Chipped, cracked or broken teeth can be the source of considerable pain and also result in further dental complications in the future. Therefore it is necessary to repair any damage caused to teeth as soon as possible. One of the most affordable and effective treatments for dental injuries is cosmetic bonding. The bonding process involves mixing up a resin to closely match the colour of the existing teeth and sculpting it to the desired shape. Once satisfied the dentist will then set the resin hard using the intense heat of a laser. Once set, the bonding is extremely durable and also resistant to staining.

Cosmetic bonding is not just used to repair damage caused by head trauma. It is also widely used to improve the appearance of worn, discoloured or unevenly spaced teeth. Unlike veneers and crowns it does not require laboratory conditions for manufacture, which significantly reduces cost and treatment times. In fact, most bonding procedures can be carried out in only one visit to the dentist. Although, if the treatment covers two or more teeth the bonding may need several layers applied and will need time to set in between applications.

Cosmetic bonding is almost completely pain-free unless being applied to a particularly sensitive area of the teeth. In some circumstances the dentist may consider using a local anaesthetic but this is unusual.

Cosmetic bonding is also replacing silver amalgam as the number one choice for filling dental cavities. Not only does it have the advantage of being tooth-coloured and therefore more aesthetically pleasing, but it also avoids the controversy surrounding the inclusion of potentially poisonous mercury in filling material.

Versatile, durable and visually discreet, cosmetic bonding is one of the most popular treatment choices for both dentists and patients. With the combined benefits of low cost and simple treatment, cosmetic bonding may be able to radically improve the integrity and appearance of your teeth with the minimum of discomfort. Talk to a City of London dentist about cosmetic bonding and how it could benefit your teeth.

A newly developed technique, dental bonding, is gaining craze amongst the people in London. Here, a composite resin or porcelain is bonded to the teeth to cover up the dental woes. Discolouration and cracks can be hidden easily by it. It is highly effective and stays for about 7 years. All sorts of gaps can also be filled, covering up the empty spaces between the front teeth. The chipped and cracked teeth can be repaired too. You can get back your original confident smile on your face.
A mild solution applied to the teeth marks the beginning of the process. It makes your enamel rough so that the resin can bind easily. Many layers are applied on top of it. The dentist polishes and shape up the surface well. Dental bonding is categorised into two main categories. First one talks just about the minor corrections and the second one gives a proper fabrication to the teeth. You need to maintain your oral hygiene well. All the cracks and discolouration can be easily taken care of. It is very affordable and time saving too.
All you need to do is to go to a dentist and tell about your problems. They will check it and do the required corrections. The fabrication may require two visits but minor ones can be done in one sitting itself. You can flaunt your new and fresh looking teeth for years to come.

Even though it may be rare to get cavities in your front teeth, you may still want white filings. For example, if you wind up with cavities in other visible teeth, you will not want unsightly silver or gold fillings to ruin your smile. When you visit a City of London dentist you can choose from a wide range of filling materials. Aside from ones that will provide a basic white colour, you can also make use of fillings that will match the exact shade of white found on each tooth.

If you decide to get white fillings, you may also want to think about having veneers, or other types of cosmetic dentistry done at the same time. In particular, this would be an ideal time to have the shape of your teeth adjusted to fit your mouth size and face shape. You may also want to have your teeth whitened so that you will be sure to get the correct shade of white for your fillings.

Depending on your situation, you may decide that you want the most durable fillings that you can get. In these cases, you may want to ask your dentist about using amalgam fillings, and then covering them over with some other material. Aside from traditional veneers, there are also removable ones that may suit your needs. You may also want to consider having a full crown installed.

Regardless of whether you choose resin fillings or some type of composite, you can have peace of mind knowing that they will not create an unsightly contrast to the rest of your teeth. In addition, many of the newer materials are almost as strong as amalgam. While you may still need to have silver coloured filings for your molars, at least any teeth that show can look as perfect as possible.

Even though you may care about your appearance now, there will come a time in your life when it will be even more important. Regardless of whether you are getting married, or you want to look your best during the last of your prime years, dental bonding procedures can be an important part of your makeover. Today, your London dentist can combine dental bonding, gum contouring, veneers, and many other procedures to give you a movie star quality smile.

