Dental Knowledge

📌 Water Flossers: Key Takeaways

Purpose: A water stream can help remove food and plaque.

Choice: Consider spaces, dental work and hand movement.

Limits: It does not replace brushing or professional tartar removal.

Technique: Ask about use near wounds or particular restorations.

Symptoms: Persistent bleeding, swelling or pain needs assessment.

Explore the related dental service

📌 Dry Mouth: Key Takeaways

Possible causes: Fluid loss, mouth breathing during sleep, some medicines and other health or treatment factors.

Dryness at night or on waking: Nasal congestion or sleeping with your mouth open may be clues, not a diagnosis.

What may help: Sip water regularly, try sugar-free gum if suitable, and reduce personal triggers.

Protect your teeth: Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste; ask a dentist whether ongoing dryness changes your decay-prevention plan.

Medicine note: Dry mouth may be a side effect. Do not stop or reduce a medicine without advice.

👉 Need an oral assessment? Choose a DDG clinic and make an appointment

📌 Wisdom Tooth Extraction Cost: Key Takeaways

📖 How it is priced: There is no fixed price; a dentist examines you and takes an X-ray, then assesses how difficult the extraction is.

🦷 Biggest difference: A fully erupted tooth is usually a simple extraction (about 10–20 minutes); a sideways or buried tooth needs surgery (about 30–90 minutes) and usually costs more.

🔍 Scans: An X-ray comes first; a 3D CBCT scan may be added if the roots are close to the nerve or the picture is unclear.

💉 Anaesthesia: Most extractions use local anaesthetic.

🩺 Who treats you: Complex cases may be treated by a specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery, which usually costs more.

👉 Reference fees: tooth extraction page

📌 TMJ Pain: Key Takeaways

• Where it hurts: Jaw discomfort may come from the joint near the ear, chewing muscles or a dental problem. Location alone does not establish a diagnosis.
• What to notice: Pain when chewing, restricted opening, painful clicking, or recurring headaches and ear discomfort.
• First steps: Try soft foods, avoid clenching and wide opening, and use a wrapped warm or cold pack for mild symptoms. Persistent or worsening pain needs assessment.
• Treatment choices: Care depends on the findings. Self-care, physiotherapy or a splint may be considered; a splint or surgery is not necessary for everyone.
• Reference fees: For reference only, not our clinics’ actual fees. The PPDH public fee schedule lists a TMJ consultation at HK$800–1,200 and a TMJ splint at HK$3,600–5,600. Actual fees are confirmed after assessment.
• Urgent signs: Inability to close your mouth, eat or drink; a changed bite after injury; or facial swelling with fever. Call 999 if jaw pain occurs with chest pain, breathlessness or cold sweats.

Want to understand the cause? Choose a nearby clinic for an assessment.

📌 Bad Breath: Key Takeaways

🔍 Main cause: About 90% of bad breath starts in the mouth, where oral bacteria turn proteins into volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs)

👅 Number one culprit: A coated tongue. Bacteria collect at the back of the tongue, so brushing teeth alone often won’t clear it

⚠️ Other oral sources: Gum disease, tartar, decay, ill-fitting dental work and dry mouth all keep producing odour, so brushing harder is not always enough

💡 Masking vs fixing: Mouthwash, gum and mints mostly mask it; persistent bad breath usually means something is unresolved

🦷 What to do first: See a dentist to rule out oral causes before looking at medical ones

🧴 Mouthwash and probiotics: Judge them by ingredients, not brands. Zinc salts or CPC help, but they support rather than cure

💰 Scaling fee guide: Typically about HK$500 to HK$1,500 at Hong Kong private clinics, for reference only, not our clinics’ actual fees; the actual fee is confirmed after examination (fee reference)

👉 Bad breath lasting weeks? Start here: Dental cleaning