Craig Y Don Dental Practice

Sorry, no new NHS availability

Advice

Looking After Children’s Teeth

We’ve found three great Youtube educational videos to help you understand what to do:

For children up to age 3

For children aged 3 to 6

For children age 7 and above

Note that Craig Y Don Dental Practice has no control or responsibility regarding the content of these videos.

Healthy Living

There is a huge amount of information out there online, and we recommend this NHS website page for useful information on:

  • Alcohol
  • Mental well being
  • Weight management
  • Outdoor health and keeping active
  • Immunisation and screening
  • Stopping smoking food and nutrition

Healthy Eating

The key is a mixed balanced diet eating from the 5 main food groups evenly with reduced sugar, salt and saturated fats. Try and cook more and reduce snacking while trying to move towards 3 good meal a day.

See: NHS Information Web Page

Keeping Your Mouth Healthy

The idea is to reduce your risk of:

  • Dental decay
  • Gum disease
  • Mouth cancer

Do this with a sensible diet, simple cleaning methods and be aware what increases your risk of mouth cancer.

Sugar (and how often we eat it) causes dental decay, so make sure you eat less of it in the diet-reduce the quantity of sweet treats and sticky foods and don’t graze. Frequent snacking is a surefire way to lots of holes! Stick to regular meals and follow the above guidance on healthy eating.

As we get older, our mouths are more at risk of gum disease so follow the advice (below) on keeping your mouth clean to reduce damage to your gums.

Mouth cancer kills 6000 people a year. Risk factors are smoking and chewing tobacco, vaping, excessive alcohol consumption, HPV virus (kids are now being vaccinated) and sunlight – so keep that sunblock on including the lips! Actively consider stopping smoking. Use the free help that Wales NHS provides.

Keeping Your Mouth Clean

What are the benefits of keeping my mouth clean?

Keeping your mouth clean helps prevent disease.

  • Sticky plaque builds up on everyone’s teeth every day and this can lead to gum disease. The gum comes away from the teeth, making the plaque more difficult to clean away. This makes gum disease worse. You can stop gum disease starting by cleaning your teeth carefully.
  • Just brushing your teeth will not prevent tooth decay. You need to brush with a fluoride toothpaste. This helps the tooth mend itself after being attacked by plaque acids. Thorough brushing gets fluoride all around the mouth.
  • Teeth also erode. This means they dissolve away when you have acidic food and drink too often. Rinsing away with water afterwards helps to prevent erosion.

As well as cleaning your teeth and gums thoroughly, try to have sticky and acidic food and drink less often.

How should I brush my teeth?

  • Brush your teeth thoroughly twice a day with a soft-to-medium brush and fluoride toothpaste. Replace the brush when the bristles get out of shape.
  • Put the bristles at the join between teeth and gums, pointing towards the gums using short circular movements.
  • Brush all round every tooth, carefully making sure you can feel the brush on your gums.
  • Don’t use too much force – give your teeth and gums a gentle scrub.
  • Small children usually cannot brush properly until they are eight or nine so brush their teeth yourself. One way is to stand behind your child and tilt their head back so you can reach round all the teeth.

How should I floss?

Dental floss helps you clean in between your teeth. Your dentist or hygienist will tell you whether you need to floss. If you do, they will show you how to do it. You may need to practice in front of a mirror.

  • Use about 18 inches of floss. Wrap the ends arounds the middle fingers of each hand, leaving two to three inches between the first finger and thumb.
  • Gently slide the floss between two teeth and put it round one tooth, next to the gum, using your fingers.
  • Move the floss up and down the side of the tooth several times.
  • Do the same for every tooth.

Children do not need to floss.

Tooth Decay

Excessive sugar in the diet reacts with bacteria in the mouth to form acids which cause tooth decay-holes!

These start in inaccesible of the mouth such as in between the teeth and in the fissures.That’s why you need to cut down your sugar and brush often with toothpaste and floss. You need to have less sugar and less sugary ‘experiences’ per day. Grazers/ snackers beware!

