Stay Up to Date With The Latest News On Dental Health!

They're not causing pain yet. So you leave them. That's the logic most people use — and it's the logic that leads to infected jaws, damaged adjacent teeth, and emergency extractions under far worse conditions. Wisdom teeth — your third molars — emerge between ages 17 and 25. In most people's mouths, there simply isn't enough room for them. They come in at angles. They press against adjacent teeth. They partially erupt and leave a flap of gum tissue that becomes a permanent ba

You're diligent about brushing. You haven't had a cavity in years. Then, somewhere in your 40s or 50s, you start getting cavities regularly — multiple in one year, in teeth that have been fine for decades. Your dentist is baffled. You're frustrated. The answer is almost certainly in your medicine cabinet. More than 400 common medications cause dry mouth. Antihypertensives (blood pressure medication) — some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in South Africa. Antidepressants

You brush twice a day. You use mouthwash. You carry mints everywhere. Your breath is still a problem. The mint is masking something that mouthwash cannot fix. Chronic halitosis — persistent bad breath — affects an estimated 25% of adults. Most of them are managing symptoms while the underlying cause continues unchecked. That cause, in the majority of cases, is sitting in your mouth right now. The real sources of chronic bad breath. Gum disease is responsible for roughly 80% o

You've been avoiding that toothache for three months. You know something's wrong. You're hoping it goes away. It won't. The tooth that needs a root canal right now costs R9,350 at Smilez. Leave it another six months, and that tooth is likely coming out — extraction at R2,660, then an implant at R25,000 to replace it. Three steps instead of one. Three times the money. And months of unnecessary pain in between. The root canal fear is 30 years out of date. Modern root canals are

We talk a lot about brushing and flossing. But there is a third pillar of oral health that most people overlook entirely: what you eat and drink. The food choices you make every day are either building your teeth up or breaking them down — and for many South Africans, the diet is quietly causing significant dental damage that no amount of good brushing can fully reverse. This is not about being restrictive or eliminating everything you enjoy. It is about understanding the rel

South Africa has one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the world. Heart attacks and strokes are among our leading causes of death — and most South Africans know the established risk factors: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle. What far fewer people know is that gum disease is independently associated with cardiovascular disease — and that treating gum disease may actually help protect your heart. At Smilez Dental Surgery,

There is a common but dangerous misconception in South Africa: that losing teeth is an inevitable part of getting older. That dentures are simply what older people have. That after a certain age, your dental battles have been lost. None of this is true — and holding these beliefs leads to exactly the outcome they predict. Modern dentistry has the tools to help people keep their natural teeth for a lifetime. But it requires the same thing at every age: regular professional car

You are exhausted during the day. Your partner complains about your snoring. You wake up with headaches and a dry mouth. You have been told you are a light sleeper or that you seem to stop breathing briefly during the night. If this sounds familiar, you may have obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) — one of the most underdiagnosed medical conditions in South Africa. And increasingly, the dental surgery is where it is first identified. At Smilez Dental Surgery, we have the training

Losing a tooth feels like an aesthetic problem. You have a gap in your smile. It looks different. It can affect your confidence, especially if the missing tooth is visible when you speak or laugh. But the consequences of a missing tooth extend far beyond appearance — and the longer the gap is left untreated, the more significant and expensive those consequences become. At Smilez Dental Surgery, we want every patient to understand exactly what happens inside their jaw when a t

You're crushing workouts, tracking macros, building the body you want. Your teeth are rotting while you do it. That protein shake habit? It's destroying your smile faster than the junk food you gave up. Let's talk about what's in your shaker. Most protein powders contain 3-8 grams of sugar per serving. Sweetened with sucralose or stevia? The acidity remains. Flavoured like chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry? Added acids for taste. That thick, sticky texture coats your teeth a

