Teeth can be damaged in a number of ways, which is not only painful but causes long-term dental problems. Chipped, cracked and discoloured teeth also spoil the appearance of the smile, which can cause confidence and self-esteem issues. Teeth can be repaired using porcelain crowns, which are cemented over the top of the existing teeth both protecting and restoring the appearance of the teeth.

Porcelain crowns are held in place by dental bonding, which also adds a protective element to the restoration. Porcelain crowns have been traditionally made in the lab taking a couple of weeks to build up the layers of the enamel but new technology called Cerec is allowing dentists to make porcelain crowns in the surgery while the patient waits.

This new technology utilises other technologies such as digital x-rays and three-dimensional imaging. This allows the dentist to design the restoration on the computer before instructing a computer-guided mill to sculpt the crown.

Porcelain crowns look and feel just like real teeth. They will last for about fifteen to twenty years if they are properly cared for with good brushing and flossing. London dentists offer porcelain crowns to patients who are keen to have the best quality of treatment and the best results.

Modern porcelain crowns are also designed to look more like natural enamel and utilise no metal which could slightly spoil the appearance of the new crown, despite being very tough. Ask your dentist about the benefits of dental crowns at your next appointment.

Of all the cosmetic dentistry procedures, cosmetic bonding is the most versatile. It can be used to improve the appearance of a number of dental conditions such as chipped teeth and discolouration. It is also used as a bonding agent in a number of other cosmetic treatments such as porcelain veneers and crowns.

Dental bonding is made up of composite resin, which is skilfully mixed to closely resemble the colour of the existing tooth enamel. Cosmetic bonding is such a large part of modern cosmetic dentistry that there are dentists who specialise in the process. Once satisfied with the colour, the Central London dentist will then apply the mixture to the necessary area of the teeth. When treating discolouration and stained teeth, the dentists will evenly spread the bonding thinly across the surface of the teeth to create the impression of cleaner, whiter teeth. The bonding will then be set hard using a dental laser before being buffed and polished to appear like smooth tooth enamel.

In treatments where bonding is used to repair chipped or cracked teeth, the bonding will be applied to teeth that have already been treated with an etching agent for added grip. The bonding is then carefully shaped into the desired shape before being hardened.

Cosmetic bonding is also widely used as a material for fillings. This is replacing the old silver amalgam fillings that have caused controversy due to the presence of mercury. White cosmetic bonding also looks much more aesthetically pleasing than the old style metal fillings. To find out if your teeth could benefit from the many uses of cosmetic bonding, ask your dentist at your next check up appointment.

It used to be the case that dental crowns had to have a base made of metal to act as a solid foundation, but with today’s improved technology crowns can be made of pure porcelain. This makes modern dental crowns appear very realistic and ideal for transforming the appearance of damaged or discoloured teeth.

Crowns can be used for a variety of dental repairs such as fillings and root canal treatments. The crown acts as a protective barrier against any further damage to the tooth once the repair has been carried out. In the past a metal foundation was needed to prevent crowns breaking when fixed in the mouth but modern porcelain is now strong enough to use without a metal base. This means that porcelain crowns not only keep teeth safe but they also look great. The extra strength of porcelain is enhanced by the use of tooth-coloured dental bonding to cement the crown over the teeth. This provides an extra layer of protection and keeps the crown firmly in place.

New technology available to London dentists also includes CEREC, a system that involves manufacturing crowns from a single piece of porcelain using computer-guided mills. This has improved the strength of crowns and significantly reduced the time needed for design and manufacture. A CEREC crown can be milled in only six minutes and fitted in the same appointment. For patients with badly damaged teeth it is now possible to completely transform the appearance of their smile in an afternoon with porcelain crowns.

City of London dentists are now able to create a perfect smile for any patient, regardless of the quality of their existing teeth, thanks to the incredible improvements in cosmetic dentistry over the last decade. There really is no problem too big or small that cannot benefit from some form of cosmetic repair.

For teeth that are chipped or broken, patients have the option of cosmetic bonding which can be matched to the colour of existing teeth before being applied and hardened in the desired shape. Alternatively, ceramic porcelain crowns or veneers can be attached to broken teeth to restore the cosmetic appearance and act as a barrier to further damage. Using the very latest CEREC technology, ceramic restorations can be designed and manufactured in the same day, eliminating the need for lengthy laboratory manufacture.

Patients with badly discoloured teeth can have the natural colour restored either with a row of dental veneers or by using a teeth whitening system such as Zoom. Using a bleaching agent, usually hydrogen peroxide, teeth whitening systems cover up discolouration caused by age and food stuffs that have accumulated over time. Teeth whitening procedures can whiten teeth by up to ten shades and have the most dramatic cosmetic effect.

