Orpington Dental Care

Filling the gap

If you are one of the 74% of UK adults who has lost a tooth, you may be very tempted to just live with the gap. This can be especially tempting if you have just lost the odd tooth at the side or back, where it doesn’t affect your smile so much.

At Orpington Dental Care, we encourage all our patients who have lost teeth to get replacements of some kind for a number of reasons. In Orpington, dental implants are the best kind of replacement for a single missing tooth.

Why fill the gap?

If the surrounding teeth are in good health, you don’t really want to compromise them by leaving a gap. When there is a gap in the teeth, the bone and where the missing tooth used to be start to shrink through lack of use. Also, our teeth support each other in their places and when there is a gap that support is compromised, so the teeth can start to move around and tip over into the gap, even fall out. So, losing one tooth can, over time, lead to losing more teeth.

What can dental implants do?

In Orpington, dental implants work by replacing the root of the tooth as well as the crown. They are the only kind of tooth restoration that does this. Having a replacement root means that the cells in the jawbone and the gum can continue to renew themselves and keep both strong and healthy. If you opt for a bridge, you won’t get a replacement root, plus you will lose the 2 perfectly good teeth on either side of the gap, as these will have to be ground down to become the abutments for the bridge to fix onto.

When you have a dental implant, you will need to take half a day off work to have minor oral surgery under local anaesthetic to have it fitted. Once in place, the implant needs several weeks to heal and integrate with the jawbone. When that’s done, you can come back and we will fit your custom-made porcelain crown, which will blend in seamlessly with your other teeth.

Orpington dental implants can last for decades if they are well looked after.

Straighter teeth: do believe the hype

There’s a lot of talk bandied around about how getting your teeth straightened can improve your life. It sounds too good to be true, but it is true. Research at the Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, published earlier this year, looked at what braces do for Brits.

What they found was that braces treatment before the age of 18 really does improve oral health-related quality of life, with the biggest improvements being in emotional and social health.

What that translates into in terms of getting braces in Orpington is: do it! If getting braces when you are under 18 improves your emotional health and your social life, there’s no reason to suppose that this does not also apply to people over 18 too.

What we can offer you

At Orpington Dental Care in Orpington, braces are available for adults using systems that don’t compromise how you look now for how you will look in the near future. We offer 2 systems that are well known for being discreet, comfortable, and quick.

Invisalign braces in Orpington are in fact a series of custom-made clear plastic aligners. Each one is designed to put a little pressure on your teeth to nudge them along the way to being straight. Once that aligner has done its work, and the pressure has subsided, which takes about 2 weeks, it’s time for the next one. The aligners are removable for eating and cleaning and, because they are made of very thin, clear plastic, they are as good as invisible once they are on your teeth.

Six Month Smiles, on the other hand, uses the traditional bracket and wire system, but with clear ceramic brackets and tooth-coloured wires, which blend in with the teeth. They are designed to move the teeth only, not the jaw, and so use gentler forces than metal braces. The average treatment time is 6 months.

If you are an adult and wish you had straight teeth, you can still achieve this with either of these systems. One might be more suitable for you than the other, so the best thing to do is book an appointment with us, so that we can take a look and make recommendations for braces in Orpington that will work for you.

Replace your missing teeth with dental implants in Orpington

Tooth loss is a stressful but common event that most of us experience at some point in our lives. Although adult teeth are supposed to be permanent, sometimes accidents happen and between cavities, gum disease, and trauma, we end up losing one or several teeth.

The good news is that modern dentistry has a variety of ways to help you replace your missing tooth or teeth. At Orpington Dental, dental implants are our treatment of choice for patients who have lost one, several or all of their natural teeth. Unlike other tooth replacement options, dental implants fuse with the jawbone and become a permanent part of the mouth offering strength and stability, just like natural teeth.

How dental implants work

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that is surgically fixed into the jaw to hold a replacement tooth, a bridge or dentures. Unlike conventional dentures, crowns or bridges, dental implants involve using a titanium post to anchor the replacement teeth in place. Because they are made of titanium, a material that is friendly to the human body, dental implants have the ability to fuse into the jawbone and create a sturdy foundation for replacement teeth. If properly looked-after, they can last a lifetime.

