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Change Your Smile! Today, it really is possible to have the smile you always wanted. Modern dental techniques allow you to whiten, re-contour or straighten the teeth you have, or even replace missing teeth with permanent fixed replacements instead of dentures. It is no longer necessary to put up with an unsightly smile or be embarrassed by ill-fitting false teeth. Obviously, cosmetic improvement is only possible once your mouth is healthy and well cared for, and not all options are suitable for everyone, but there is nearly always something we can do to improve your smile. Here are some of the treatment options: Tooth Whitening – this is one of the simplest ways of instantly improving your smile. All over the world people are having their teeth successfully lightened. The method we prefer takes only a few hours a day, over a week or two. We make you some special, comfortable plastic trays to wear in your mouth, in which you place a whitening gel which gently and painlessly lightens natural enamel, while you relax at home or even while you sleep. This is suitable for moderate to lightly discoloured teeth. Tooth Contouring – if your teeth are chipped or uneven, it may be possible to recontour them by gently smoothing them or moulding a little tooth-coloured material over them. Veneers – a veneer is a thin layer
of tooth coloured material, which is bonded to the front surface
of mis-shapen or badly discoloured front teeth, allowing them to
look straighter and more attractive. They can either be made of
a mouldable filling material in the surgery or of porcelain made
in a laboratory. They are a simple, conservative way of improving
your smile.
Tooth-Coloured Inlays – where there has been significant loss of part of a tooth due to fracture or tooth decay, we are able to restore the tooth to its former shape using an ‘inlay’. This is a very strong laboratory-made filling, usually porcelain or similar, which matches the tooth colour exactly and makes the tooth look as good as new. Crowns – a crown is used to completely enclose a tooth that is very badly broken-down or weakened, or to disguise a very unattractive tooth at the front of your mouth. It can be made of just porcelain, or porcelain with a metal lining for strength, and looks exactly like your natural tooth. Sometimes crowns on back teeth are made of gold. Bridges – if you have a missing tooth, this can sometimes be replaced with a bridge. A bridge uses teeth to the front or back of the space or sometimes both, as anchors for a replacement tooth. Again, they are made to look just like natural teeth and are fixed in your mouth permanently. Natural looking dentures – sometimes, the number of missing teeth or their position prevents the use of a bridge to replace them. We can make you natural looking dentures using special techniques and materials that look very realistic indeed, giving you confidence again. Dentures can be made of a plastic material (acrylic) or sometimes they have a metal substructure (chrome). Dental Implants – these are the ultimate tooth replacement. Where you have missing teeth, we are sometimes able to replace them using dental implants. An implant is a titanium “root” that is placed into the jaw, which can replace a single tooth or multiple teeth. They usually support either a crown or a bridge, or help retain problem dentures that move around or cause discomfort.
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