Dental Blog - Orpington Dental Care

Keep it clean!

The root cause of all dental issues is not having clean teeth. It’s as simple as that. Clean teeth cannot decay or get gum disease. Yet, considering how simple this premise is, it’s amazing how hard it can be for some people to keep their teeth clean. That’s why at Orpington Dental we like to assist you with your dental hygiene in Orpington by offering you sessions with our dental hygienist.

Why do teeth need cleaning so much?

The thing with our bodies is that we are more of a city than a single organism. Our skin, hair, insides and our mouths are the home for millions of harmless and helpful organisms – and some that are not so helpful. Our mouths are home to harmless bacteria that feed on the sugars that get left behind when we have eaten or drunk something. The more they feed, the more they breed and in very little time at all, they start to build up on the teeth in a sticky layer known as dental plaque. If you eat something particularly sugary, you will soon feel the plaque growing in ridges across your teeth.

The bacteria give off acids that attack the teeth and gums. The acids eat into tooth enamel, creating holes through which decay-causing bacteria can enter, and that’s when you will need a filling.

The acids irritate the gums, which become inflamed and can start to bleed easily, such as when you brush your teeth. This is the beginnings of gum disease, which, if not treated, will go on to eat into the bone that holds the teeth in place. They can become loose and fall out.

Your part in dental hygiene

You need to remove the build-up of plaque twice a day, preferably with a soft-bristled brush and fluoride toothpaste. You can use dental floss and interdental brushes to get between the teeth and remove any bits of stuck food.

Twice a year, you need to come to the hygienist, who can get rid of any hardened plaque that you have missed. The hygienist can also show you more effective ways to brush your teeth.

Cosmetic dentistry – braces in Orpington

Adjusting your smile is one way to give yourself the look you have always wanted. At Orpington Dental Care, we have a range of cosmetic treatments that we can offer. If your smile is misaligned, you may think that this is something you have to live with. This is not the case. You can use braces in Orpington to nudge your teeth in to line.

One of the great things about modern braces is that there are more to choose from that ever before. You can work with trusted dental brands like Invisalign and Six Month Smiles when you get braces in Orpington with Orpington Dental Care.

Your dentist will have completed special training with the dental brand of your choice so that they can guide you through your teeth straightening treatment. The method of fitting your braces in Orpington varies depending on which type you have.

Fitting Invisalign

The advantage of choosing a system like Invisalign is that there is no lengthy fitting procedure required. When you decide to go ahead, a member of the team at Orpington Dental Care will take scans and gather other data. This is used to make a series of aligners which are then given to you at your next appointment. When used in the right sequence these aligners will move your teeth into their new positions.

Fitting Six Month Smiles

Six Month Smiles are a bit more like standard braces. This means that they are fixed to the teeth. Again, your first appointment is about getting together the information that the external provider, Six Month Smiles, needs to construct your unique equipment. Once they have done this, they send it to us for fitting. Your brackets are contained within a special mould which is pressed against your teeth so that they are placed in exactly the right positions. Your dentist then threads a wire through them which is held in place using discreet elastics.

Follow-up appointments

Regardless of the method you choose to work with, you will come and see us every six weeks or so for a check-up. This is so that we can monitor your progress, make any necessary adjustments and offer advice on caring for your teeth and equipment.

New teeth with natural stability

When you lose one or more teeth, your oral health can take a turn for the worse. There’ll be an unsightly gap in your smile, and your remaining teeth will be under more strain. Eating food can become an uncomfortable experience. In Orpington, dental implants from Orpington Dental Care are a powerful solution to the difficulties caused by missing teeth. We have years of experience in using dental implants to restore dental function and aesthetic balance.

The process of having dental implants in Orpington

Firstly, we’ll book you in for a consultation. At our friendly dental practice, we can assess your oral health and take some meticulous measurements of your teeth. You’ll need sufficient jawbone density before you can receive the implants, and some preliminary work might be necessary before we start the next stage.

You’ll then receive your Orpington dental implants in a minor surgical procedure, during which our dentist places small, screw-like posts into your jawbone. After a period of healing, you’ll come back to the practice to have your new teeth affixed to the posts.