Benefits of dental implants

Dental implants not only look natural, but also behave like natural teeth as well, providing a strength and function that cannot be achieved by other restorations. Because dental implants are firmly attached into the jawbone, much like natural tooth roots, they provide replacement teeth with strength and stability.

More importantly, dental implants prevent jawbone loss. Tooth loss is often accompanied by bone mass loss around the missing tooth site. This is because there is no longer a root there to encourage the stimulation of the jawbone. By placing dental implants into the jaw bone, bone growth is encouraged and this can help to prevent future bone loss as well.

Finally, dental implants are more cost-effective compared to other restorations. If you look at the life-time costs of dental implants compared to the costs of dentures and bridges that need to be replaced every few years, then dental implants are surprisingly cheaper.

Replace one or several missing teeth with dental implants in Orpington

Your teeth can influence your whole body and overall wellbeing. When they are healthy, you are healthy too. However, badly decayed and missing teeth can cause many problems such as bite, speech and eating issues. Replacing missing teeth is essential for your oral health, since the fewer teeth remaining in the mouth the more forces they sustain which increases the risk of losing more teeth. Furthermore, tooth loss can also cause problems to your jawbone.

At Orpington Dental Care in Orpington, dental implants are our treatment of choice for patients who have lost one, several or all of their teeth. Each patient has different requirements and we are here to help you decide which implant treatment is the best for you. Single missing teeth can be replaced with single tooth implants, whereas multiple missing teeth may benefit from implant-supported bridges or dentures.

How do dental implants work?

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots made of titanium metal. They are surgically inserted into the jawbone, where they have the ability to fuse with the bone tissue and create a strong foundation for replacement teeth.

During the second stage of surgery and once the tissue has healed, your dentist will attach a connector (also known as abutment) to the dental implants. This will connect the replacement teeth to the dental implants. If you have implant-supported bridges or dentures, then they will be stabilised with the aid of special fixtures or clip-ons instead of an abutment.

Why select dental implants over dentures and bridges?

There are several reasons to select dental implants over conventional dentures and bridges. Dental implants preserve healthy bone structure and encourage the creation of new bone tissue, plus they can last a lifetime with proper care. A dental bridge requires the removal of healthy tooth material for support, whereas removable dentures weaken the adjacent teeth, can harm the gums and tend to become loose over time.

Am I eligible for dental implants in Orpington?

Most people are eligible for dental implants as long as they are healthy and have sufficient bone left in their jaw. To see if you are a good candidate, contact us today.

Barely there braces in Orpington

What most adults are looking for in terms of teeth straightening in the 21^st century is for the treatment to be as quick as possible, as painless as possible, and as discreet as possible.

Adults have different needs from teenagers because they are at work, not school, where a significant percentage of students are wearing braces. Indeed, braces can be a badge of honour, a rite of passage of adolescence and kids can be proud to be seen wearing them. Many young teenagers don’t mind at all if their braces are of the heavy duty train track variety, and make their braces even brighter and more noticeable by adding coloured wires and bands.

Braces in Orpington Most adults, on the other hand, will be wearing braces at work. Their jobs may involve dealing with members of the public, or being in a managerial position, or some other work that requires an air of gravitas and professionalism. That’s hard to do if your teeth are covered in equipment symbolic of the early teens. So, for adults, the less visible their braces, the better.

That’s why at Orpington Dental Care in Orpington, braces are almost invisible and not even braces at all, when you wear Invisalign.

What is Invisalign all about?

Invisalign has ditched the fixed bracket and wire straightening systems for clear plastic aligners, which more closely resemble mouth guards than braces. Invisalign aligners are 3D printed from detailed measurements made with digital scanning and sometimes traditional impressions. Instead of incrementally moving the teeth by tightening wires through brackets, you get a series of 12–48 aligners. Each one moves your teeth one tiny step along the way towards alignment.

The aligners are so thin and fit so snugly over your teeth, that it is almost impossible to see them. You get to go about your daily business and get your teeth straightened with no one being any the wiser.

The other big plus about Invisalign is that the aligners are removable. You just take them out to eat and clean your teeth.

To find out more about braces in Orpington, and which of our systems is best suited to your need, why not call us up for a consultation?

