingredient (by law), the effects, if any, are disappointing. As dentists in a medical, highly regulated environment, we can use a stronger whitening ingredient and, in a non-invasive procedure, get your teeth back to a whiteness of your choosing.

These are just some of things you might wish to think about. There are many others to choose from, including orthodontics (for teeth straightening), veneers and crowns, and, for those of you concerned about maturing appearance, we also offer facial aesthetic treatments to give you younger looking skin.

Until the new year then, we will leave you with the above thoughts and wish all patients of Blue Sky Dental a very merry Christmas and a happy new year and look forward to seeing you soon.