Other cosmetic treatments include teeth straightening using orthodontic braces, dental bridges and implants to replace one or more missing teeth or even dentures to restore whole missing dental arcs. Whatever the problem, cosmetic dentistry has the solution to create beautiful teeth that can help restore confidence and self-esteem. Make an appointment to see what cosmetic dentistry could do for you.

When a tooth is chipped, cracked or broken, either by a sporting injury or other accident, the dentist will first attempt to repair the damage using composite resin dental bonding. However, if the tooth is damaged too severely, to preserve the tooth, there is little option but to fit a porcelain crown. This involves constructing a porcelain copy of the tooth to cap the damaged one. Crowns are also known as caps or veneers for this reason. A porcelain crown can preserve the integrity of the broken tooth, which can help to preserve its functionality.

Crowns are not only used to repair damaged or broken teeth. Because of advances in their construction and appearance they are increasingly being used for cosmetic purposes. Patients with badly stained or discoloured teeth, spacing issues or worn down teeth can now have porcelain crowns fitted to restore their natural appearance.

In the past, crowns have been made from other materials and have often looked unrealistic or fake. They have also been very difficult to fabricate, often taking weeks of laboratory work. With the introduction of computer aided design and manufacture, porcelain crowns can now be designed, manufactured and fitted in one appointment with the dentist in as little as an hour. By using 3D imaging the dentist can create an extremely accurate crown which will be milled by the computer, according to the exact specifications, from a single piece of porcelain in under twenty minutes.

Further advances in crown technology have produced crowns that are incredibly thin, which still maintain their strength. Some crowns can be as thin as a contact lens and require minimum removal of enamel to fit, something that dentists have been reluctant to do in the past. Some new crowns are so thin they can even be fitted over existing dental work.

Porcelain crowns are very versatile dental appliances that thanks to improvements in dental technology can be an incredibly realistic substitute for a real tooth. Because they are made from porcelain they can be very strong and help to preserve a broken tooth that may very well have been lost in other circumstances. If you are suffering from a broken tooth, or any form of cosmetic problem that could benefit form veneers, ask your Central London dentist if they could be suitable for you.

When a patient has a chipped or cracked tooth that it is unable to fix with dental bonding, it may be necessary to apply a dental veneer to save the tooth. Dental veneers are also used to seal teeth after fillings or root canal treatments. The veneers are made of porcelain and take the form of thin shells that fit over the top of existing teeth. Modern veneers can be incredibly thin and have a translucent quality that makes them appear just like real teeth.

Veneers are not only used to repair damage that has occurred to teeth but may be used for cosmetic purposes. For cases of badly stained or discoloured teeth, a whole set of veneers may be used to cover the discolouration. The same might happen for a patient with badly worn or uneven teeth.

Manufactured in laboratory conditions, porcelain veneers are cemented to the existing teeth by dental bonding. They do cost slightly more than the old composite veneers but they are more durable and the difference in quality is visibly noticeable. Because veneers fit over existing teeth, the dentist will need to wear down some of the enamel to allow room for the new veneer. This process is permanent and cannot be reversed. However, as today’s enamels become thinner and thinner, due to new technology, the amount of preparation work is reduced and some of the very latest enamels can even be removed.

Veneers are very useful and versatile cosmetic tools. For some patients who have spacing issues, or even alignment issues, a row of veneers could vastly improve the appearance of the teeth in an afternoon, without the need for months, or even years, of uncomfortable and ugly braces. Likewise for whitening procedures, which are often only minimally successful, a row of veneers can produce the effect of white teeth without the need for chemicals or repeated whitening. A City of London dentist will be able to offer advice on porcelain veneers with regard to suitability and costing.

Cosmetic dentistry is one of the upcoming fields of dentistry. We live in an aesthetic world wherein people are conscious about the way they look. Your social image is dependant on how you project yourself to the public and hence more people have joined the bandwagon.

They say a smile at times is all that it takes to get things done. So imagine that you are smiling and the result is denial. Gummy smiles are one among the most common problems that London dentists are said to come across. They get several patients who want their smiles beautified and corrected so that they do not look stupid when they smile. So much is the need that gummy smile rectification forms a major portion of the revenue obtained from cosmetic surgery. There are two procedures employed to rectify gummy smiles namely gingivectomy and crown lengthening. Gummy smiles are classified into mild, moderate, advanced and severe based on the proportion of the smile that the gums occupy.

