Cosmetic Dentistry

Tooth Whitening

What is it?

The colour of your teeth can be lightened with carbamide peroxide used either on the outside or the inside of your tooth or teeth.

• Like hair and skin, teeth vary in colour. Some are yellower or darker than others, even when they are quite healthy.
• Teeth sometimes darken if their roots have been diseased. A change in colour is caused by blood from the root canal.

Tooth whitening is safe. It is legally prescribed and carried out by dentists only.

What will my dentist do?

For a tooth which is dark inside, the whitening gel is put into the root canal temporarily, before or after the tooth is root-filled.

To whiten the outside of teeth, a tray based system is used.

• The dentist may give you weak bleach gel to use at home in a tray which fits closely round your teeth. The tray makes sure that the gel does not touch your gums. You will need to use the tray for an hour or two a day, for up to six weeks.
• A dental technician will make the tray you use for whitening you teeth at home from an impression of your teeth that your dentist has made. Your dentist will check the tray fits and show you how to put the gel in the tray at home.
• Your dentist will make a note of your youth colour using model teeth in different shades before they treat you. Look at the colour match yourself before the treatment so you can compare it with the colour after whitening.
• Your teeth may be sensitive to hot and cold food and drink for a few days after whitening.

What are the benefits?

• Whitening improves the appearance of your teeth without removing any of the natural tooth surface.
• Whitening is often a better option than a crown or veneer if you want to lighten the colour of healthy teeth, but the later options have their place still.

Stain Removal

What is it?

Some stains are caused by tea, coffee etc and can be cleaned off simply. Other stains are caused by defects in the enamel and will need more attention and different methods to try and reduce/ remove them.

What will my dentist do?

Your dentist will need to assess the cause of the staining to treat it appropriately and will discuss how to treat it with you. Some treatments involve:

• Polishing the enamel.
• Airflow abrasion with pumice.
• Chemical removal with ‘Ikon’.
• Physical removal and camouflage with white fillings, veneers or even crowns. There are separate sections discussing these treatments.

Veneers

What are they?

They are thin facings of porcelain cemented onto the front of discoloured or mishaped teeth. The colour and shape of the porcelain hides any defects underneath and makes the tooth look more ‘normal’.

What will your dentist do?

• Firstly a diagnosis of the problem needs to be reached after checking the teeth thoroughly both visually and with X rays.
• A discussion about the pros and cons of the veneers and their cost.
• Photos and models of the teeth are needed to discuss and show what tooth structure might need to be removed prior to designing the veneers.
• If veneers look feasible then the dentist will make you some appointments to modify the shape of the teeth and take impressions. These are sent off to the lab which will make the veneers.
• Approximately 2 weeks later the veneers will come back and they can be tried over the teeth to check for cosmetic improvement. If all is well then they can be permanently cemented on.

Smile Makeovers

What is it?

A smile make over is a broad term to cover improvements to the overall appearance of the teeth & gums.

It might look at:

• The overall colour of the teeth-Would whitening help?
• Are any fillings discoloured-could they be replaced?
• The overall alignment of the teeth-would orthodontics help?
• Are there unsightly gaps? How could these be filled?
• Are the gums healthy or unhealthy? Are the teeth stained?

So you can see that there are a multitude of issues that need to be looked at and discussed.

Remember there are also usually several solutions to the same problem that are reflected in longevity and cost of the proposed solution.

Implants

What are they?

Implants are one way of replacing missing teeth.

A threaded parallel post is surgically placed in the jaw bone to support a replacement tooth. This acts like the root of a natural tooth. Implants can also be used to support fixed bridges or dentures.

Implant treatment is often done in two stages. First, the implant is placed in the jaw. Then when the bone has healed, replacement teeth are attached to the implant.

Orthodontics

What is it?

Orthodontics is the science of moving teeth. We now have the abilty to correct a lot of crowded mouths and correct crooked teeth.

Orthodontics used to be limited to improving teenagers teeth, but adult orthodontics has become more popular. Technology has changed and some straightening can be done with clear aligners as well as clear brackets fixed to the teeth.

Please ask us about this exciting development. We now offer simple orthodontics with the ClearCorrect® system.