Author Archives: Wimbledon Dental Care

Make it a white fillings Christmas for your mouth

Wondering what to treat you or your loved ones to for Christmas? In lives already stuffed full of stuff, maybe there is a better gift you can give, such as transforming their smile by replacing ugly amalgam fillings with white ones.

What are fillings made of?

Amalgam is a mixture of silver tin and mercury. Mercury makes the filling material pliable. Although the British Dental Association has declared amalgam fillings to be safe, there’s no getting away from the fact that they look pretty awful.

White fillings, on the other hand, are made of a mixture of plastic and glass. Once they are in place, you’d have to stare pretty hard to spot them.

White fillings are strong

White fillings do not require the removal of as much healthy tooth material when you have a new cavity filled. The actual white composite resin is also much stronger these days too. So, with white fillings, you get strong teeth.

Less chance of more decay

White filings also bond with the teeth. They are put in in layers. Each one is cured hard and bonded seamlessly to your tooth with a UV lamp before the next layer goes in. Amalgam fillings are only packed in tight. Bacteria can still get in around the edges and cause decay under the filling. Not so with white fillings.

Filled teeth with all the right curves

Natural back teeth have grooves and ridges on their surfaces. These are cutting edges designed to make it easier to turn food into a paste that we can swallow. We can recreate these chewing surfaces by sculpting white fillings once we have put them in. We can’t do this with amalgam, which lies flat within your tooth.

Replacing amalgam fillings

At Wimbledon Dental Care in Wimbledon, we can replace amalgam fillings with white fillings. When we do this, we are very careful to make sure that all the amalgam is safely removed from your mouth.

Bit by bit or all at once

We can do one filling at a time, or you can have the whole lot done. Why not suggest this as an alternative Christmas present and give your loved one their beautiful smile back?

Roll back the years with brighter, whiter teeth

As we get older, after a few years of enjoying what life has to offer us, our teeth can look a little worse for wear. You may have enjoyed red wine, smoked a little too much, used coffee to wake up the next day or eaten food that stains your teeth. Sometimes, through no fault of your own, teeth staining occurs as a natural reaction to some medication. Either way, we can look in the mirror and discover your teeth are advertising your exciting lifestyle.

Whiter Teeth in Wimbledon This may leave you wishing there was a way to turn back time, which of course there is. Teeth whitening is a great solution for whiter teeth, helping you to roll back the years and have sparkly teeth for that special occasion or just because you want to treat yourself to a smile overhaul.

At Wimbledon Dental Care, getting whiter teeth in Wimbledon couldn’t be easier. We offer an in-clinic option or a take away home kit to use. It utilises the best in whitening technology, using Zoom! products to gently but effectively remove stains. Depending on the amount of staining, your teeth can be made 2-3 shades whiter.

How does the treatment work?

An impression of your teeth is taken, and a tray is created that fits your teeth perfectly. We carry out the power whitening treatment by filling the trays with whitening gel, placed over your teeth and activated by light. The whole process is painless and completed within an hour. You will then be sent home, with full instructions on how to complete your follow up treatments at home.

The follow up treatments are simple to do. You’ll add the solution to your custom-made trays and hold them in place for 30 minutes morning and night over 3 consecutive days. Once this is completed, you’ll need to return to us, so we can check your progress.

Over time, your teeth will start to re-stain and go back to the original colour, this will be increased if you continue to smoke or use other substances that stain heavily. However, this can be fixed with a quick top-up treatment.

If you’d like to know more, contact us for details today.

We can help you get straighter teeth

Nowadays, it’s becoming more and more noticeable if your teeth are wonky. Everyone under 40, it seems, is getting theirs straightened, and if you are one of the few people who has not yet got around to straightening out a mild crossover, twist or lean, you are going to stand out from the crowd, but not in a good way.

Straighter Teeth in Wimbledon Fortunately, getting straighter teeth is easy with us at Wimbledon Dental Care in Wimbledon, where we use Six Month Smiles, a great system for correcting mild to moderate alignment concerns on the front teeth.

