Posts tagged “tooth coloured crowns”

Dentist near Fleet provides emergency pain free dentistry

August 1st, 2012

A patient came to Time Dental near Fleet for an emergency appointment with a broken tooth.  She had not been to a dentist in 6 years and was very apprehensive as she had a previous bad experience at the dentist which put her off attending regularly for 6 monthly healthy mouth reviews.  He had eaten a seeded bread which result in part of her tooth breaking.  The tooth was now sensitive to cold drinks.

On assessing the tooth the back section of her tooth had indeed broken off.  However the reason why it broke was due to the fact that the tooth had become very decayed.  When decay starts on a tooth and becomes extensive the tooth becomes much weaker.  In her case not only had the tooth now broken but the decay had now reached the nerve of the tooth which is why it was now sensitive to temperature.  If this decay had been caught in its early stages the tooth could have been filled with direct white composite.  Composite fillings when placed by a skilled cosmetic dentist can look like a completely natural tooth.

As the decay had now become so extensive the options for this tooth were either root canal therapy or extraction.  Root canal therapy is a way of keeping your own teeth.  It involves disinfecting the inside of the tooth and filling where the nerve used to be.  The tooth is then often crowned to prevent the tooth from breaking any further.  Crowns can be tooth coloured or metal.  The tooth coloured crowns are made of ceramic which are very strong when bonded to the tooth.  Crowns are an effective way of restoring a weak tooth so that you can bite comfortably and with confidence.

Time Dental provides this service for patients in the Fleet area as well as the surrounding towns in Hampshire, Surrey, West sussex and Berkshire.

Time Dental- Private dental care at its best

Replacing mercury amalgam fillings at a Cosmetic dentist near Alton

June 27th, 2012

A patient came to see us at Time Dental looking for a Cosmetic dentist.  She had a number of old mercury amalgam fillings which she wanted replacing as white composite as they looked like she had holes in her teeth.  She had not been to see a dentist in 18 months and was aware that she was overdue a dental health check.

On assessing her mouth she had early stages of gum disease also known as gingivits.  Her gums were inflammed, red and she reported seeing blood after brushing her teeth.  She also had a number of very old mercury fillings that had been in place since childhood days.  Cracks on the larger mercury amalgam filled teeth were also evident and there were also gaps between the fillings and the teeth which indicated that they were failing.

Mercury amalgam fillings expand and contract over time. Combined with the pressure from chewing, this places an enormous amount of stress on the tooth.  In time micro enamel cracks occur and the tooth or filling will then break. If the fracture is vertical and runs straight thorough the tooth it renders it unrestorable and will have to be removed.

Small to meduim sized mercury fillings are routinely replaced with white composite fillings.  Tooth coloured fillings such as composite actually stick and bond to the tooth which helps give it strength.  Less preparation is required to restore the tooth and expertly placed white composite fillings by a cosmetic dentist can make the tooth look natural.

When mercury fillings get to a large size they actually weaken the tooth which places it risk of breaking.  To protect the weaker part of the tooth often an Onlay is advised.  An onlay covers and protects the biting surface of the tooth.  You maybe familiar with crowns which encapsulate the whole tooth.  An onlay has edges which are higher up which makes it easier for you to keep clean; they are also bonded in place that give it strength.

Time Dental provides this service for patients in Alton as well as the surrounding area of Hampshire, Surrey, West sussex and Berkshire.

Time Dental- Private dental care at its best

Broken tooth, emergency dental care at dentist near Alton

April 19th, 2012

A patient came to Time Dental having broken a tooth and was now experiencing sensitivity to cold drinks and cups of tea.  He had not been to see a dentist in over a year and was travelling alot due to work and was now looking for long term continuing care.  He informed me that he had broken teeth in the past and had just put it down to old age.

On assessing the tooth half the outer wall of the tooth had broken off.  There was still a very large mercury filling in place and a small part of the inside of the tooth still present.  It was quite obvious why he was experiencing the sensitivity as his dentine layer was exposed  to the elements.

Boken teeth in mercury amalgam fillings as dental emergencies are quite common.  They reason is not due to old age; its due to the mercury filling expanding and contracting over time, and combined with the downward pressure on eating food causes internal fracture lines of the tooth.  In time either the tooth will break or the filling will break.  Mercury amalgam fillings actuallly weaken your tooth.

In instances such as this the only option for the tooth is to crown it to protect the rest of the tooth.  A crown acts like a bomb shelter that protects the sides as well as the biting surface of the tooth.  They are often recommended when there isn’t mcuh tooth left and the tooth is quite weak.  In order to prevent further breaks the crown encapsulates the whole tooth.