Interestingly enough, a gummy smile can also be treated with dental bonding. Depending on your bite pattern, it may be possible to use resin and other materials to make your teeth longer. At the same time, if the extra gum tissue creates gaps between your teeth, dental bonding can be used to fill those gaps in.

You may also have some purely functional reasons for having dental bonding procedures. In particular, if you have a cracked tooth or exposed roots, dental bonding can strengthen the tooth, as well as alleviate all the suffering that occurs with these conditions. As may be expected, if you have a chipped tooth, the bonded material will also help restore its natural shape.

Individuals that practice good oral hygiene and visit their dentist often may still have discoloured teeth, as well as suffer from all kinds of injuries. This, in turn, can create situation where resin and other dental bonding materials can be used to restore one or more teeth to their original strength and shape. If you have broken, chipped, or cracked teeth, you should not hesitate to see your dentist and have them taken care of. At the same time, if you have always dreamed of having perfect teeth, this will also be an opportunity to have certain cosmetic issues addressed.

Does your silver amalgam fillings make you feel self-conscious every time you smile or talk? Ask your London dentist and he will tell you about the alternative to silver fillings: white composite fillings.
White composite fillings are popular alternative to amalgam fillings. Made of strong resin materials, white composite fillings are made to match the colour of your surrounding teeth. They can be placed on the front or back of your teeth.
There are several reasons why a patient may need white composite fillings, including:
• Repair amalgam or metal fillings
• Repair cracked or chipped teeth
• Sensitivity to cold or heat – this is because the composite resin material used in white fillings does not conduct changes in temperature, not as fast as gold or silver.
• Mercury-free – white fillings are ideal for patients who want mercury-free fillings.
• Reshape teeth
Many London patients prefer white fillings because they can match the translucency, texture and shade of their own natural teeth, thus eliminating the unsightly silver colour of amalgam fillings every time they smile.
Other advantages of white fillings over silver fillings are:
• Restoration of your tooth’s original strength. This is because composite fillings are bonded to the tooth, thus restoring the original durability of your teeth.
• Restoration of your tooth’s natural appearance.
• Minimal removal of tooth surface. With white composite, the size of the hole your dentist will make in your tooth for the filling is smaller as compared to that with the amalgam filling preparation.
• Less sensitivity to cold or heat.
• Lastly, white fillings are safe because they do not contain mercury.

There is no question that a cracked tooth can be very painful. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to determine exactly which tooth has this problem. That said, when you visit a dentist in London they will be able to locate the correct tooth, and make the necessary repairs. In most cases, your dentist should be able to avoid having to extract the tooth.

As you may be aware, a cracked tooth is a bit like a bone that fractures, but does not have dislocated portions. When a tooth cracks, only one part of it will press on the nerve running through the tooth. In order to treat this condition, your dentist will have to determine which part of the tooth is causing the pain. This may involve taking xrays, as well as applying pressure to different parts of the tooth. Chances are, you will be surprised to find that only one part of the tooth is causing you so many problems.

In most cases, your dentist will do everything possible to try and save the tooth. Treatment for a cracked tooth often involves a root canal, as well as placing a crown over the tooth. If your dentist is treating a molar, the root canal will almost always be followed with a crown. This will help stabilize the crack, as well as reduce the chances of further breakage.

When treating a cracked tooth, your dentist will have to consider whether or not the crack extends to areas that contain nerves. While a root canal can help prevent tooth loss and abscesses, you may still need to have more root canals later on. On the other hand, simply having the tooth removed may cause other problems that are harder to fix. Without a question, if you cracked a molar, it will be to your best advantage to try and save it, rather than have to wear dentures or implants.

