July 5th, 2011
We’ve all seen the perfect ‘Hollywood smiles’ in the movies and it is something that many of us aspire to. The fact is that having a mouth full of beautiful teeth can give self confidence a real boost and make us feel better about how we can present ourselves to friends and strangers alike. But having a broken down or damaged tooth can mean that you are less than proud of the way that you look and find it difficult to act in relaxed manner when in social situations.
Dental crowns are a trusted way of dealing with such a problem and the results of this treatment have delighted millions of patients over the years. What dental crowns amount to is structures, increasingly made of porcelain, which are placed over broken down teeth in order to restore the proper structure.
They are highly adaptable, not to mention durable, and your dentist will be able to take an x-ray of the tooth and use the data to construct a crown that can perfectly fit over the tooth. The end result is not just an improvement in aesthetics. The health of your mouth will also benefit from having a tooth which is able to function properly instead of one that cannot.
They are incredibly easy to be fitted these days too, thanks to the technology available in dental surgeries up and down the country. Often having a dental crown placed need not take more than one session at the dentist. If you are interested in having a dental crown you should talk to your London W1 dentist and ask for more details.
November 4th, 2010
Even in London’s W.1, sometimes a tooth will decay (possibly fall out), either through injury or bad oral hygiene and to avoid any further complications, action must be taken. In most cases a crown may be required to restore the tooth to its former glory. A crown is like a cap that that fits over the damaged tooth (or an implant in the case of a missing tooth) and mimics the look of the original. Once the decision is made to have a crown fitted, then it’s down to your choice of material the crown is fabricated from. Ceramic/porcelain’s are the more natural looking choice though they are not very strong (as are all-resin ones), so their placement is important to avoid too much biting pressure. A hybrid of these is the porcelain over metal crown and a lot stronger. If it’s bling you’re after then the obvious choice is gold alloy. These are very hard wearing and resistant to biting pressures. Having a crown fitted can be done in two visits (or in the case of CEREC treatment, one sitting). The tooth must be prepared and in the case of decay or damage, a root canal may be necessary first. Once a mould is taken and the crown fabricated, then it is cemented into place. Prices start from around £150 for a resin crown and up to £500 for a gold one.
February 6th, 2010
An implant is a cosmetic procedure that replaces a damaged tooth with an artificial one. It acts the same as the real tooth did, and is anchored to the jaw just like the replaced one says a West London dentist. They are not a new idea though, the ancient Egyptians and the Mayans of South America used Ivory and sea shells to replace bad or misshaped teeth. They didn’t have false teeth as later civilisations had; they actually drilled the jaw and glued the dental implant in place. Today we use materials that are artificially made and are much harder than the teeth they replace, but the first modern ones were made of titanium. This hard non-ferrous material was first used by a Professor of Anatomy at a Swedish University in the 1950s, Per-Ingvar Brånemark noticed that the Titanium implants that he had placed in a rabbits femur had adhered to the bone. In 1965 after many years of research he successfully made the first Titanium dental implant in a Swedish man named Gösta Larsson. Today the procedure is far simpler and much less painful and uncomfortable, it starts with a few X-rays and then a tooth is sculptured with a screw on the top. This is then screwed and glued into a hole drilled into the jaw; the result is a naturally looking, feeling and functioning tooth that fits in with the healthy teeth around it. The cost is lower than it used to be because of the advances that make it all so simple and easy to apply. It certainly beats having a plate with false tooth that needs to be constantly glued into place every day. The tooth lasts a lot longer, wears a lot better and as it has no nerves is a lot less susceptible to disease and infection. This is all possible because of harmless research carried out on an animal famed for its teeth.
February 3rd, 2010
A dental crown has distinct qualities that a veneer doesn’t have, and the two mustn’t be confused says a City of London dentist. A crown is a man made cap that is fitted to a damaged tooth, that damage can be a crack, a chip or a discolouration. It is made from a silver or gold based alloy, this in turn is coated with a hard wearing material to make it naturally white in colour. Some patients prefer to keep the silver or gold effect as a form of tooth jewellery, but that is a matter of personal taste rather than a requirement of a crown. Unlike a veneer that is a thin cover for the tooth, a crown actually replaces the depth of the tooth that is damaged. The dental technician makes the crown to a certain spec, then the dentist will remove the top layer of the tooth to the depth of the thickness of the cap, when the cap is fitted in place the tooth is half real and half artificial. It looks and feels, for all intents and purposes, like the original tooth. It retains all its nerves, but that makes it just as susceptible to infection as the other teeth, unlike dental implants which replace the whole tooth. A crown should last for years and will not usually wear down like a natural tooth, it isn’t possible to get an infection in a crown as it is an artificial tooth after all, but where the crown is joined to the natural tooth,this area is prone to infection as it is the natural tooth. Cleaning of the crown is the same as for the natural teeth, and flossing is also important to prevent an infection creeping into the join. The dental cement used will usually seal the joint, but this wears down with time and so extra dental care is necessary.
