Dental Veneers & Dental Implants

Dental Veneers

A veneer is a thin facing of porcelain ceramic that is bonded to the outer surface of your tooth to enhance the aesthetics of your smile. Dental veneers have become a well known treatment for people who are in the public eye and can be used to successfully hide tooth staining and discolouration, change a tooths position compared to its neighbouring teeth or fill a space between teeth (diastemer).

A very exciting new development is the "no preparation dental veneer". These extremely thin veneers can be permanently bonded to your teeth without any tooth substance having to be removed.

Your Specialist Consultation

During your comprehensive treatment planning session with your dentist, you will look at all the options for your dental treatment and discuss your goals for your new smile; a detailed picture will be fabricated to ensure that the shade, shape, position and translucency of your veneers all surpass your expectations. In many cases wax models of your veneers (a diagnostic wax up) can be made by the dental laboratory to help finalise the details of the end result.

At the second appointment you may have some tooth preparation done to create space for your veneers. This is usually on the outer surface of your teeth. In some cases no preparation will be required. Impressions of your teeth will be taken and custom temporary veneers will be fixed to your teeth until your fitting appointment in approximately two week's time.

At your third appointment your dentist will try in your veneers using a special try in cement to ensure that you are delighted before bonding them permanently to your teeth. Once in place, you can treat your new veneers just like your natural teeth, brushing and flossing as normal.

Dental Implants

Many people have one or several teeth missing. From trauma such as a fall from a bike, to a failure of new teeth to grow (hypodontia), to gum disease (periodontitis) - where the ligament that attaches the teeth and also the bony support are slowly lost and teeth become loose, it is extremely common for a tooth or several teeth to be missing.

Before dental implants were available, missing teeth were often not replaced - leaving a space or a denture or bridge was used to fill the space. Dentures have been used a great deal as a long term treatment in the past, but many people find that traditional dentures are uncomfortable, loose and mean that certain enjoyable foods cannot be eaten. Occasionally, a bridge can be used, but this often requires the preparation of the healthy teeth on either side of the space. With dental implants - a multitude of highly successful long term possibilities have been created: -

Dental implants achieve a look and functionality like natural teeth and leave you with a secure and permanent tooth replacement. Once treatment has been completed, patients can enjoy a balanced healthy diet without difficulty and smile with confidence.

Implants have been placed with great success for over 40 years. Implants are made of surgically pure titanium and are located into the upper or lower jaw bone, where they are used to support crowns, bridges or custom dentures. Titanium has a very special property of being accepted by your immune system and so intolerance is extremely rare.

Are Dental Implants Right for You?

Most people are suitable candidates for dental implants. A good standard of general health, not smoking and having sufficient good quality bone at the site are all things that can optimise the success of your implants. If you do smoke, have an illness or have not enough bone at the site - it is still often possible to provide dental implants and you will be evaluated carefully to make sure that your dental implant treatment plan gives you the best chance of long term success.

Your Treatment

Every person's implant treatment plan is uniquely tailored for them but usually some or all of the following treatment stages will be in place: -

Each implant is a cylinder of surgically pure titanium which is gently inserted into your upper or lower jaw bone. This is often via a small flap created in your gum but sometimes it is placed directly through the gum (the trans-mucosal approach). In some cases a tooth, bridge or custom denture can be placed immediately on the implant/s (immediate loading) but in many cases a period of healing from 2 - 6 months is required where your new implant/s are covered by the gum so they can integrate with the bone. Once integrated - a customised crown, bridge or denture can be manufactured to fit on your implant/s giving you a natural performing, long term solution to your missing teeth.