Your London dentist is very well trained in the placement of amalgam fillings. They have been used for over 150 years in dentistry. Although their compositions and formulations have changes over the years, their design and placement remained constant. Dental amalgam is a mixture of liquid mercury in combinations with various metal powders or shavings. These metals are usually combinations of silver, zinc, copper and/or tin. There are still many advantages of amalgam fillings over white composite fillings. These include their cost, durability, strength, easy application, and bacteriostatic properties. Due to the recent concerns about mercury safety, the level of mercury in amalgam fillings has been reduced in recent years. Your London dentist will use these amalgam fillings in your back teeth, so that they are not visible when you smile. Amalgam fillings are very adaptable, long lasting, strong, and take less times to place than composite fillings. Also, amalgam filling placement is not as technique sensitive as composite fillings.

There are two main types of fillings; direct restorations which are placed immediately into a prepared cavity in just a single visit to the dentist. They include resin ionomers, glass ionomers, dental amalgam, and most composite (resin) fillings. The dentist prepares the tooth, places the filling and adjusts it during one appointment.

Indirect restorations will require you for two or more visits to the dentist. They include inlays, veneers, bridges with gold, on lays and crowns. On your first visit he will only prepare the tooth and will only make an image of the area, which needs the treatment. The image or the impression will than be sent to a dental laboratory, which will create the dental filling (restoration). Than on the next appointment, he will cement the filling onto the prepared tooth and will adjust it accordingly.

The Direct Restoration and the indirect restoration are than further classified;

Direct Restorations
Amalgam
This word “amalgam” when it is referred to as dental filling it means mixture of two or more metals in which the component is mercury. Dental amalgam is a mix of approximately 43 percent to 54 percent mercury with other metals like, including copper, silver and tin.

Glass Ionomer
These are materials, which are tooth-coloured and are made from the mixture of acrylic acids with fine glass powders, which may be used to fill the cavities, mostly those, which are on the root surfaces of the teeth

Resin Ionomer
They are also made from glass filler with acrylic acids and acrylic resin and are used to harden with their exposure to blue light. They are mostly used for the fillings on non-chewing surfaces and filling in baby teeth. They increase the durability because of their metal structure.

Indirect Restorations
Porcelain (ceramic)
The most common ones are like ceramic, porcelain and glass-like fillings and crowns. They are used in on lays, inlays, cosmetic veneers and the crowns.

Gold Alloys
They contain gold, copper and other metals, which result in strong, effective filling, bridge or crown. They have great durability and good resistance

What are the advantages of having amalgam fillings over white fillings? Your City of London dentist has used amalgam fillings on patients with great success. Dentists have used amalgam fillings for about 150 years. Amalgam, as the name implies, is a blend of liquid mercury and metal shavings or powder. Silver, copper, zinc and/or tin, are usually used. Amalgam fillings are still being used due to its advantages versus newer white filling materials. Amalgam is less expensive than white fillings, and is durable, strong, easily applied, and stops the growth of bacteria (i.e., it is bacteriostatic). There has been recent conflict over the safety of the mercury, thus the mercury levels have been reduced.
City of London dentists view amalgam fillings as strong, long lasting and adaptable. They are easier to insert into the cavity preparation than white fillings, and last twice as long as white fillings. Visit your City of London dental clinic for amalgam fillings.

London dentists have many years experience performing dental bonding procedures. They will recommend dental bonding to restore your front teeth that have dental decay or damage, to improve the look of your teeth, and to also correct minor misalignments and spaces between teeth. Your London dentist may also use dental bonding to cover-up exposed tooth roots that occur during gum recession. When your dentist performs the bonding procedure, minimal tooth structure is usually removed or the enamel is just roughened to accept the bonding material. Many times, dental bonding can be performed without numbing the mouth, unless decay has to be removed from the tooth.

You and your London dentist will pick the right shade for your teeth from a shade guide to match your other teeth, unless you want your teeth whitened. The tooth surfaces to be bonded will be roughed with a dental drill, and than an etching solution will be used to denature any organic material on the tooth/teeth. Next, your teeth will be rinsed with water and dried thoroughly. A liquid resin material will then be applied to your teeth, and a special light source will be used to help the material set on your teeth. The bonding material will then be placed onto your teeth, and again set up using the same light source. The dental bonding material will then be shaped using dental drills and polished stones and rubber points. Dental bonding does not take a long time, and can be completed in one visit. Your London dentists and their staff will then teach you how to care for your new dental bonding.