Decay softens the teeth until holes form. More food gets in and the hole gets bigger quickly and can go into the middle of your tooth where the nerves are which may lead to toothache and abscesses. See your dentist for check ups and advice.

Toothache

What is it?

There are lots of causes of a toothache ranging from holes in the teeth (decay) to gum related problems to breakages caused by trauma.

As long as your breathing is not compromised and/or there is no severe loss of blood-don’t panic.

Take pain relief as is suitable to your age/medical condition and book yourself an appointment to get the problem dealt with as soon as possible.

Bad Breath

What is it?

Bad breath is usually caused by bacteria in the mouth and is not always a sign of general ill health. Sometimes, the smell comes from the nose.

Gum disease can cause bad breath.

But you could still have bad breath with good oral hygiene and healthy teeth and gums. The smell then usually comes from the far back of the tongue. It gets stronger when you talk and as your mouth gets drier.

Most adult occasionally suffer from bad breath. Perhaps a quarter of adults suffer from bad breath regularly. If you are worried about bad breath, please talk to your dentist. Your dentist will;

  • Work out whether you really have a bad-breath problem;
  • and find out what sort of problem it is and help you deal with it.

What can my dentist do?

Make sure, before you see your dentist, that you have not done anything to hide the normal smell of your breath. Do not smoke, chew gum or use a mouth rinse, and avoid any sort of perfume. This will make it easier for your dentist to tell where any problem is coming from.

Your dentist might use a plastic spoon to gently scrap the back of your tongue and test the smell. There are also instruments which measure sulphur compounds in the mouth or swelling around the gums.

Good oral hygiene will usually be the answer to a bad-breath problem. A scale and polish from your dentist or hygienist makes it easier for you to keep your mouth clean at home.

What can I do myself?

  • Brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
  • Use floss or other oral hygiene aids if your dentist or hygienist recommends them.
  • Gently brush your tongue if it is heavily coated.

You can check bad breath by smelling the floss after you have used it. If there is a smell from a particular part of the mouth, clean that area with special care.

A mouth will smell less if it is moist. Chewing sugar-free gum can help with bad breath by increasing the flow of saliva. You might have a dry mouth because you breathe with your mouth open or because you are taking certain medicines. Your mouth gets drier as you get older too.

If you smoke, try to give up. You should do this not just to make your breath smell better but to keep your mouth and gums healthy and protect your general health as well.

Keeping a Denture or Bridge Clean

Why is cleaning important?

Dentures and bridges collect bits of food, plaque and tartar, just like natural teeth. By keeping them clean, your help prevent gum disease and stop decay in any natural teeth. The lining of your mouth can become swollen and sore where it is in contact with any dirty dentures.

Cleaning a denture is quite easy because you can take it out of your mouth. Cleaning all round and underneath a fixed bridge is harder. Your dentist or hygienist will show you how to do it.

How do I look after a denture?

  • Clean the denture over a basin of water so that it does not break if you drop it.
  • Brush the denture inside and out with a toothbrush every day. Use a soft-to-medium brush so that you do not scratch the denture. Use your normal toothpaste, or soap and water. Then rinse the denture.
  • Ask your dentist about denture-soaking solutions. Soaking a denture will not clean it. You also need to brush it. Rinse the denture before you put it back in your mouth.
  • Take a denture out at night to let you mouth rest. If you wore plastic shoes 24 hours a day, your feet would become smelly and swollen even if you washes them well. Dentures are the same.
  • Keep a denture in clean water or a denture-soaking solution when you are not using it.

How do I clean a bridge?

How you clean a bridge will depend on where the bridge is in the mouth and its design. As well as normal brushing with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing at each end of the bridge, you need to keep the bridge clean underneath.

You might use:

  • Special floss with a stiff end which you can poke underneath the bridge and pull through;
  • ‘Bottle brushes’ (your dentist will tell you what size and shape to buy); or
  • Water jets – sending a stream of water underneath the bridge.

What are the benefits?

  • By keeping a denture or bridge clean, you help keep your gums and teeth healthy and avoid bad breath.
  • People who wear dentures sometimes get an infection called oral thrush. Thrush is more likely if you wear the denture all the time. Good denture hygiene is important for preventing oral thrush.

