Maintaining Personal Oral Care As We Ease Out Of Lock-Down
Staying diligent with your smile care
The British Dental Association has advised that dentists’ surgeries can open in June with the proviso that correct safety procedures are followed including the use of effective PPE. The situation continues to be monitored and our surgery will update our approach to the situation continually, ensuring we keep the safety of patients and staff as our top priority during this challenging time.
Despite the easing out of lockdown, Abbey Road Dental wants to encourage you to continue to be vigilant with your smile self-care. It can be easy to feel a little bit more relaxed now as the reopening of dental surgeries begins to happen. However, it is important to keep up your smile healthcare routine as much as you have done over the last few months whilst surgeries were closed.
Avoiding Emergencies
Soon it will be easier to get oral care and support from our NW8 surgery and from other dental facilities as they reopen. However, it is still very important to follow new procedures carefully to maintain safety.
Avoiding extra visits to dental clinics and the dentist based at the hospital is so important as part of this new vigilance.
Do you think carefully about eating foods that you know may put your tooth at risk? Do you think twice about taking part in contact sports that may result in a dental injury? Are you continuing to be cautious and careful with your dental appliances?
It’s about being sensible and cautious where possible so that you avoid any unnecessary trips to the dentist or indeed any other medical facility, at least until some sense of normality is re-established.
Maintaining A Great Daily Routine Never Gets Old
If you have found yourself putting more effort into your daily self-care routine because you know you can’t get to the dentist, please don’t stop. Your oral care between dental check ups is a huge part of keeping your smile as healthy as possible and *you* are the most important aspect of keeping your teeth and gums in the best possible shape.
We’re always here to provide first-class treatment and support when possible but the more vigilant you are with your self-care, the less likely you are to need anything more than a checkup from us, which is ideal.
Do continue to:
- Brush twice a day for two minutes each time
- Use the right brush and toothpaste for your needs
- Floss once a day as instructed by your Abbey Road Dental hygienist
- Care for any dental appliances that you use
- Refrain from drinking more than the government guidelines
- Try to avoid smoking altogether
Keep Up That Health Kick
During the outbreak a lot of our patients and people across the country have been going on a health kick. There are lots of reasons for this. For some people it’s having time on their hands, and for others it’s been because they want to be as healthy as possible to fight off the virus if they get it.
Regardless of your reasons for going on a health kick, we certainly want to encourage you to continue down that route even though now you may not feel as much of a need to do so. Exercising and eating well is great for your overall health for so many reasons, including your oral health.
Eating more fruits and vegetables, avoiding processed food and sugary food is great news for your teeth and gums. Even better, exercising boosts your overall health and especially your circulation to your gums.
Taking Care Of Your Mental Health
There have been a surge of mental health issues that have come from the pandemic.
These range from contamination phobias to heightened social anxiety and even agoraphobia. Anybody who was anxious before may have also faced increased challenges during this time.
We hope that you have taken the time and effort to support your mental health during the outbreak. This is important for so many reasons, including supporting your oral health. Those who may be struggling mentally are less likely to perform self-care like teeth brushing and eating well.
If you have been seeking therapy or meditating, or otherwise working extra hard to keep your mental health in good shape during this lockdown phase, we hope that is something you will continue to do. It not only benefits your mind, but it also benefits your oral health. At the very least it helps you to keep smiling even in the toughest of times!
Continuing to be vigilant, cautious and careful at this time is so important. Clinics like Abbey Road Dental are doing everything possible to work towards reopening and operating safely during this uncertain time.
We will always be here to give you as much help as we can regardless of any imposed restrictions. Maintaining your safety is always our top priority.
We urge you to keep your healthy habits going and try and turn them into long-term habits if you can – they can only benefit your ability to maintain a healthy and happy smile. A lot of self-care habits are also incredibly beneficial to your overall quality of life, so if they have been making you feel better, then it really is a great idea to keep on going!
In the meantime we do hope to see you again very soon. We will be looking closely at safety guidelines and regularly updating our website with the latest information. If you have any queries or need assistance, please do get in touch via the website or call us directly.