Bax Dental : Dental Clinic Macclesfield Cheshire

Dental Examination
Hygienist Treatment & Fresh Breath Clinic
Cosmetic Dentistry
Jaw Problems & Headaches
Orthodontic Treatment

Crowns

A crown completely covers a weak tooth above the gum line and protects it. Crowns are made of metal or porcelain, or porcelain with metal inside for strength.

What will my dentist do?

• They will normally give you a local anesthetic to numb the area.

• They will shape the tooth so that, with the crown, it will be the same size as a normal tooth.

• Preparation time will depend on how damaged the tooth is and whether it needs to be built up with a filling first.

• The tooth might have to be root-filled first – this is sometimes called ‘removing the nerve’.
The crown is sometimes held in place by a peg in the root canal if a lot of the tooth is missing.

• Your dentist will use a soft mouldable material to make an exact ‘impression’ of the tooth
that is to be crowned and the nearby teeth. A dental technician uses an impression
to make the crown the exact height and size needed.

• A thin cord may be used to hold the gum away from the tooth
so that the impression is accurate round the edges.

• A temporary crown made of plastic is put over the tooth until the crown is made.
You can chew on a temporary crown but it won’t be as strong as the finished one.

• When the crown is fitted, your dentist will make small adjustments to make sure
you can bite comfortably. The crown is tried on first, and then glued into place.

What are the benefits?

• A crown is strong and can look and feel exactly like a natural tooth.
The colour and shape can be matched to your own teeth.

• Depending on the strength of the tooth underneath, a crown can last for many years
if you look after your mouth and teeth and the crown is not accidentally damaged.

• Crowns can also improve the appearance of misshapen or discoloured teeth.

Implants

Implants are one way of replacing missing teeth. A post is planted 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 has two stages. First, the implant is placed in the jaw. Then, when the jaw has healed, replacement teeth are attached to the implant.

What will my dentist do?

First you should decide whether implants could be right for you. Ask your dentist about the stages of treatment, about who would be carrying out each stage and the timetable for completing treatment. Your own dentist might do the implant surgery or you might be referred to a specialist.

If you decide to go ahead, this is what will happen:

• Implants are out into holes in the jaw with a local or general anesthetic.

• The implant is screwed or pushed in
and the gum is stitched so that it heals over the implant.

• Under the gum, the bone then grows round the implant
to hold it firm. This tables several months.

Implants usually have two sections – the post in the jaw and an extension that is added later when the post is secure. Attaching the extension needs a small cut in the gum above the implant. You might have more than one implant. The replacement teeth might be fixed permanently (like a crown or bridge) or attached in a way which lets you remove them for cleaning (like denture).

What are the benefits?

• Some people can’t use removable dentures however hard they try and however hard the dentist to make the dentures a good fit.

• Implants can be a last chance for eating and speaking properly and for improving appearance.

• Implants keep a denture very stable.

• People will not be able to see that your teeth are supported by implants.

Implants are not suitable for all patients.

Dentures

A removable denture replaces missing teeth. ‘Partial’ dentures replace a few missing teeth and ‘full’ dentures are needed if all the natural teeth are missing.

Dentures are made of plastic and sometimes metal as well to make them strong and less bulky.

What are the benefits?

If you have lost some teeth, dentures can improve the way you look, bite, chew and speak.

• They are custom-made to match your mouth and can be made to look as natural as possible.

• You will be able to chew more efficiently.
• The teeth that are left are protected from wear and tear. Without dentures, the natural teeth
may move or tilt, stopping you teeth biting together properly.
• Dentures can be fitted straight after teeth have been taken out so that nobody will know
that you have had a tooth out. These are called ‘immediate’ dentures.

Dentures will never feel like your own teeth and it can take time to get used to them. If you haven’t had a denture before, the dentist will want to explain the benefits and difficulties of wearing them.

Fixed Bridges

A bridge fixes a replacement tooth (or teeth) to the natural teeth on either side of the gap. Some bridges have crowns at each end, whilst others are fixed to the surface of the teeth, next to the gap. Sometimes a bridge is only fixed to the tooth on one side of the gap.