Tooth Erosion

What is it?

As well as being damaged by decay, your teeth can be ‘eaten away’ (eroded) by acids in the mouth. The acids may come from food and drink or, sometimes, from your stomach. Acids dissolve minerals out of the hard enamel surface, making teeth thin. The teeth can then become extra sensitive to hot and cold food and drink.

Erosion can also be linked to drinking a lot of acidic drinks, for example, fizzy drinks 9’diet’ drinks are just as bad), acidic fruit drinks and ‘sports’ drinks. Dentists look for erosion in teenagers especially and may ask how much of these types of drink they drink.

Some people suffer from erosion more than others. People with eating disorders may suffer from erosion because stomach acids attack the teeth. Dentists may ask about eating disorders if they see teeth that are very badly eroded.

Can I prevent erosion?

You can protect teeth from erosion by being careful how you use acidic drinks.

  • Drink them less often.
  • Drink them quickly
  • Drink them cold.
  • Use a straw so that the drink misses your teeth.

Some foods are acidic too – for example, pickles.

Because acids temporarily soften the tooth, don’t brush your teeth immediately after eating or drinking something acidic. If you can, rinse your mouth with water instead and brush your teeth later (if possible 20 or 30 minutes after having an acidic food or drink in your mouth).

Dentists tell you to brush your teeth twice a day (twice a day is enough if you do it thoroughly), and always use fluoride toothpaste. Like teeth which are attacked by decay, eroded teeth can use the minerals in saliva to mend themselves. Fluoride helps this process.

Can my dentist treat erosion?

Because erosion attacks all of a tooth’s surfaces, you may not notice it at first. Sometimes, the teeth can be weakened so much that they have to be protected with crowns or veneers which replace the lost tooth surface.

Wisdom teeth

What are they?

Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to appear, at the back of the mouth, from the late teens onwards. Most people have four wisdom teeth but it is not unusual to have – even none.

Because they are the last teeth to form, there sometimes isn’t room for them. They come through at an angle, pressing against the teeth in front or the bone behind.

What will my dentist do?

Watching how your teeth and jaws grow is part of your regular dental care. Do tell your dentist if you think there may be a problem.

  • X-rays can show where the wisdom teeth are in the jaw and how much room there is for them to come through, as well as showing if they are causing any damage to the teeth in front.
  • The x-rays will also show how simple or difficult it may be to take a wisdom teeth out. The dentist might refer you to a specialist to have your wisdom teeth removed.

As wisdom teeth are coming through, the surrounding gum becomes inflamed and sore. This is called ‘pericoronitis’. It may settle down or come and go over a period. It is usually better to remove a wisdom tooth after you have had pericoronitis because they often continue to cause trouble.

If you need to have a wisdom tooth removed, you should be able to fit it in with work or other commitments. Sometimes, all wisdom teeth are removed in hospital under general anaesthetic. You may need two or three days off work.

What are the benefits of removing wisdom teeth?

  • If you have your wisdom teeth removed, there will be no more pain and infection.
  • It will stop any damage to the teeth in front.

Resources

Craig Y Don Dental Practice Leaflet

Click to view / download our practice leaflet.

Craig Y Don Dental Patient Information Leaflet (July 2026)

Click to view / download our patient information leaflet.

Rights and Responsibilities

You have certain rights as well as responsibilities when you attend here.

We will:

  • Listen to your views & learn from them.
  • Treat you with courtesy & respect.
  • Respect your confidentiality.
  • Provide you with information, treatment plans and costs involved in your dental care.
  • Follow guidelines and standards about infection control and health & safety to protect you.
  • Keep up to date with skills & knowledge.
  • Endeavour to book you convenient appointments.
  • Provide you with consistently good quality dental care that meets your needs and wishes.

We expect you to:

  • Attend your appointments on time.
  • Let us know if you can’t attend.
  • Advise us of any significant change in your general health or medication.
  • Let us know in good time (or ring and cancel an appointment) if you have any infection you are worried you may pass on to us i.e. common cold, influenza, cold sore on lips etc.
  • Follow any preventive care advice given by your dentist.
  • Pay your dental bills at the end of each visit.
  • Advise us of any deficiencies in our service to you.