Making ageing a whole lot easier

“Getting old isn’t for sissies.” So said, the witty and wonderful movie star of the mid-20^th century, Bette Davis, who lived until she was 81. As we age, we become creakier and slower and bits of us stopping working. Modern research is finding ways to make getting older easier, and one of the best that has come along is dental implants. In Orpington, we offer these teeth restorations and patients are increasingly choosing them before other options.

The perks

Having dental implants in Orpington makes ageing easier to combat because they allow you to keep on eating the healthy, nutritious foods that tend to end up on the ‘no can do’ list when you replace your teeth with dentures and bridges. These traditional teeth restorations only provide about a quarter of the chewing power that natural teeth have. That makes it hard to eat crunchy foods such as raw fruit and vegetables. Or chewy foods such as lean meats, or bitty foods such as nuts. We need to be able to keep on eating these foods if we are to give our bodies the nutrition they require to prevent other parts failing.

The process

In Orpington, dental implants give you back your full chewing power because they replace the root of the tooth as well as the crown. The implant goes into a socket that your dentist creates for you in your jawbone. This is a minor surgical procedure that is carried out under local anaesthetic. If, however, you feel at all anxious about it, we can give you sedation so that you are deeply peaceful throughout the procedure.

The implant is made of titanium because this metal is highly biocompatible. Once in place, it stimulates new bone tissue growth around it and the two mesh together over a number of weeks, until the implant post is held in place as securely as a natural tooth.

After that, we attach your custom-made porcelain crowns, which are made to be indistinguishable from your own teeth. One dental implant can support up to 3 teeth. They can also hold bridges and dentures in place so they don’t wobble around.

Dental hygiene care in Orpington

Dental hygiene involves the relationship between oral health care and overall body health. Good oral hygiene starts at home, but it has to be combined with regular visits to the dentist and the dental hygienist for check-ups and cleanings.

At Orpington Dental in Orpington, we offer a wider range of dental hygiene services such as check-ups, gum disease treatment as well as oral cancer screenings. However, the most important preventive measure against gum disease and tooth decay is regular cleanings. We believe that prevention is better than cure, therefore, we urge our patients to visit the practice regularly for cleanings in order to avoid oral complications and unnecessary (as well as expensive) treatment in the future.

Our services

At our practice, dental hygiene treatment is delivered by our experienced hygienists, who will remove any plaque and tartar residue from your teeth and gums. Plaque is a deposit made of food bacteria that tends to stick to the teeth. If left untreated it turns into tartar, a calcified form of plaque. Generally, dental plaque can be removed by brushing our teeth and flossing on daily basis, however, we are not always capable of reaching small corners and crevices in our mouth, where it tends to accumulate.

Our hygienist will use special equipment to scrape the plaque off your teeth and beneath your gum line and then will clean your teeth with special pastes. Once finished, your teeth will be polished. This is really important because polishing can help keep plaque away from your teeth for longer.

An important aspect of the hygienist’s role in our practice, is to show our patients how to look after of their teeth so they remain free from bacteria and plaque. They will offer advice on the best brushing technique as well as tips on flossing and using specialised brushes.

Get in touch

At our practice, we are also happy to recommend and provide preventive treatments such as fluoride treatments and gum disease treatments in order to keep your teeth and gums strong and disease-free. Contact us today to schedule a cleaning or consultation appointment with one of our dentists.

Missing teeth are more than just unsightly

Losing your teeth can cause issues with your appearance and can also create difficulties with everyday activities such as eating and speaking. If you are not happy with how you look, this knocks your confidence and enjoyment of social interactions. In the past, replacing teeth used to involve removeable appliances that restricted what foods you could eat. They were also often wobbly, inconvenient to clean or uncomfortable. Fortunately, at Orpington Dental Care in Orpington, dental implants are an established technique for replacing teeth. We are proud to have used this technology to restore quality of life for hundreds of patients.