Many advantages

Having dental implants in Orpington will bring you several oral health benefits:

A secure mesh forms between your jawbone and the implanted posts, which means your teeth are securely anchored in your mouth. You can thus enjoy biting into and chewing your favourite foods, without worrying about the teeth falling out;
The implants are easy to clean. They stay in your mouth like natural teeth, and you won’t need to fiddle with clips or adhesives;
The implants help you to keep the integrity of your facial bone structure, so you won’t develop the sunken look associated with long-term tooth loss;
Your smile will be much more visually appealing;
You might find certain words and phrases easier to pronounce, which boosts the overall fluency of your speech.

Improved outlook

We can use dental implants in Orpington to restore any number of lost teeth. Whether you’ve had a single one knocked out while playing sports, or you’ve lost a whole set to tooth decay, we can give you back what you’ve been missing. This treatment will restore your dental function and improve your overall quality of life.

Improve your dental alignment

When you choose to straighten your teeth, you choose to have a more appealing smile and a higher standard of oral hygiene. In Orpington, braces are fully customised for efficiency and comfort. They use low-visibility materials to stay discreet, protecting you from unwanted attention while treatment is ongoing. At Orpington Dental Care, we treat misaligned teeth with a range of contemporary methods. Whether you have a crooked smile or front teeth that stick out too much, we can comfortably improve your dental appearance.

Why have braces in Orpington?

A crooked smile can cause long-term cosmetic worries. Small imperfections, like one or two teeth that are slightly out of position, can have an impact on how you feel about your overall appearance. You’ll benefit from braces in Orpington if you tend to keep your teeth hidden when laughing out loud or appearing in photographs.

Our modern realignment treatments are user-friendly. When you come to us for your consultation, we’ll assess your concerns, and recommend the best way to achieve the transformation you want.

Options

Many people seeking braces in Orpington opt for Invisalign. This popular treatment is suitable for a range of mild-to-moderate needs. It uses a series of transparent plastic aligners. You wear a set of these precisely-shaped appliances for around 7-10 days, before moving on to the next set in the series. The slightly different shape of each aligner gradually pressures your teeth into better positions.

With Invisalign, there are no wires or brackets attached to your teeth, so you can take the appliances out of your mouth when you want to brush your teeth or eat a meal.

Another type of braces in Orpington is Six Month Smiles. This uses clear brackets and tooth-coloured wires to remain virtually hidden from view. Because it focuses on the teeth at the front of your mouth, the average treatment time is shorter than other methods of tooth realignment.

Duration

The dentist will let you know exactly how long treatment will take before it begins. We work to careful treatment plans, and regular check-ups mean the process stays on track. It can take a while to achieve the results you want, but you’ll enjoy the benefits for many years afterwards.

Discoloured teeth?

As the daily habits of drinking tea and coffee, smoking and even time itself take their toll, your teeth are usually the ones to bear the brunt of it all. Unfortunately, these habits can’t always go unnoticed, meaning that yellow or stained teeth might leave you feeling nervous about smiling or laughing. No one should have to feel afraid of showing off their teeth and if it starts to affect your confidence, you know that something has to be done.

Teeth Whitening in Orpington Getting your pearly whites back, though it may seem so, does not require magic. If you are unhappy with your discoloured teeth, cosmetic treatments like teeth whitening will have you smiling non-stop. This is used to enhance the appearance of your teeth and get your confidence back on track.

Brighter smiles

If you are considering teeth whitening in Orpington, then you might want to get to know the options you can choose from. At Orpington Dental, we offer two treatments that are both effective in brightening your smile.

Power whitening is done there and then in the dentist chair. After a protective barrier is used for your mouth and lips, a gel is placed onto your lips which is activated by the lamp light. Here, the bleaching process begins and after an hour, you will see your brand new white teeth. This is a quick and effective way to brighten your smile, and it means you can be prepared to laugh with confidence at any given moment.

Home whitening is a flexible alternative to suit you. You take a custom-made tray home with you, applying gel in a similar manner. You can then choose when you would like to use the tray, perhaps during the night or a few hours in the day. After a couple of weeks, your teeth will be a few shades brighter and your smile will be several times wider.

A shade that suits you

Whatever your choice of treatment, the result will hopefully be the same. By receiving teeth whitening treatment, you can grin without a worry in the world. Drop into our surgery today and find out if you could benefit from this quick and easy treatment.