Abusive Patients

We will treat you with dignity and respect while you are here. We expect to be treated the same way. Craig y Don Dental Practice will not tolerate any abusive/violent behaviour from patients. If this results in any employee fearing for his/her safety we will not hesitate to inform the police and/or de-register you from the practice with immediate effect.

Statement of Purpose (July 2026)

Click to view / download our statement available in PDF format (118Kb).

Care Statement

We will partner with you to identify your needs and wishes and aim to deliver your care to a high standard.

Complaints Procedure

In Case You Have Cause To Complain

Here at Craig y Don Dental Practice we aim to look after you to the highest standards. However, if you have any concerns about your dental care, we will look into these as a priority. We are always interested in feedback, be it positive or negative, as a useful tool to constantly improve our service.

How to complain

Please let us know, ideally, as soon as possible. You may talk to any member of the dental team who will ensure your concern is passed to the dentist who treated you. They will try and address your concern immediately if at all possible. You may of course contact the practice in writing.

28 Mostyn Avenue
Craig y Don
Llandudno
LL30 1YY

Phone: 01492 876467
E-mail: [javascript protected email address]

What we shall do

We shall log and acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within 10 working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to give you an explanation, or offer a meeting with those involved.

In investigating your complaint, we shall aim to:

  • find out what happened and what went wrong;
  • enable you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this;
  • ensure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;
  • identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

If we cannot fully investigate and respond to your complaint within the time limits above, we will keep you fully informed of our progress.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we must keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable of providing this because of physical or mental illness or are a child under 16 years.

Responding to your complaint

After we have considered your complaint and reviewed all the information we can obtain in connection with it, we will reply fully to you, with details of:

  • The nature and substance of your complaint as it was described to us by you.
  • The investigations we have undertaken to fully consider the matter complained of.
  • Our conclusions we have reached after a full investigation and the actions we will take, (if it is found that we have been at fault, failed in our duty of care to you or otherwise acted or failed to act in such a way as to give you cause for legitimate dissatisfaction) to ensure that such an act or omission should not occur again in the future.

What to do if you are unhappy with our response

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will make use of our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However this does not affect your right to complain to the following bodies at any time, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. If you wish further advice you should contact:

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW)
Rhydycar Business Park
Merthyr Tydfil
Mid Glamorgan
CF48 1UZ

Phone: 0300 062 8163
E-mail: [javascript protected email address]

If your dental treatment was provided under private arrangements, you can contact:

Dental Complaints Service
Stephenson House
2 Cherry Orchard Rd
Croydon
London
CR0 6BA

Phone: 08456 120 540
E-mail: [javascript protected email address]

For those patients registered with this practice under Denplan arrangements, you can contact Denplan at:

Customer Services – Denplan Limited
Simplyhealth House
Victoria Road
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 7RG

Phone: 0800 401 402
E-mail: [javascript protected email address]

If your treatment was provided under National Health Service arrangements, you can contact the Patient Experience/Concerns Team on 01874 712697 or e-mail [javascript protected email address]

Or you can write to:

Chief Executive
Powys Teaching Health Board
Neuadd Brycheiniog
Cambrian Way
Brecon
Powys
LD3 7HR

In addition, you can also contact:

Public Service Ombudsman for Wales
1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae
Pencoed
Mid Glamorgan
CF35 5LJ

Phone: 0845 601 0987
Www: https://www.ombudsman.wales

You can also contact:

General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ

Phone: 020 7167 6000
Www: https://www.gdc-uk.org/raising-concerns

Save a Life Cymru CPR Campaign

The Save a Life Cymru campaign has been launched by the Wales Cardiac Network, together with the Welsh Government. One of its primary aims to increase public awareness of what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest and empower them to untertake CPR. Videos have been produced intended for public viewing and are available on Youtube to watch.

In English:

In Welsh:

Useful Links

This page last updated 23 July 2026

Share: