As soon as a tooth erupts it needs to be cleaned twice a day. Use a small toothbrush with a small head and soft bristles. Even a soft cloth to wipe the teeth when a child is very young.

From the age of two and a half, unless there is something particular of concern.

Ring the surgery as soon as you can and let us know what happened. We will see you on the day of the accident to assess and document the trauma to the mouth. Most of the fee for treatment will be covered by ACC and it is important that the accident is reported as soon as possible. Even if there does not appear to be any damage, problems can arise later on such as the tooth turning a dark colour or abscessing and in the worst case damaging a permanent tooth that has not yet come through. A traumatic injury to the teeth can have a very unpredictable outcome so it is always a good idea to have the accident checked out and documented.

We will always try to attend to any of our patient’s urgent dental problems as soon as possible or make other arrangements for our patients to be cared for. At Clendon Dental Centre our aim is for comprehensive ongoing care to minimise the likelihood of problems occurring. However, even with the best care problems can and do occur. Toothache and pain, infections, broken teeth or restorations, and accidents, can all occur with little or no warning. Please contact us as soon as these problems arise so that appropriate treatment can be arranged promptly.

Only with ongoing care and maintenance are we able to catch any potential dental problems before they develop or at least while they are still relatively minor. Once the mouth is stable our aim is to minimise the risk of ongoing dental problems and facilitate our goal of healthy good looking teeth for life. We offer a continuing care service for regular dental examinations and care to help you to attain this goal.