Making life easier with dental implants in Orpington

The trouble with losing your teeth is that the replacements can mean a serious change to your diet, and a lot more hassle, inconvenience and potential embarrassment.

If you are at an age when your teeth are beginning to fail, you may be wondering what steps to take to replace them. Perhaps your teeth have had so many fillings over the years and now they just can’t withstand the pressure of chewing anymore. Or perhaps gum disease is finally causing them to come loose in their sockets.

Whatever the reason, the result is the same, and the solution could be either a fixed bridge, full or partial dentures, or dental implants in Orpington.

Here at Orpington Dental Care, we have seen how dental implants, which seem new but have actually been around for more than 30 years, can help people maintain bone health, their nutritious diets and their youthful looks. Here’s how:

Bone health

Dental implants are replacement tooth roots and having something embedded in your jawbone that vibrates a tiny bit every time your teeth come together reminds your jawbone that it is still in use. These reminders stop the bone dissolving itself, shrinking in size and losing density.

Nutritious diet

Dental implants in Orpington can withstand chewing forces more powerful than the average male chew, so you can carry on eating all those great foods you love: apples, nuts, raw vegetables, steaks and so on; foods that provide essential fibre and nutrients for your overall and digestive health. Other tooth replacements, such as dentures, only offer about a quarter of the chewing power you need and mean that you will have to be confined to a soft food diet for the rest of your life.

Youthful looks

No one wants to look older than they are, but if you lose all your teeth and do not replace the roots, it’s inevitable that you will. As mentioned above, your jawbone will resorb and no longer provide the strong framework for your cheeks, which will collapse inwards. Also, you will develop a pointy chin that is nearer to your nose than it used to be. These are actually symptoms of tooth loss but are perceived as being related to age.

Your straight teeth

Or are they your wonky teeth? They can be straight teeth if you invest in braces in Orpington with us at Orpington Dental Care.

It may seem like a matter of pure vanity, but actually having your teeth straightened is much better for your oral health as well as your looks. When your teeth are straight, you will find it much easier to brush away the plaque that builds up during the day and love to sneak off and hide in the crevices that are created by wonky teeth.

Often people don’t bother with braces in Orpington because they mistakenly believe that wearing braces is going to involve years of metal brackets cemented on their teeth and restrictions in diet, not to mention endless faffing about with floss and interdental brushes trying to remove food particles. If that’s what you think is what happens with braces in Orpington, we have got one word to say to you: Invisalign.

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign is a break-through technology that came on the market about 20 years ago and uses mouth guard-style clear aligners that snap on over the teeth and can be removed, indeed must be removed, for eating and for tooth cleaning.

You can be forgiven for never having seen Invisalign. This is because the aligners really do live up to the marketing hype of being as good as invisible once they are snugly hugging your teeth. The transparent plastic is only 0.3mm thick and each aligner is custom-made for your own teeth. As you as long remove the aligners every time you eat or drink anything other than plain water, they won’t discolour and become visible.

Do you have the discipline for Invisalign?

The thing with these braces in Orpington is that whether they do their job or not is up to you. Teeth need to be under sustained pressure for at least 20-22 hours a day if they are going to move in your jaw. If you don’t have the discipline to wear them for this time, you would be better off spending your money on fixed braces. Come in and find out more!

Reliable replacement teeth

Are you in the market for replacement teeth? Perhaps you have lost some in an accident, or yours are beginning to fail. Whatever the reason for needing new teeth, the method of replacement that you choose can affect your quality of life for the rest of your life. If you care about having teeth that behave just like the ones you have lost, then you need dental implants in Orpington.

Here at Orpington Dental Care, we regularly see first-hand what a difference dental implants in Orpington make to the quality of life for our patients. People who have had dentures or had teeth that didn’t work very well, are amazed at how much easier eating, speaking and laughing become when they have dental implants to stabilise their crowns.

Why are dental implants different?

The major difference between dental implants in Orpington and the other two methods of tooth replacement (dentures and fixed bridgework) is that dental implants replace the roots of the teeth as well as the crowns. Dentures rely on adherence to the gums for their stability, and bridges are attached to neighbouring teeth and use their roots for stability.