Crowns are bespoke handcrafted restorations made by skilled master ceramists and lab technicians.  They can be made of gold; metal ceramic or all ceramic.  The tooth coloured crowns are the most popular due to them looking very natural.  The metal ceramic crowns are the traditional tooth coloured crowns which have metal underneath the tooth coloured ceramic.  All-ceramic crowns are the best for strength and aesthetics.  The sub structure can be made of zirconia which is extremely strong and durable.

Time Dental provides this service for patients from the Alton area in Hampshire as well as the surrounding towns and villages in Surrey and West Sussex.

Porcelain crowns at a Surrey dentist

February 22nd, 2012

A patient came to see us who was unhappy with his smile.  He was very conscious of a discoloured tooth at the front of his mouth and restricted his smile to not show his teeth.  The tooth had slowly darkened over a period of time.  He felt that if he could get this tooth looking like his other teeth it would restore his smile and his confidence when speaking to people.

On assessing the tooth, we noted that it had already been root treated and it had a very large discoloured composite white filling.  The tooth had been broken in accident some years ago and the only option to save the tooth was to root treat it.  This involved cleaning and disinfecting the inside of the tooth to prevent further infection and abscesses.  The broken tooth had then been repaired with composite bonding.

When a tooth is root treated it becomes dry and brittle and is prone to breaking.  The tooth can also discolour significantly over a period of time.  In this case half the tooth had discoloured and have the tooth was a worn compsite white filling.

We discussed the options which were to either whiten the tooth and replace the old white filling with composite bonding, or place an all-ceramic crown on the tooth to mask the darker colour and help protect it from breaking in the future.

We decided to place a porcelain crown on the tooth which is an excellent choice for this situation.  The tooth was prepared and impressions of the teeth were sent to the master ceramist.  The ceramist then hand crafted the bespoke crown which was then cemented onto the prepared tooth.  That left a very happy patient who was able to smile confidently again.

Dental Implants at a Farnham Dentist

February 8th, 2012

A client came to see us looking for options to replace back teeth that had been taken out a number of years ago.  He was currently finding it difficult to eat and chew properly and wanted to know what his options were.

On assessing his mouth he was missing his last teeth on the top and bottom jaw and as a result was putting more pressure on his remaining teeth which made him at risk of breaking them.

One option could be to provide a denture.  This is a removable appliance that needs to be taken out daily and cleaned.  Due to the fact that it had to be taken out this was not an option that he wanted to choose.

A fixed option could be a bridge as long as there were teeth on either side of the gap.  This was not the case for this patient as he was missing his last teeth at the back.

The other option is a dental implant.  This is  titanium root that is placed into the jaw.  The dental implant then holds a post onto which a crown is fitted.  Dental implants are an excellent option for missing teeth with 98% success rates.  They are routinely placed by a specialist implant surgeon, Dr Queseshi at Time Dental and the crown is then placed by the restorative dentist Dr Rashid.  The advantage of placing implants are the high success rates, ease of placement, excellent longevity, and no need to prepare any adjacent teeth.

Replacing mercury fillings at Alton dentist

February 6th, 2012

It may surprise you to hear that mercury fillings are still being placed in dental practices.  Mercury is a toxic metal if exposed to significant levels it can cause you harm.  Studies have shown that mercury fillings do leak mercury into your sysytem, however the levels are not high enough to cause any harm.

At Tme Dental we like to give our pateints the options available and give you our recommendations.  At the end of the day it’s your mouth and we want to give you the best advice and help you make the choices that are right for you.

When cavities are small to medium sized the current white composite fillings are a fantastic way to restore your mouth to health.  White composite fillings do not contain mercury, they bond to the teeth which helps to bring the strength of the tooth back, and they alos look like your natural tooth.

Mercury fillings over time actually weaken your teeth.  As they are metal they expand and contract and can cause micro enamel cracks to occur within the tooth.  There will be a point where either the tooth may break, the filling may break, or decay will start aorund the filling due to the enamel crack.

Catching these issues early is the best way to deal with potential problems.  Replacing mercury amalgam fillings is very common now and in the right hands is completely safe to do.

Replacing Mercury fillings at dentist near Farnborough

January 18th, 2012

A patient came to see us at Time Dental for their routine healthy mouth review having not been to see us for quite some time.  She had some old mercury amalgam fillings which had been in place for over twenty years, and at her last healthy mouth review she was advised that they needed replacing as they looked to be failing.  She was not experiencing any symptoms at the time and preferred to leave them for the time being.

On her most recent review we found that the teeth with mercury amalgam fillings now had cracks running down the sides of the teeth.  This progression is very common to see mercury filled teeth and is better to be dealt with in the very early stages as things get progressively complicated if left in place.

Mercury fillings expand and contract over a period of time and combined with strong downward chewing forces can eventually result in micro enamel cracks occuring in the teeth.  At some point either the filling or the tooth will break.  When visible vertical cracks can be seen the tooth normally needs something much more robust to prevent the crack from propagating and splitting the tooth.  Porcelain or metal ceramic crowns are tooth coloured restorations which help to protect the broken tooth from splitting.  If amalgam fillings are relatively small to medium sized and they are at their early stages of failing they can normally be replaced with white composite fillings.  However if they are failry large in size either onlays or crowns are recommended as they also cover the biting surface of the teeth which protect the weaker parts of the tooth.