You switched from Coke to sparkling water feeling virtuous. No sugar. No calories. No guilt. But those bubbles? They're carbonic acid. And your teeth don't care that it's "just water." Here's the chemistry. Carbon dioxide dissolved in water creates carbonic acid. Plain sparkling water has a pH of 3-4. Your enamel starts dissolving at pH 5.5. You've been bathing your teeth in acid thinking you were being healthy. The good news: sparkling water is nowhere near as bad as Coke (

Your toddler has teeth. Tiny, perfect, "they're just baby teeth" – and they're already at risk. Most parents wait until age 6 for the first dental visit. By then, we're often looking at cavities, extractions, and damage that affects adult teeth still forming in the jaw. The one-year visit isn't about drilling. It's five minutes of looking, maybe some gentle counting of teeth, and crucial guidance for you. We check for early decay, assess jaw development, spot thumb-sucking d

With Valentine's Day around the corner, everyone's talking about flowers, chocolates, and romantic dates. But there's something we often forget to discuss—your mouth! After all, you'll be using it to smile, apply that perfect lipstick, and yes, share those special kisses. Here's something most people don't realize: love literally starts in the mouth , and oral health matters more than you think when it comes to intimacy. The Science Behind a Kiss Kissing isn't just a romantic

Your jaw clicks when you yawn. Pops when you chew. Maybe it locks sometimes, or you can't open your mouth as wide as you used to. You've been ignoring it for months – maybe years. Here's why that's a mistake you'll pay for. TMJ disorder is your jaw joint failing. The temporomandibular joint is the hinge connecting your jaw to your skull. When it's damaged, displaced, or inflamed, you get clicking, popping, pain, and eventually, serious dysfunction. It doesn't fix itself. It

Your partner has been complaining about the noise. That grinding sound while you sleep – loud enough to wake them, happening for hours. You wake up with jaw pain, but you blamed the pillow. Here's the truth: you're destroying your teeth every night. Bruxism affects 30% of adults. Most don't know they have it until the damage shows. That's the cruel part – you're unconscious while it happens. By the time you're aware, you've lost years of enamel. The force is staggering. Norm

You've read about hot flushes. You know about mood changes. Nobody warned you about what's happening in your mouth. Menopause is quietly destroying teeth across the country, and most women only discover it after the damage is done. Oestrogen protected your mouth. You didn't know it was doing that until it stopped. Oestrogen helps maintain bone density in your jaw – the foundation that holds your teeth. It supports gum tissue health. It influences saliva production. When oest

"The baby took all my calcium." It's what your mother told you, what her mother told her. And while it's not exactly true, pregnancy does change your teeth – sometimes permanently. But it doesn't have to. What actually happens during pregnancy. Hormones surge, especially progesterone and oestrogen. Your gums become extra sensitive to plaque – even small amounts cause swelling, bleeding, and inflammation. This is pregnancy gingivitis, and it affects 60-75% of pregnant women.

Your child sleeps with their mouth open. Snores a little. Breathes through their mouth during the day. You assumed it was normal. It's not – and it's reshaping their face while you watch. The human face develops around function. Tongue on the roof of the mouth, lips together, breathing through the nose – this creates proper facial growth. The tongue is a natural palate expander. Nasal breathing maintains correct muscle balance. Change the function, and you change the face. M

You found your retainer in a drawer. Tried it on for fun. It doesn't fit – and now you're worried. Those teeth you spent years straightening, the braces you endured, the money your parents paid – has it all been undone? Teeth move throughout your entire life. This isn't failure. It's biology. Your teeth aren't set in concrete – they're held in bone that constantly remodels. Pressure from your tongue, lips, and cheeks. Forces from chewing. Natural age-related changes. Everyth

You switched from cigarettes to snus thinking you were making a healthier choice. No smoke, no tar, no lung cancer risk. What nobody mentioned: the stuff is dissolving your gums while you sit there thinking you've outsmarted addiction. Smokeless tobacco sits directly on your gum tissue. That pouch between your lip and gum? It's in constant contact with living tissue for hours. The nicotine, the tobacco-specific nitrosamines, the salt – they're not being filtered through pape