The front 6 teeth are known as the ‘social six’ because they are the teeth that get the most views when you speak or smile. If you’ve got something going on with these teeth, no one is going to miss it. That’s why you might not much like smiling, or you might laugh with your hand over your mouth. Neither is much use when it comes to feelings of spontaneous joy, which is a shame, especially as a really good smile releases serotonin, the body’s feel-good chemical.

How to get Six Month Smiles

To find out if these are the braces to help you get straighter teeth, you need to come in for a consultation with us and if they are we start off by taking impressions of your teeth, along with some photos. These go off to the Six Month Smiles laboratory, where they make the braces, calculating the angles of the brackets and so on.

We then fit the braces for you and you come back to us about once a month for a check-up and any adjustments needed.

When your teeth are aligned and we take the braces off, you might want to celebrate with a teeth-whitening treatment and/or repairs to any minor imperfections in your teeth. You will walk out having had a mini smile makeover and be ready to smile with full power.

You will need to wear a retainer for some time afterwards, as newly aligned teeth are inclined to wander if not held in place while the bone settles down around them.

Don’t skimp on your children’s teeth

Making good habits for life starts as soon as we are born. We absorb everything that is going on around us, taking in huge amounts of information and storing it in the subconscious mind, and we then copy what we have seen going on. These habits that we make before the age of 12 are very hard to change. That’s why it isn’t a good idea to smoke in front of the kids, or be scared of spiders or thunderstorms, and why it is a really good idea to start bringing them to the dentist as soon as you can.

Children's Teeth in Wimbledon Children start to lose their baby teeth when they are about seven, and behind them are the adult teeth, which are meant to last for the rest of their lives. It’s easy to think that baby teeth don’t matter because they are going to fall out anyway, but in fact they are very important for 2 reasons.

Baby teeth are practice teeth

You can see the baby teeth as great teeth to practice oral hygiene on. If you bring your kids into the dentist from the time of the arrival of the first tooth, we can teach them how to brush, and get them to used to coming to the dentist. At Wimbledon Dental Care, we know how to make children’s dentistry in Wimbledon fun, and your kids will enjoy learning how to take good care of their teeth.

Children’s teeth are more susceptible to decay

Childhood is a time of mastering skills and it takes a while to get really good at brushing your teeth. Unfortunately, that learning period coincides with a time when people consume more sugary drinks and snacks. This means children are more susceptible to decay. If you skip bringing them in for check-ups, the danger is that the decay will not only go unnoticed, but that it will eat through their baby teeth and into the adult teeth that are waiting to come through behind them.

Treatments to prevent decay

We have 2 ways to help prevent decay. Fluoride treatments help harden tooth enamel against decay, and fissure sealants paint a barrier between the teeth and decay-causing bacteria.

Find out what’s causing your sensitive teeth

If you are finding it harder and harder to eat or drink hot and cold foods and drinks, please don’t ignore this signal from your teeth that they need help.

It’s no fun if every time you are presented with foods and drinks, you wonder if it’s going to cause that shooting pain in your teeth. You can come to dread ice creams, good hot coffees, all the things that make life worth living. It doesn’t have to be like that. Come in and see us at Wimbledon Dental Care and let us help you find out what’s causing your sensitive teeth and see what we can do to help you.

Sensitive Teeth in Wimbledon There are several things that could be causing your sensitive teeth, so we will need to examine them to make sure. But in the meantime, let’s look at what could be the culprit:

Abrasion and erosion

Over the years, brushing your teeth, especially with too-hard brushes or gritty pastes, can wear away the hard enamel surface of your teeth (abrasion), bringing the dentin below and the nerves in it, nearer to the surface, and therefore nearer to heat and to cold. Erosion is caused by lots of sugar and acid in your diet, so if you are a fan of fizzy drinks, that could be the cause.

Gum recession

Our gums can recede as we get older or if we have gum disease. As they pull upwards, they can leave the root of the tooth exposed and roots don’t have enamel to protect them and are far more sensitive than crowns.

Tooth grinding

If you grind your teeth in your sleep, you will wear away the enamel on the chewing surfaces.

Cracked teeth

If one of your teeth has cracked, you may not be able to feel the crack, but it could well be the cause of sensitivity.

Teeth whitening

Having your teeth whitened can make them sensitive for a while after treatment.

As you can see, all these different ways that teeth can become sensitive are going to have different solutions. So please, come in and see us and get yourself a diagnosis and the right treatment.

Crowns and bridges

When your teeth are starting to get weak or one or two have even fallen out, you have to start asking yourself about having restorations, either to extend their life or to replace them altogether. Here at Wimbledon Dental Care, we offer crowns and bridges in Wimbledon: two different restorations for different stages of reparation for your teeth.

Crowns

Crowns are like bike helmets. They go on over your teeth to protect and strengthen them. We like to use them when we see that your teeth are getting weak maybe even in danger of splitting, but the root is strong and healthy. Often this is because there is now so much filling in the tooth that the sides of it will be too weak to cope with the forces created by chewing. With a good crown on your tooth, it can last for quite a while longer, at least 10 years and there are people out there who have had the same crowns in place for decades.

When you have a crown fitted, we make sure that it blends in with the rest of your teeth, in colour, shape and size. Once they are made, we grind your tooth down so that we can fit the crown over the top of it.

Bridges

Fixed bridgework also has crown, but they are designed to replace lost teeth rather than extend the life of weak teeth. If you have up to three teeth in a row that are missing, we can replace them with a bridge. How it works is that we attach the replacement teeth to the neighbouring healthy ones, which we reshape so that they can become buttresses to support the bridge and anchor the replacement teeth in the jawbone.

The replacement teeth are made of dental porcelain and made by skilled craftsmen-technicians. If you have a good photo of your smile, or a set of impressions, we can use them to make your replacement teeth from. Or our technicians can follow your current teeth to get an idea of how to make the new ones look. Bridges need to be replaced every 10 or so years.

Finding flaws in your teeth

Having a slight flaw in your smile, while it most likely goes unnoticed by others, can have a negative impact on your self-confidence. The key to a true grin is feeling comfortable and happy enough to let loose and laugh. If you experience discomfort because your teeth have decayed over time, you don’t have to just sit there and be unhappy. In Wimbledon, white fillings are here to restore your comfort and let you smile without a worry in the world.

White Fillings in Wimbledon At Wimbledon Dental Care, we provide white fillings to patients who both need their tooth restored and to those who need their old silver fillings replaced. White fillings are entirely invisible, so you don’t have to worry about them being seen when you laugh or smile. As tooth-coloured replacements, they appear natural like your other teeth. White fillings are also hard-wearing, so you can bite and chew food without a single concern.

Treatments available to you

If you experience a larger cavities, inlays and onlays are the preferred type of solution. As a smaller type of crown, these tooth-coloured replacements are made out of porcelain material. As custom-made tooth-replacements, they are individual to your teeth so they will fit snugly.

If you wanted to replace the silver amalgam filling that you might have had in the past that is entirely up to you. Although some fear that it contains contents of mercury, you can be rest assured that it is still a safe treatment for cavities. White fillings are appealing to those seeking an aesthetic smile, without having to worry about their treatment being visible. They can also be moulded more effectively to the surface of the tooth.

Although amalgam fillings have previously been effective treatment in dental care, white fillings are preferred because they don’t affect the remaining part of the tooth. In the techniques of amalgam fillings, they tend to remove the healthy teeth tissue alongside the decay. At Wimbledon Dental Care, we prefer to do what we can to maintain your healthy tissues. It means not having to be concerned about future complications, and living with a long-lasting, confident smile.

The important of dental hygiene in Wimbledon

A thorough dental hygiene routine is vital for your overall health and wellbeing, not just that of your teeth and gums.

Studies show a link between poor oral health and heart disease and high cholesterol levels, though the connection is not yet fully understood.

Dental Hygiene in Wimbledon There’s a psychological aspect too – having a smile you feel happy to show creates a feeling of warmth and wellbeing, through the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine in the brain. Smiling also eases relationship and when others see your genuine smile, they are more likely to view you as trustworthy and friendly.

There are certain groups that good dental hygiene is even more crucial for: pregnant women are more likely to develop gum disease because of hormone changes and may also experience small, harmless growths on their gums. Frequent morning sickness can also cause tooth enamel to erode.

Smokers need to pay particular attention to oral health as tobacco stains the teeth, can cause bad breath and makes it more likely that you will develop gum disease.

Those with uncontrolled diabetes are also more likely to develop gum disease.

Here at Wimbledon Dental Care, we recommend all our patients have regular hygiene appointments. You should have a scale and polish cleaning with our hygienist every six months, and if you are in one of the high-risk groups indicated above, you may need to come in more often.

We also check for the early signs of oral cancer at our dental check-ups. Detected early, oral cancer can be treated successfully in most cases.

We see our patients’ dental hygiene as a team effort. We do our part with check-ups and cleanings, and you need to play your part with diligent mouth maintenance. After all, you are with your teeth every day; we only see them every few months.

At your hygiene appointment we can advise you on the best oral care routine for you, including:

What brush to use
Brushing technique
Flossing and interdental brushes
How to care for implants, crowns, dentures and other restorations
Mouth wash
Nutrition for healthy teeth
Fresh breath tips
Children’s oral care.

Restore the appearance of your teeth with veneers in Wimbledon

Wanting to achieve a beautiful and flawless smile is about more than simple vanity. A beautiful smile can boost your confidence, increase your self-esteem and help with your social life. If you would like to improve the appearance of your teeth without resorting to invasive and expensive procedures, then dental veneers may be the right treatment for you.

Porcelain Veneers in Wimbledon At Wimbledon Dental Care, we use veneers to hide imperfections related to chipped, cracked, misshapen, permanently discoloured and slightly misaligned teeth. Veneers can also be used to improve the shape and size of your teeth. But what exactly are dental veneers and how do they work?

How do veneers function?

Veneers are very thin porcelain shells, which are used to recreate the natural look of teeth. At the same time, they provide strength and resilience comparable to natural tooth enamel. Dental veneers are customised to fit your teeth perfectly and bond to your tooth’s natural enamel.

For the veneer to be attached and stabilised, a small portion of your natural tooth’s enamel should be removed. The removal of the tooth enamel will make room for the veneer to attach securely to the front of your tooth. Your dentist will take an impression of your teeth that is used by the laboratory for the creation of the veneers.

Once they are ready, they will be attached to each designated tooth with the help of an adhesive.

Caring for you porcelain veneers

Porcelain veneers can last for many years with proper maintenance. If you brush and floss your teeth regularly, your veneers will stay shiny for longer and the teeth and gums surrounding them will be healthy as well. Cavities cannot be developed on veneers, but the teeth beneath your veneers are prone to decay and the gums are always susceptible to gum disease. Brushing, flossing and visiting the dentist for regular check-ups and cleanings are the best ways to keep your veneers healthy for longer.

If you are interested in dental veneers in Wimbledon and you would like to learn more about them, give us a call and we will book a consultation appointment for you.

How many doors does a smile open?

If you have a great smile, you already know what a powerful effect that lovely warm grin can have on other people. Beam at someone as they come into your business and you are half way to securing a loyal long-term customer. Flash it at someone across a crowded room and they’ll be trying to catch your eye all night. Doors that once seemed puzzlingly closed to you, seem to magically glide open when you have a lovey smile to use as a key.

Teeth Whitening in Wimbledon If you don’t have a great smile, you already know about the puzzlingly closed doors. You just don’t know that your smile is what opens them. Probably you are too busy smiling with your lips pressed firmly together, or not smiling, or holding your hand over your face if you do find yourself unable to suppress a grin.

Gosh, wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to smile a big fat smile and not have to worry about how it looks. Well, if your problem is the colour of your teeth, at Wimbledon Dental Care, we can probably fix it pretty easily with teeth whitening.

In Wimbledon, whitening is a very popular way to brighten up a smile. If your teeth are pearly white, you emit an aura of youth and health when you smile. Your smile tells people you are warm and friendly and worth investing time in. Combine the two and you’ve got the key to all those closed doors.

Teeth whitening at our dental clinic, is carried out using the Zoom! system of whitening. You can choose whether to use one of our take-home kits, or to have power whitening, which takes place at the clinic. Either way, we will talk you through both systems before you decide, and help you choose the right shade of white for your smile.

Power whitening takes around an hour, and the at-home system takes about two weeks. The gel is less concentrated for the at-home system, but the benefit is that you get a set of gel trays moulded to your teeth that you can use for top-up treatments.

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