Porcelain crowns at a dentist in Farnham

November 9th, 2011

A client came to see us requesting to change old mercury fillings that she had since a child.  Mercury fillings a currently far less acceptable for dental fillings nowadays.  Firstly they contain mercury which is a toxic metal;  secondly the tooth has to be prepared more to keep the mercury filling in place; thirdly they look awful; fourthly they actually weaken your teeth over time as they expand and contract which results in hairline cracks appearing.  The tooth or the fillng will eventaully beak possibly leaving you in a dire situation for that tooth.

Fortunately there is a solution.  When a filling is very large, it leaves the tooth weak in sturucture.  Combine this with a mercury filling and your tooth is ready to break on you.  When replacing large fillings it is common to advise crowning the tooth to protect it.  A crown is best seen as a “bomb shelter”.  It protects the tooth from all sides and prevents the cusps from breaking as they are encased with in the crown. 

There are 2 main types of crowns.  Metal crowns and tooth coloured crowns.  The metal crowns are generally made of gold.  Gold is the best metal to have in your mouth as it is time proven and also creates an affective seal.  Most people prefer the tooth coloured types as it looks more natural.  There are two main tooth coloured types.  Metal-ceramic crowns and porcelain crowns.  Metal ceramic crowns are the traditional types however due to the metal underneath it can make the gum line look bluish.  The porcelain crowns are the strongest and most natural looking crowns.  There are a number of types of porcelain crowns, they can be made of zirconia, or a pressed ceramic.  The best thing to do is discuss your options with your dentist who will able to advise you appropriately.

Feel free to call us for advice on 01252 723 008

Crowns at a dentist in Farnham

October 27th, 2011

A new client came to see us today in Farnham having lost a front tooth.  On discussion with him he had previously had crowns on his two upper front teeth for twenty years and one of them had fallen out.  He had some quite extensive work on them as they had been root treated with posts also placed in them.  He had been wearing temporary crowns for quite some time and they kept falling out.  He was now fed up with the situation and wanted a permanent solution.

There are two main tooth coloured types of crowns.  Metal ceramic crowns and porcelain all-ceramic crowns.  Metal ceramic crowns are the traditional type of tooth coloured crowns.  They have been around for many years and is certainly a viable option.  The main down side to metal ceramic crowns are that they can look a little lifeless and the gum line round the edge of the crown can look bluish due to the metal work underneath.

The upgrade would be the porecelain all-ceramic crowns.  Again there are a number of types available, and each type is used in different situations.  If the underlying tooth is very dark and discoloured then a zirconia all-ceramic crown may be the best option.  If the tooth structure is not too dark then a pressed all-ceramic crown could be advised.  Both are extremely strong and give the best aesthetic results.  Your dentist will be able to advise you appropriately.

In this gentlemans case the posts were very dark so the options were either a metal-ceramic crown or a zirconia all-ceramic crown to give the best and strongest aesthetic option.

Feel free to call us to see how we can help you.  01252 723 008

Replacing mercury fillings at a Farnham dentist

September 28th, 2011

A client came to see us who had old amalgam mercury fillings from childhood and wanted to make sure they were still in good shape.  After throughly examining her dental health we discovered that a number of her old amalgam mercury fillings were failing.

Amalgam fillings over time expand and contract.  Combine this with the heavy force they are taking on eating and chewing result in micro-enamel cracks occuring in the tooth.  Over a period of time decay will start to occur at the site of the cracks and the filling or tooth may break.  This could potentially be disasterous for the tooth.  If the break is a vertical fracture through the whole tooth it has a very poor outlook and will have to be extracted.  This is why it is crucial for your dental health to regularly see your dentist to catch things early and be given the appropriate advice.

In this particular case one tooth had a very large amalgam in with visible fine hairline cracks to the back and side.  The old mercury filling was safely removed and we discovered that the crack ran across the corner of the tooth.  In this particular instance the best option for this tooth was to crown it.  A crown acts like a bomb shelter for the tooth where it is protected from the sides as well as the top.  The strongest tooth coloured crowns are zirconia porcelain crowns.  The tooth is first prepared and an impression is taken.  This is sent to the master ceramist who makes a stone model from the impression and digitally scans the tooth.  After milling the zirconia, the tooth his built up using porcelain by our master creamist.  Crowns are essentially handcrafted bespoke restorations which are then cemented into place to restore the bite.  This allows you to chew and eat with confidence withour the risk of your teeth breaking.

Feel free to call Amanda the practice manager to book a comprehensive dental examination on 01252 723 008