Bridges are made of porcelain and metal, or in some instances just porcelain.

What are the benefits?

• It can improve the way you look, bite, chew and speak.

• The bridge teeth can be matched to the colour of your own teeth.

• A bridge can last many years, if it is kept clean
and does not suffer any accidental damage.

• Natural teeth are then protected from wear, tear, and from moving
or tilting out of line, causing teeth to bite together incorrectly.

If you do not want to have a bridge, you can have a removable denture, as outlined above. If supporting teeth are not strong enough for a bridge, the dentist may recommend that a denture will be better. A denture can be used as a temporary solution, with a bridge fitted at a later date when the mouth is more suitable.

Tooth Bleaching (Whitening)

The colour of your teeth can be lightened with Hydrogen Peroxide (bleach), used either on the outside or the inside of your tooth or teeth.

• Like hair and skin, teeth vary in colour. Some are yellow 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 bleaching is completely safe as long as the bleach does not touch your gums and burn them. Dentists use special jelly bleach.

What will my dentist do?

For a tooth which is dark inside, the bleach is put in the root canal temporarily, before or after the tooth is root-filled.

There are two ways of bleaching the outside of teeth.

• The dentist may give you weak bleach jelly at use at home in a tray
which fits closely round your teeth. The tray makes sure that the jelly does not
burn 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 bleaching your 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 jelly in the tray at home.

• Your dentist can use a stronger bleach jelly. Dentists use this method
to bleach all the teeth at the same time in either your upper or lower jaw.
The strong bleach will touch the teeth for less time than with home bleaching.

If your dentist uses stronger bleach, they will protect your gums. They will paint the bleach onto the teeth and heat it with a light for a few minutes. They then wash it off with water.

• Your dentist will make a note of your tooth 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 bleaching.

• Your teeth may be sensitive to hot and cold food and drink for a few days after bleaching.

What are the benefits?

• Bleaching improves the appearance of your teeth without removing any of the natural tooth surface. Bleaching is a better option than a crown or veneer if you want to lighten the colour of healthy teeth.

Veneers

A veneer is a thin layer of tooth-coloured material that is put onto the front of the tooth to make it look better. The tooth might have been damaged by decay or an accident, or be discoloured

What will my dentist do?

Some veneers are built up on the tooth directly using white filling material, while you are with your dentist. Others are made of porcelain by a dental technician, from an impression of the tooth. You will have to visit the dentist more than once for this type of veneer.

• Your dentist will check any fillings in the teeth first.

• Very little tooth preparation is needed, just enough to prevent the veneer
making the tooth fell bulky, so it may not be necessary to numb the tooth.

• For veneers made in the surgery, the surface of the tooth is roughened with a mild acid.
Then white filling is applied in layers until the teeth look right.

• For a veneers made by a dental technician to the tooth when you next visit.

Veneers sometimes come away from the tooth or break is the tooth is knocked. They can sometimes by glued back on but will have to be replaced if they are damaged.

What are the benefits?

• Veneers can greatly improve your appearance.
They hide imperfection and you lose very little natural tooth.

• Veneers also protect teeth from any more damage. For example,
acid in foods and drinks or from the stomach can cause your teeth to wear away.
The became thin and weak but veneers can protect them.

• It the tooth is strong, a veneer is often a better option
than a crown for improving a tooth’s appearance.

Tooth Coloured Fillings

Many of the newer tooth coloured dental materials are adhesive which means that they stick or 'bond' to teeth, unlike amalgam (black fillings).

The surface of the tooth needs to be made slightly rough so that the restoration can grip correctly. this is called 'etching' and for this the dentist will use a mild acid which is completely harmless.

'Etch-retained restorations' are repairs which are attached to the tooth in the above highlighted way, such as fillings, crowns, veneers, inlays or onlays. They are very life-like in appearance.

*Information courtesy of the British Dental Association and Smiles r us.

 

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