Advice for UCL Students
With over 60 years of experience and a close partnership with UCL, our dental practice is perfectly geared up for the needs of students. We have moved from the UCL student health centre at 3 Gower Place to our new premises at 139 Euston Road. We give you quick and easy access to some of best dental care in the heart of London.
What do we offer UCL students?
- FREE initial check-up and subsequent treatments under the NHS for those aged 18 years and under
- NHS access for students aged 19+, prices start from £22.70
- Dental health advice specifically tailored towards your student lifestyle – to help keep you dentally fit and healthy during your studies
- A place to call your dental home whilst you are way from your family and familiar environment
- Foreign student? No need to wait until you travel back overseas to see your dentist back home
- An experienced team that understand your situation having worked with UCL students for many years
- Full affiliation with UCL, click here to verify and see our listing.
Dental services for Students
Having worked with UCL for many years, we have created some important advice with our students in mind. In this section we cover:
- Gingivitis – prevention and treatment >>continue reading
- Teeth brushing tips >>continue reading
- How much water should you drink at Uni? >>continue reading
- Dental health if you’re sick >>continue reading
Gingivitis – prevent it while you’re young
Gingivitis is commonly caused by poor oral hygiene and is simply an inflammation of the gums around your teeth. If left untreated it can progress to the more serious periodontitis, which affects the underlying bone around your tooth. This can result in loss of bone, tooth mobility and ultimately tooth loss. Take action today to protect your long-term dental health.
Signs and symptoms of gingivitis
Keep your eyes peeled for these symptoms:
- Tenderness, swelling, redness, pain and bleeding of the gums
- Halitosis or bad breath
- Gums beginning to shrink and losing their healthy pink colour and shape. They can begin to recede away from the teeth and take on a red and puffy nature.
Dentists usually diagnose gingivitis based on symptoms and an examination of your teeth, gums, mouth and tongue. Your dentist will look for plaque and tartar build-up on your teeth and check your gums for redness, puffiness and bleeding.
Treatment of gingivitis
The primary way to treat gingivitis is to remove the source of the infection and this can start at home/in your student accommodation. Brushing your teeth regularly with a fluoride toothpaste will help to prevent plaque build-up, which is where the unhealthy bacteria reside. Flossing between your teeth will also clean those difficult to reach areas.
The most important thing to do is to visit your dentist. In conjunction with your dental hygienist they can provide a series of deep cleaning treatments, which can clean under the gum and in areas that are difficult to reach at home. This helps nip the problem in the bud and prevent it re-occurring when you’re busy at University.
In severe cases gingivitis can be also treated with antibiotics, which will help to boost your immune system and fight the bacterial infection. This might be an important course of action when you’re at a crucial stage of your studies. You’ll want to feel on top form when taking exams for example.
Please remember that good daily dental habits will help keep you healthy. Cleaning your teeth adequately at home will help to keep plaque to a minimum. Doing this means the bacteria have nowhere to live and so your teeth, gums and bone of your jaw remain healthy.
Wait before brushing your teeth
Are you a fan of drinking carbonated drinks and fruit juice? We recommend that you wait a couple of hours before brushing your teeth. These drinks contain acid and this acid can have a softening effect on the enamel of your teeth. The natural saliva in your mouth will neutralise this acidity and help to restore the natural balance in your mouth. This process happens slowly and if you drink these drinks in rapid succession your teeth don’t have time to fully recover.
Waiting a couple of hours before you brush your teeth gives you time to recover. Brushing then removes any sticky sugar which may still be attached to your teeth. It’s important to remove this sticky layer as it is upon this that the harmful bacteria which cause tooth decay will feed upon.
Drink plenty of water
breakingmuscle.com shares these top 10 tips highlighting why you should drink plenty of water:
- If you don’t drink water, you will die. It’s that important. Depending on our environment, we can live only a few days without water – maybe a week. We can live much longer without food. For most of us, we should prioritise the consumption of water far more than we currently do
- Prevent cancer. Yes, that’s right – various research says staying hydrated can reduce risk of colon cancer by 45%, bladder cancer by 50%, and possibly reduce breast cancer risk as well
- Be less cranky. Research shows dehydration can affect your mood and make you grumpy and confused. Think clearer and be happier by drinking more water
- Improve performance. Proper hydration contributes to increased athletic performance. Water composes 75% of our muscle tissue. Dehydration can lead to weakness, fatigue, dizziness and electrolyte imbalance
- Have less joint pain. Drinking water can reduce pain in your joints by keeping the cartilage soft and hydrated. This is actually how glucosamine helps reduce joint pain, by aiding in cartilage’s absorption of water
- Flush out waste and bacteria. Our digestive system needs water to function properly. Waste is flushed out in the form of urine and sweat. If we don’t drink water, we don’t flush out waste and it collects in our body causing a myriad of problems. Also combined with fibre, water can cure constipation
- Prevent headaches. Sometimes headaches can be caused by dehydration, so drinking water can prevent or alleviate that nasty head pain. Next time your head hurts, try drinking water
- Make your skin glow.Our skin is the largest organ in our body. Regular and plentiful water consumption can improve the colour and texture of your skin by keeping it building new cells properly. Drinking water also helps the skin do it’s job of regulating the body’s temperature through sweating
- Feed your body.Water is essential for the proper circulation of nutrients in the body. Water serves at the body’s transportation system and when we are dehydrated things just can’t get around as well.