A flexible option

Dental implants work in the same way as a natural tooth root and can be used as a secure base for one tooth, several teeth or a whole set. We are experienced in fitting dental implants in Orpington and will discuss your needs so that, whatever the problem, we can find the best solution. In some cases, it is better to remove some teeth if they are in poor condition but we would always try to preserve existing teeth if possible. To replace a full set, you will usually have four implants. The implants are rod-shaped metal screws which are inserted into the jaw during a minor operation. When the bones and blood vessels of the jaw have meshed around the metal implants and stabilised them, a full denture can be permanently fixed in place.

What are the benefits?

When you choose dental implants in Orpington, you are opting for a secure, permanent solution. Once they are fitted, your replacement teeth will feel just like natural ones so you can eat your favourite meals again without concern. Another major advantage is that implants stimulate the bones of the jaw in the same way as natural teeth when you bite and chew. This keeps the tissues healthy, as the jawbone does not shrink back as they do if you have gaps or use dentures. There is also the visible benefit of having a smile you can be proud of again.

Restore your smile and quality of life and talk to us about how having dental implants in Orpington could help you.

Do you love your smile?

A great smile is the first thing that people notice about a person, but if you have teeth that are crooked, spaced too widely or crowded then you may stand out for the wrong reasons. Feeling self-conscious about your smile can make you awkward in social situations and mean that you shy away from having your photograph taken. If you have considered braces, but dismissed the idea because you thought they would be unsightly, time-consuming, inconvenient or uncomfortable, then you may like to hear about a new range of braces. Orpington is home to Orpington Dental Care and we are proud to offer techniques that make having your teeth straightened much more pleasant.

Braces that fit in with your lifestyle

Most adults do not want to have to worry about whether people can see their braces while they have their teeth straightened. Luckily, you no longer have to as modern methods are faster, more comfortable and less obtrusive than ever before. We offer braces in Orpington that give you the smile you dream of without affecting your everyday life. The Invisalign system uses a series of almost invisible clear plastic trays that are custom-made to fit your mouth. They are changed every two weeks to gently guide your teeth into a new position and removeable so you can take them out for eating and cleaning. Another popular option for patients who have braces in Orpington is the Six Month Smiles system, which uses very discreet clear brackets and tooth-coloured wires. It works on the front six teeth, which are the ones most visible when you smile so, although it cannot correct serious misalignments, it works rapidly to improve your appearance.

What are the advantages straighter teeth?

Aside from the obvious benefits of a more attractive smile, straighter teeth are also healthier. This is because there are fewer gaps in which plaque can accumulate, so they are easier to clean and you avoid the risk of decay or gum problems. Having braces in Orpington can improve your dental health as well as enhancing your appearance.

Invest in your smile and oral health and talk to us today about having braces in Orpington.

Straighter teeth, less hassle

Straighter teeth are far less hassle than crowded, crooked or misaligned teeth. Straight teeth are much easier to keep clean. Misaligned teeth can have crannies and crevices in hard to get at places where plaque can build up and solidify into tartar. The bacteria in plaque and tartar give off acid. It eats away at your tooth enamel, creating holes through which decay can enter.

At Orpington Dental Care, we know exactly what happens to misaligned teeth. We treat the problems they create on a regular basis. That’s why we are such big fans of braces in Orpington, although you could argue that fitting them to create lots of mouths with straighter teeth in will do us out of a job!

But we are also firm believers in the ethos of teeth being for life and that we should be doing our utmost to help you hang on to yours for as long as you can, hopefully for your whole life.

Getting straighter teeth with braces in Orpington could help you save a whole load of money on remedial treatments in later life. Decay can lead to expensive root canal therapy. Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss, and if you want to replace lost teeth with something fully functional, then you are looking at dental implants. These generally cost over £1,000 for one single crown implant.

The great news for adults with wonky teeth is that you can straighten them with braces that don’t dominate your mouth or interfere with your speech. We offer two great systems.

Six Month Smiles is great for straightening your front six teeth in a matter of mere months. They are bracket and wire braces, but the brackets are smaller and made of clear ceramic and the wires are tooth-coloured. The forces are gentler so they don’t hurt either.

Invisalign uses 3D printed clear plastic aligners that fit over your teeth like bite guards. You get a series of them, each one moving your teeth gradually forward. These are removable making eating and cleaning less hassle. These can be used for more complex cases.

To find out more about braces in Orpington, why not give us a call?

Author: Orpington Dental Care