Your Oral Care Questions Answered with Vanessa

Our founder Vanessa Creaven answers your questions posted on our Instagram stories. 

 

Hello, I hope everyone is keeping well. We're going to answer a few questions, Lisa I know popped up a box yesterday. So we'll get going:

 

0:07 seconds

Should I be concerned about a hairline crack in my tooth?

If you have chipped your tooth so there's a broken piece from your tooth, best to get to your dentist to have it looked at. If you have a hairline fracture on your tooth, or sometimes what we call a craze line, we can tend to get these and we just monitor them if it's no chip. 

If you are starting to notice that you're getting a lot of hairline fractures or craze lines on your teeth, it would be worthwhile to get to your dentist to have a mouth guard or a night splint fitted. It might mean that you're grinding or clenching your teeth a little bit more as night time.

-Chipped and fractured teeth could cause sensitivity, maybe try Spotlight Oral Care's Toothpaste for Sensitive Teeth

0:37 seconds

Will braces help with inwards moving teeth?

So your teeth are really dynamic and they move constantly throughout your life. So as we get older our teeth tend to collapse in a little bit and that's when the pressure on our lips when we talk. Ortho will really help and if you do want to get ortho, I would definitely recommend getting retainers to hold them.

0:52 seconds

Is it common for one tooth to move behind another?

Again this is really common our teeth tend to shift inwards. So again, you can either get ortho treatment to fix it or retainers to stop it happening.

1:02 seconds

Can you use whitening strips on a dead tooth to brighten the inside of the tooth?

So no external whitening whitens dead teeth. So what I mean by that is no whitening strips or no professional whitening on the outside of the tooth will help lighten a dead tooth. The only way we can brighten a dead tooth is with internal whitening and that's where we go in through the back of the tooth.

1:17 seconds

Can you get orthodontic work with an implant?

So you can have ortho work if you've had an implant placed, just bear in mind that the implant won't be moved or we won't plan for any movement of the implant, but the teeth around the implant will be moved.

1:29 seconds

Can I get veneers for teeth whitening?

We wouldn't tend to veneer teeth just for whitening. Veneers teeth are usually completed if people have spacings of the gaps between their teeth, if their teeth are too small. If they have a lot of fillings or chipping of the teeth, we tend to veneer teeth.

Instead of veneering teeth for whiteness, we either do professional whitening, so that's trays and dentist prescribed whitening, or we use the whitening strips we wouldn't veneer teeth just for brightness.

1:56 seconds

Can I brush Invisalign?

What we mean here is the Invisalign aligners, so you can clean the Invisalign aligners with something that's called a retainer bright. We don't recommend to scrub the aligners because they're made of plastic and they tend to wear and actually get discoloured. So retainer bright is really helpful to clean them.

2:11 seconds

How long does lisping last with Invisalign?

Congratulations on starting your Invisalign journey. I would normally say give yourself two weeks, but I would say after the first three days you should definitely stop lisping. But I always say give yourself two weeks for any pain or discomfort to subside any speech issues to fully solve itself.

2:26 seconds

Do you have any advice on Herbst Appliance? 

Herbst Appliance is something that helps to move the lower jaw forward, and it's only used in kids or teenagers who are still growing. It's a fantastic way to avoid any surgery. So I would definitely recommend if your orthodontist recommends it.

2:41 seconds 

Does Invisalign work if you have an implant or root canal?

So Invisalign can work with anyone who has root canals or implants, we always take an X ray of anyone's root canal before they start treatment to make sure it's healthy. We don't move implants, but we move the teeth around the implants. So yes, Invisalign can be still suitable.

2:56 seconds

Is the Spotlight Oral Care Water Flosser as good or the same as normal flossing?

So the water flosser can be used in conjunction or as an alternative to flossing manually. But if you find that your gums really inflamed or definitely get your hygienist to have a really good clean done, and she'll go through exactly how to maintain your oral health.

3:11 seconds

How often can you use a whitening strips course?

We recommend using full two week course of whitening strips and then you can top it off by using a strip or two strips every week to maintain results. And you can do a full two week course probably every three or four months.

3:22 seconds

Is the Spotlight Oral Care Sonic toothbrush safe to use with metal braces?

Absolutely the sonic toothbrush and any brush is safe to use while using clear metal braces ensure you're getting into the gums. Because when you have braces, your teeth and your gums tend to be a little bit more inflamed.

-Additionally a Spotlight Oral Care water flosser can be very useful in removing debris from braces which can prevent plaque & decay