It’s also good to remember that when you drink plenty of water it keeps you hydrated, which means that the saliva in your mouth flows more freely. If you become dehydrated your mouth has a tendency to dry out and the saliva can’t neutralise any of the acids which naturally accumulate, especially during eating or drinking fizzy drinks.
There has been research to show that there is a connection between the amount of exercise you undertake and your academic success. Keep in mind that exercising more vigorously will also mean you have a tendency to dehydrate. If you want to achieve academic success and exercise, you must also remember to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
How much water should you drink?
Authority nutrition recommend that you drink eight x 8-ounce glasses, which is the same as 2L or half a gallon of water per day. Don’t forget that if you are exercising you should be drinking more than this.
What to do if you’re sick
When you vomit acid will come into contact with your teeth – if you clean your teeth straight afterwards you run the risk of damaging them as they will have been softened by this acid attack. The best thing to do is to rinse your mouth out with clean fresh water and wait a few hours before brushing.
About the Dental Centre London
We provide excellent care to all our patients. Our experienced, caring and professional team consistently delivers high quality treatments. The Dental Centre at UCL is the only practice in Central London to have held the Denplan Excel Accreditation for the last 10 years. This clearly demonstrates our commitment to these high standards and is the only such accreditation to be approved by the Patients’ Association.
Our specialist oral surgeon, Dr Jill McLoughlin, is a highly experienced surgeon who has been working at our practice for over 10 years. She deals with tooth removal and specialises in wisdom tooth extraction. Please don’t suffer in silence if you are experiencing wisdom tooth pain during your studies.
In line with the recommendations of our regulators, we firmly believe that all our patients should have choice and options in the treatment they are offered so that they can decide their preferences. Where specialist treatment is required we are fortunate to be able to refer our patients to leading clinicians in Central London as appropriate. Our patients benefit from the choices we offer, including orthodontic treatment and Invisalign braces.
If you are interested in joining our practice, please contact us on 0207 679 7186 or internal number x 37186 or pop in to see us when convenient.
The Dental Centre at UCL, situated on the 5th floor of the UCL Health Centre 3 Gower Place, next to the UCL Student Union, has been established for more than 60 years. We provide a wide range of dental care to UCL students, staff and members of the public including NHS, Private and Denplan treatment.
What is on offer to UCL students?
- NHS access, prices start from £18.80, but for 18 year old students the initial checkup and subsequent treatment under the NHS while they are still 18 years old is FREE.
- Dental health advice tailored for the student lifestyle to help keep you dentally fit and healthy.
- A place to call your dental home whilst you are way from your family and familiar environment.
- No need to wait until you travel back overseas again to see your dentist at home, we are conveniently located close by.
- An experienced team that understand your situation as they have worked with UCL students for many years.
- Full affiliation with UCL, click here to verify and see our listing.
Our latest blog post for you - How to Stop Grinding Teeth at Night www.thedentalcentrelondon.com/how-to-stop-grinding-teeth-at-night/
How to Stop Grinding Teeth at Night - The Dental Centre London
Many people grind their teeth at night for a variety of reasons including stress, bite problems and sleep apnoea. This article is dedicated to help people who suffer from teeth grinding (or Bruxism) at night. Bruxism can result in excessive tooth wear, this can affect not only how you look but also....Your Dental Health Tips - Clean in between ur teeth using floss. It helps to clean a higher portion of the tooth & prevent the build-up of plaque #euston #stpancras
Our philosophy at the Dental Centre London is to offer great dentistry with excellent customer service thedentalcentrelondon.com/our-philosophy/
Our Philosophy - The Dental Centre London
Our Philosophy Our Philiosophy at the Dental Centre London The Dental Centre at the University College London has been established for more than 60 years. Dr Jones has been Principal of the Practice for over 25 years and over this time has modernised the Practice with great customer service as our f...Your Dental Health Tips - To keep your teeth whiter limit the amount of tea and coffee you drink as well as red wine! #Euston #stpancras
Our latest blog post for you - How to Stop Grinding Teeth at Night https://t.co/hkA4FydY5n
Your Dental Health Tips - Clean in between ur teeth using floss. It helps to clean a higher portion of the tooth & prevent the build-up of plaque #euston #stpancras
Our philosophy at the Dental Centre London is to offer great dentistry with excellent customer service https://t.co/EsQNEpEgcu
#FF @Debenhams for celebrating the joy of shopping and running all that in NW1, just round the corner from our St Pancras dental practice… Thanks guys
Sarah
14:36 14 Oct 19
I’ve been coming to Dr Jones for about ten years now and I’ve always been impressed by her attention to detail. I’m a fairly nervous patient and she’s done some fairly complex work on me with utterly no pain and to a really high standard.
