You only get one set of adult teeth, so look after them. With today's hectic lifestyles, it's easy to neglect one of your most important health and beauty assets: your smile. Here's the low-down on dentistry available today and how you can brush up on your own dental care
Visiting the dentist
The British Dental Health Foundation (BDFH) recommends that we all visit the dentist for a check-up at least once a year. Ideally, we should go every six months - that way, early tooth decay or gum disease can be spotted before it causes any real damage. With decay affecting more than half of children under five, it's particularly important that parents insist their children have regular check-ups. As for babies, the BDFH says, 'We would even encourage that babies start going to the dentist before they develop teeth so that they become acclimatised to the sights, smells and sounds of the dentist, and don't develop dental anxiety in later life.'
If you're putting off booking that next check-up, it's worth remembering that, left untreated, tooth decay can cause the total loss of a tooth within 12 months. When you do pay the dentist a visit, it's up to you to ask for advice and learn how to prevent future problems rather than waiting for them to happen.
Types of Dentistry
Registering with a dentist is straightforward - it involves some form filling but doesn't necessarily entail the transferral of old records. However, if you suffer from dental phobia, beware - if you register as an NHS patient and do not attend an appointment within 15 months, you will be struck off the register.
As for emergency treatment, you're entitled to walk into any UK dental practice and receive emergency treatment (and pay for it privately). If you're registered with the NHS, your own dentist guarantees to administer emergency treatment within 24 hours. However, if your dentist is in Birmingham, for example, and you are struck down with a tooth abscess in Glasgow, you may well have to pay for the treatment privately. In some cases, however, you may be able to pay a nominal fee which is decided upon by the dentist.
