Archives for August, 2011

Straight teeth at a dentist in Farnham

August 30th, 2011

We have had a number  of clients approach us and ask about straightening front teeth.  If suitable the revolutionary Inman Aligner may be the way forward.  Many adults are unhappy with mild to moderate overlapping or crowding of the incisors but are not too keen on wearing  fixed braces for a long time. 

The Inamn aligner is excellent for straightening the four upper or lower incisors in a matter of weeks.  Traditional braces can take between 6 to 18 months to straighten teeth.  The Inamn aligner works fast because it uses very gentle constant forces which squeeze the teeth into the correct position.  It is a removable appliance which means if you have an important function or meeting you can simply take it out and put it back in later.  It is also much more cost effective than traditional braces.  An alternative option could be to use clear aligners but they require you to change them every 2 weeks and they also take longer to achieve the desired result.

Another option to straighten the incisors is to place porcelain veneers on them.  Veneers are thin porcelain laminates which are bonded onto prepared teeth.  They are an excellent way of improving the shape, colour, size and position of your teeth.  Veneers are bespoke, handcrafted laboratory made restorations and can improve your smile in as little as 2 weeks.

Call us to discuss your options for giving you back your confidence on 01252 723 008

Tooth Whitening in Fleet

August 23rd, 2011

A client came to see us to help her improve her smile.  We discussed what it was that bothered her about her smile and she said she was very unhappy about the shade of her teeth.  She drank a large amount of black coffee daily as well as cups of tea.  She was very conscious about the colour to the point where she did not show her teeth when smiling.

We discussed the different options to freshen up her smile.  The least invasive way was professional tooth whitening.  There are essentially two different types of tooth whitening.  In- office tooth whitening and professional tooth whitening.

The in-office tooth whitening system involves placing a high concentrated gel on the teeth that immediately boosts the shade of your teeth in one hour.  Some systems need to use a light source which is sometimes called “Laser whitening”, other systems do not need to use this system and are chemically activated rather than light activated to achieve the same result.

The professional tooth whitening system involves placing the tooth whitening gel into custom made trays which are then worn for 40 minutes per day for 10-14 days.  Some professional systems require the trays to be worn over night.  The length of time required to be worn can depend on the concentration of the gel being used. 

When using the in-office system, it is common to combine it with the professional system as well.  If you want the fastest result use the In-office system, if you prefer to take a gentler pace then the professional kit is for you.

When tooth whitening you may experience sensitivity during the procedure.  If this happens this not permanent and normally lasts only for 24 hours.  Rubbing your teeth with a special tooth balm often helps in extreme cases of sensitivity.

For further information cal 01252 723 008

Tooth whitening in Farnham

August 16th, 2011

A client came to see us at Time Dental looking to improve his smile.  His main concern was his discoloured teeth and also the brown spots which were on them.  He said he had not been to see a dentist in about seven years.

On further discussion he told me that he smoked 20 cigarettes a day and drank lots of red wine.  It was easy to see why his teeth were so discoloured!  As well as the major general health and dental health risks associated with smoking it can cause heavy staining on your teeth.

On closer inspection the brown spots on the teeth were not only from smoking but also from tooth decay.  We discussed his aesthetic concerns and how we could improve the colour of his teeth by professional tooth whitening, but he would be putting the staining back on his teeth if he didn’t cut down or better still quit his smoking.

The first steps were to get his mouth into a healthy condition.  He had multiple areas of tooth decay which we had to remove and fill with white composite fillings.  This had an immediate impact on the look of his teeth as he now no longer had unsightly amalgam fillings and decay.

Ideally we would tooth whiten first and then match fillings to the brighter shade of teeth, however his teeth were so decayed that we had to stabilise his mouth first with composite bonding before proceeding with tooth whitening.

He wanted a fast tooth whitening result so he chose the in-office tooth whitening system.  This involved placing a special tooth whitening gel on his teeth for an hour to immediately achieve a fantastic result.  Combined with the professional tooth whitening system at home this gave him a really confident smile.

See how we can help you. Call 01252 723 008

Spaces in Fleet

August 10th, 2011

A client came to see us who was unhappy with two bridges in his mouth which had come loose and he also had a space in between his upper two front teeth.  He had lost confidence when smiling as he thought that his bridges would fall out at anytime and the gap between his two front teeth had always bothered him and he was becoming more and more self conscious about it.

When teeth are missing there are generally two fixed options in replacing the missing teeth.  One is a bridge and the other is a dental implant. 

Bridges are an excellent way of replacing missing teeth.  They use the teeth on either side of the gap to support the missing teeth.  There are different types of bridges which are also made of different materials.  Your dentist should give you your different options and advise which would be best suited for you.

Dental implants replace the root of missing teeth with a titanium root.  A crown is then attached to the implant to restore your bite.  Some implants can have a tooth attached immediately, and others may require a period of months to allow the implant to integrate with your bone.  A big advantage with implants is that you are only replacing what is missing and the teeth adjacent to the gap remain untouched.  They have very high success rates and are placed routinely.

Smaller gaps between upper front teeth have different treatment options.  One option can be to close the spaces using orthodontic braces.  Another option could be to use composite bonding, and another option could be to veneer the teeth. 

Call us to see how we can help on 01252 723 008

Dark teeth in Farnham

August 4th, 2011

A client came to see us recently who was unhappy with the colour of two of her front teeth.  She had them crowned a number of years ago and had recently had a course of tooth whitening which resulted in mismatching teeth colour.  Although she was very happy with the tooth whitening result, the crowns were now darker than the rest of her teeth and she still didn’t want to show her teeth when smiling.  If you whiten your teeth white fillings and crowns will stay the same shade but the natural teeth will whiten.  So if you have white fillings or crowns at the front of the mouth be prepared to have these replaced to match the lighter teeth!

On closer inspection the two crowns were certainly darker than the rest of the natural teeth.  The crowns were also made of metal-ceramic which resulted in a bluish line around the gum line of the crowns.  This is very common to see as this is the metal showing through.  The crowns were also different lengths and were not symmetrical in shape.

We discussed the different options for replacing the crowns.  As she had an aesthetic issue due to the metal ceramic crowns we decided to go for the All-ceramic tooth coloured crowns which are the strongest and best in aesthetics.  We also designed the teeth to look symmetrical in shape.

Now she can be confident in showing off her teeth when smiling.  That’s one happy client.

See how we can help you call us on 01252 723 008