I had grinding pain for a number of years and she’s tailored a splint for me to successfully get rid of it. I briefly tried a new dentist when I moved house, but it just wasn’t the same and have since returned to her and now make the long commute to see her because of the level of care she provides. Highly recommend!read more
Jeremy Kavanagh
20:43 09 Sep 19
Great experience visiting The Dental Centre for the first time. Very friendly, helpful staff, a first class check up from the dentist and exceptional clean from the hygienist. Will definitely return. Thanks to everyone there for looking after me 😁👍🏻read more
Robert Doel
14:46 16 Aug 19
Been to my second appointment at dental smiles had my impressions done it was a breeze, I have a diabolical gagging reflex so I did what Dr Patel asked me to do and I went through it without any gagging whatsoever, in past times at other dentists it was always a rush to get you in and out with no consideration for the patients but at dental smiles what they have to do you comes second the nerves disappear after a reassuring chat and gentle approach they go through everything without any problems, which is why this is the dental practice to head for when you have any problems what so ever, don't be afraid of this practice, they are out of this world, ggggreat workread more
bob dylan
10:15 28 Jul 19
Told I needed a crown for a simple filling which fell out. Decided to trust her word and get it done. When the temporary filling fell out, she was unavailable for a week, while I called every day, walking around with a hole in my mouth. Turns out she actually was in the practice, but was too keen to leave every day at 5pm to provide basic care to her customers.
Also told I needed a filling on another tooth for a superficial spot of decay. Saw another dentist about this who advised this is an out of date practice - superficial decay can recover and is best left to heal until it becomes a problem. Now I suspect the crown was also overkill to hand out a larger bill.
I was also advised to get a splint, which would cost £900 - the "Rolls Royce" of splints (how very professional...). Another dentist advised that this can be done for £450. Not the same "Rolls Royce" - but they at least provide a more affordable option.
Takes ages to get appointments - don't expect anything for 2 weeks. Receptionist seems to think she runs the practice.
Bottom line is this place is run as a business, not a health care facility. Private patients are subsidising care for students, but don't expect any better service for your hard earned money - you're just a number in their books, and they're going to try making that number as large as possible.read more
Toby Payne
08:08 17 May 19
I had a really great experience here, as a student. Friendly, quick and easy to book appointments. An appointment of mine had to be rescheduled and the process was very straightforward and with no inconvenience, so am grateful to them for that. I would recommend to any London based students!read more
Giulia Barbareschi
20:15 20 Feb 19
I have been a patient for over three years now. Everyone at the centre is great. Dr Au is extremely competent and always willing to explain the situation clearly so that the patients can make the best choice. The hygienists are very professional. The nurses are always nice and reassuring and the reception staff is lovely and super efficient.read more
Stefano De Luccia
14:25 23 Jan 19
I had a splint done with Dr. Jones and it was great. My jaw is already way better. I felt they really put a focus on patient care and its a really lovely environment. Highly recommend it.read more
Greg
16:44 18 Jan 19
Good price and friendly, but I was told I need a filling however another dentist (who family members have used and trusted for years) assured me that I don’t. I got the impression that they were more interested in me spending money than the health of my teeth. The dentist also recommended I pay something like £50 to attend a session on brushing. Overall not great.read more
Juliet Ellis
09:15 18 Dec 18
Carla and her team have looked after my teeth for 5 years now and I have always received excellent service even though I can be an awkward patient particularly with taking impressions. Under her care I have become a less nervous dental patient. Gemma the hygienist also performs wonders to my teeth and in a very professional manner. The surgery has ultra modern equipment, with excellent reception staff who are always helpful. I highly recommend the practice.read more
Danny Dailey
09:24 03 Dec 18
These guys are on point!! A really client centred service the moment you walk through the door. I had a hygiene not too many weeks ago with Emma which was the best I've ever had. Also what i really like is the that elite professionalism of Dr Jones is reflected in her front of house staff too, Jeeva always does an excellent job at making me feel welcome and valued, I'm really glad i found this place.read more
Martin Wright
19:07 06 Nov 18
Carla Jones at The Dental Centre has looked after my teeth for well over 10 years now, and has done a great job. I feel in very safe hands with her. All the staff are warm and personable, and manage to combine being friendly with being super-efficient - a rare combination!read more