Generally, for mild and moderate conditions gingivectomy is employed which involves the use of a dental laser to remove a minimum amount of gums. The process is also known as radiosurgery and it is completely painless, does not require sutures and the gum tissues heal within two weeks. On the other hand, advanced and severe forms of gummy smiles require a more extensive tissue reduction technique such as crown lengthening. Initially the gum tissue will be repositioned to the desired level and left to heal for a week or so. After the initial healing, the sutures are removed and another 5-7 weeks later, a crown lengthening procedure is administered followed by porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns to achieve the desired beautiful smile.

So if you are ashamed of your smile, all you need is to visit your dentist and he will do the rest.

If you had a single tooth extracted, or it was knocked out, you may need to have dental implants. Aside from being more appealing than a gaping hole, dental implants serve a number of important purposes. Today, a London dentist can install implants, as well as provide you with some advice on the best materials for your situation.

Even though you may not realize it, each tooth in your mouth shares the burden associated with chewing. For example, your front teeth are specifically designed to bite food from larger units, while the molars are designed to those pieces down. When you are missing one or more teeth, the remaining ones have to do twice as much work. This, in turn, will cause them to wear down much faster than normal.

While many people need dental implants for their front teeth, you may also need them for molars and premolars. As may be expected, it is very important to have these missing teeth replaced as quickly as possible. Typically, your dentist may recommend a metal crown with a porcelain cover for this area. Aside from providing you with a durable chewing surface, this type of dental implant will also give you an opportunity to match the colouring of your other teeth.

When you have to have dental implants for the front of your mouth, you may want to ask about having a smile makeover. Among other things, this may be an ideal time to have teeth whitened, or even have veneers installed. Even though dental implants will improve your smile, you might as well also have your other teeth fixed during the same time period. At the very least, this will save you some time later on. You may also find that getting this work done as soon as possible will provide you with some extra incentive to stop smoking, or change other lifestyle habits that have a negative impact on the health and appearance of your teeth.

when a phony tooth is fused in between a porcelain crown to fill in the gap left by a lost tooth is it is called as dental bridge. London bridges reduce the danger of gum infection, help in improving speech and correct bite issues. One needs to take the importance of oral hygiene seriously once someone opts for dental bridges.A person with a missing tooth and follows oral hygiene religiously can go in for dental bridges. If one does not attend to the space left between the teeth, the surrounding teeth may drift away from position and it may become susceptible to gum disease and tooth decay.

Dental bridge can be accomplished by giving anaesthesia. The cosmetic dentist then removes the teeth from the area of abutment so as to accommodate the thick crown. In case the fillings are already present it is left intact to make the foundation of the crown.

The impression made by the dentist will be used as a model for making the crown and the false tooth which will be made in a dental laboratory. The dentist will provide you with a temporary bridge so as to protect your gums and teeth till a permanent bridge is fitted. The permanent bridge is then checked for bite discrepancy.

London Dental bridges are of three types

fixed bridges – as the title suggests cannot be removed like partial dentures.

Bonded bridges – is mainly used for the front teeth.

Cantilever bridges – It is basically used when one side of the space has teeth.

Bridges gives the teeth a natural appearance and if oral hygiene is maintained it could last you for over a decade. The only disadvantage of going in for bridges is that if oral hygiene is not followed properly there is a possibility of the teeth and gums getting affected.

My London-based granny absolutely used to love her gold bridge work as well as caps. She used to say this made her look prosperous. Although it did faintly remind me of Captain Blackbeard the pirate whenever she grinned! Well she passed on recently and bequeathed me a whole dresser drawer full of her old junky old bridge work! Initially, I had serious thought of excavating the old dame and burying the stuff with her but what the hell, eventually carted the whole stuff (with the dresser drawer) to the dentist ( no way I was going to touch that stuff with my bare hands!)Imagine my everlasting surprise when the dentist recommended I haul my little gold mine to the local goldsmith for a return on the gold in the bridge work. Although I’m the eternal skeptic, I was goggle brained when the goldsmith offered me a whopping several hundred pounds for the entire mess!

That’s right people with the price of gold now touching the sky around £600 per ounce; the price of reclaimed gold from fillings, crowns and cap has really touched the sky. Gold crowns, fillings and bridgework are preferably made of 16-karat gold, which is alloyed with special metal like silver, zinc and copper. These alloys are responsible for making gold dental work soft enough for the dental technician to work with but hard enough to hold pressure during biting. A single gold crown is usually made with one-tenth of an ounce of 16-karat gold, which can cost around £40 to £50. Much heavier pieces like the ones which I hauled to the goldsmith can cost mush higher! So go ahead get your old dental pieces to the dentist for an evaluation. You never know what you could get for them!