You will find our Christmas opening arrangements below.

If you are a practice patient and have a dental emergency over the festive period, please do ring us on a day we are open (and during our opening hours) or, alternatively, send an e-mail to info@tavistockhouse.co.uk with a brief description of the problem and we will book you in at the earliest availability.

We would like to wish all our patients a a very Merry Christmas, and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year! 

After 2 weeks we have a lovely new wall at the back of our carpark.

From this:

To this:

Thank you for your patience during the disruption.

It is all too easy to neglect dental health, but as with most things in life – prevention is better than cure.  Teeth help us to consume food, chew, and aid in communication.  A healthy smile is a confident smile, so here Tavistock shares their top tips to avoid oral health problems:

1. Brush twice daily to prevent decay, gum disease and bad breath. Preferably brush after breakfast and before bedtime, for a full 2 minutes, moving to a different quadrant of the mouth every 30 seconds.
2. Use a good quality fluoride toothpaste and - if possible - an electric toothbrush.
3. Change your toothbrush (or the head on your electric brush) every 3 months.
4. Spit – don’t rinse. This allows the fluoride more time to be effective.
5. Use floss or the correct sized interdental brush every day.
6. Visit your dentist every six months and your hygienist every 3-6 months as advised.
7. Avoid snacking on sugary foods, or try to restrict them to straight after mealtimes.
8. Pass on good habits: teach your children good oral hygiene as soon as possible, supervise brushing until at least age seven, and get them in to see the dentist as soon as their first tooth appears.

Tavistock can help.  We can show you how best to brush your teeth and give you specific advice on what is best for your personal oral hygiene routine.  Request an appointment now.

We have now invested in some new toothbrushes and interdental brushes that are Eco Friendly.

Toothbrushes - are plastic-free, with a biodegradable handle.

Interdental brushes - are sustainable and biodegradable, each pack has a variety of different sizes in to suit all needs.

Most of us understand the importance of regularly visiting our dentist.  However, there’s perhaps less understanding of the role of the dental hygienist.

Tavistock House Dental Practice’s highly experienced hygienists help you look after your teeth by polishing unsightly surface stains and advising you of the best way to look after your teeth and gums.

In addition to advising you about areas you might be missing, they also remove the hard and rough scale deposits (“calculus” or “tartar”) from above and below the gum line.  These scale deposits are harmless if kept clean.  However, the presence of these hard deposits makes cleaning the tooth surface difficult and compromises hygiene efforts at home.  As a result, scale left above and below the gum line can harbour bacteria, causing gum inflammation (gums go red and start to bleed).  If this becomes chronic the bone supporting the tooth can recede and the tooth may eventually become loose or even be lost.  Accumulated bacteria is also a cause of bad breath.

Why should I visit a hygienist?

A clean and healthy mouth can help to provide confidence with fresh breath and improved appearance, but most importantly to prevent tooth decay and loss of supporting bone. Your hygienist can dramatically reduce the need for active treatment, whilst ensuring the longevity of fillings and other more complex work.

Our practice has four hygienists who work Monday to Friday including early mornings and some evenings.

You can find out more about the hygienist team here:
Hygienists

You can request a dental or hygienist appointment here:
Appointments

Mouth Cancer Action Month is a charity campaign which aims to raise awareness of mouth cancer and save lives by promoting the values of prevention and early detection.

The campaign is about making everybody more mouth aware and in November, we will be highlighting the risk factors and signs and symptoms associated with the disease.

By communicating the causes of mouth cancer, we can encourage healthier lifestyles and reduce the number of people diagnosed with the disease.  It is also important that we can recognise the early warning signs so that we can act on any unusual changes in the mouth as soon as possible.

The importance of Mouth Cancer Action Month

In the UK, more than 8.300 people were diagnosed with mouth cancer last year and globally there are in excess of 300,000 new cases every year.

The number of people being diagnosed with mouth cancer has grown by around a third in the last decade and remains one of very few cancers which are predicted to increase further in the coming years.

Although risk factors (such as smoking and alcohol) are responsible for many mouth cancers, it is a disease that can affect anyone.

That is why it is so important we all know what to look out for.

• Don’t leave a mouth ulcer unattended for more than three weeks.

• Don’t ignore any unusual lumps or swellings or red and white patches in your mouth.

• Regularly check your own mouth, lips, cheeks, head and neck for anything out of the ordinary.

Visit mouthcancer.org

In 2013, for the safety of the general public, the High Court confirmed that only dental professionals may legally carry out tooth whitening, therefore reinforcing the GDC position that tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry and can only safely and legally be offered by registered dental professionals in the case of GDC v Jamous [2013] EWHC 1428. This is regardless of the products used, as any form of prescribed whitening fall under the umbrella of dental treatment and not "merely cosmetic treatment".  Read more here.

You may have recently seen articles in the press regarding numerous prosecutions against unqualified individuals and companies carrying this out illegally and (being without the correct training and knowlege of dental professsionals) potentially dangerously.

There are many risks involved in the unqualified or inexperienced performing whitening such as major damage to the teeth, gums as well as other parts of the mouth, in addition to, allergic reactions, and severe burns.

The good news is that there is no need to take such risks. Tavistock House's professional tooth whitening service is tailored to your personal requirements and is always subject to a prior no-obligation assessment to ensure suitability. This assessment is carried out free of charge to our patients.

Tavistock offers a full-service including Philips Zoom whitening and a customised home-whitening kit, or alternatively a home kit only.  Depending on individual tooth colours different treatments respond better to one or other type of whitening.

Request appointmentMore about tooth whitening

Further reading

More Zoom whitening pictures

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-46427500

https://www.dentalhealth.org/news/increased-fines-prove-that-illegal-tooth-whitening-does-not-pay

On Tuesday  8^th October 2024 we said goodbye and good luck to our lovely hygienist Liz Melton, who has sadly left us.

Liz has been working at Tavistock House since the 12^th January 2021 and will be missed by staff and patients alike.