Both of these other methods have disadvantages. Dentures can only provide about a quarter of the stability of natural teeth. This means there will be all sorts of foods you will no longer be able to eat, particularly chewy or crunchy foods. Bridges offer much more stability but using neighbouring teeth as buttresses means they have to be ground down to be covered by buttress crowns and can no longer operate as natural teeth in their own right. In effect, you lose two good teeth to replace one or two missing teeth.

Dental implants, on the other hand, are embedded into carefully drilled channels in your jawbone, where, over a period of several weeks, they integrate with your bone tissue to become as securely held in place as your natural teeth and are able to sustain chewing forces of up to 97kg or 200lbs, which is more than the average male chew.

To find out if you are a suitable candidate for dental implants in Orpington, come in for a consultation with our implant dentist.

Four million and counting

Since it first came on the market in 1997, Invisalign has had more than four million happy users; people whose smiles are now beautiful and straight and in use all day, every day.

At Orpington Dental, we love seeing how happy our patients are when they find out there is a way to get their teeth straightened that doesn’t involve having to give up their favourite foods or walk round looking like a railway station for a couple of years.

Invisalign in Orpington They also love the whole digital age process, from the scanning to produce pinpoint accurate pictures of their teeth on the screen to how they can actually watch how their teeth will move to reach alignment. There’s nothing like seeing the end-point before you begin to inspire you to make this commitment to yourself.

More than looking lovely

Committing to straightening your teeth is about a whole lot more than looking fabulous. Straight teeth are also much easier to keep clean. There are fewer nooks and crannies for plaque to hide away and build up, causing decay and gum disease. When you have straight teeth, you have a much higher chance of being able to hang on to them for your whole life and avoid the hassles and expense of replacement teeth in later life.

How Invisalign in Orpington works

Invisalign uses mouth guard-like aligners that are 3D printed from clear, rigid plastic. You snap them into place over your top or bottom teeth, or both. Precisely placed pressure bumps inside the aligners gently press on your teeth, persuading them to shift out of the way to relieve the pressure. You wear each set of aligners for 7-10 days, by which time the pressure will have worn off. When it has, you put the next set of aligners in. These nudge your teeth a bit further along the path to alignment, and so on, until your teeth are straight. This takes, on average, a year.

You take your aligners out to eat and to clean your teeth, and as you must wear them for 20-22 hours a day, you’ll probably find you cut out a lot of snacking and may even lose weight. A double bonus.

Ways to straighten your teeth without braces in Orpington

Braces are a popular and effective treatment but not everyone looks forward to wearing them. Braces are very common for children and teenagers, but adults would rather not have a mouthful of metal brackets and wires. Luckily, dentistry has advanced and teeth straightening treatment can be accomplished through alternative methods.

At Orpington Dental Care, we care about comfort, aesthetics and efficiency, when it comes to braces in Orpington. You probably have friends with regular braces who aren’t allowed to eat their favourite foods and need to visit the dentist regularly for adjustments. With Invisalign, you can enjoy all your favourite foods without altering your lifestyle. Six Month Smiles, on the other hand, helps you gain beautifully straight teeth discreetly.

Invisalign – no one needs to know

Invisalign is a discreet teeth straightening treatment, which consists of plastic, removable aligners. These aligners are customised to fit over your teeth and help them move into their optimal position over a specific period of time. If you opt for Invisalign, you need to ensure that you wear your aligners at least 22 hours per day for best results. Invisalign aligners can be removed for eating and brushing your teeth and they are easy to keep clean and hygienic. Last, but not least they are more comfortable than regular braces and require fewer adjustments.

Six Month Smiles – smile confidently

Just like regular braces, Six Month Smiles braces in Orpington are fixed to the teeth. However, these braces only focus on the front teeth and do not move the tooth roots, therefore they cannot affect your bite. Six Month Smiles braces have taken the technology of regular braces and modified the treatment to offer patients a cosmetic solution in only six months (or less!). These braces are ideal for patients who want to straighten their teeth for a special event, like a wedding or a graduation.

If you are not completely confident about your smile, and you would like to look into your options, contact us today and we will book a consultation appointment for you. With our discreet braces in Orpington, you can focus on doing what you do best – being yourself and keep smiling.

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