Dental Blog - Orpington Dental Care

Are dental implants safe?

Dental implants’ success rate may vary depending on where in the jaw the implants are placed but, in general, dental implants have a success rate around 98%. With proper care, dental implants in Orpington can last a lifetime.

Once you’ve received your new implants and you’ve healed completely, you’ll be able to take care of your implants just as if they’re real teeth. This means brushing and flossing daily and visiting Orpington Dental Care on a regular basis. Dental implants in Orpington are just like your natural teeth and sometimes they can be considered as better for many reasons, including the fact that dental implants cannot get cavities.

Advantages of dental implants

You will benefit from an improved and natural appearance. Since dental implants are designed to fuse with bone, they become permanent, making them look and feel like your own teeth.

Compared to other dental procedures to replace teeth, dental implants are the most durable. With the right care, your dental implants could last a lifetime.

Dental implants in Orpington are fixed directly into your jaw and thanks to that, it’s much easier to eat and speak. With dentures, you have to learn to speak clearly without them slipping, but dental implants allow you to speak without the worry that teeth might slip.

Individual implants allow easier access between teeth. You’ll be able to go back to brushing your teeth, and flossing without any problem, increasing your oral health.

Am I a candidate?

To know if you’re a candidate for dental implants, there are a few requirements you need to meet. Firstly, you need to have healthy gums and enough bone to hold the implants. Arrange an appointment with one of our dentists at Orpington Dental Care and they will be able to give you a proper diagnosis, so you can consider the next step of your dental journey.

Also, if you suffer from any chronic disease, such as diabetes or heart disease, you’ll need to be evaluated by one of our dentists to see if you are a candidate for the procedure. If you are considering dental implants in Orpington, talk to one of our dentists to see if they are the right option for you.

Replace your missing teeth

Do you have trouble eating or worry about your appearance due to missing teeth? If you have lost one or more teeth, then you may be experiencing a limited diet or feel that your smile is not as radiant as you would like. At Orpington Dental Care, we can help with tooth replacements in Orpington. Dental implants offer a great alternative to other procedures, enhancing your appearance and giving you confidence in your teeth. This can improve your self-esteem as well as making it easier to eat, speak and live life to the full.

How do implants work?

For many of our patients in Orpington, dental implants have proved a secure solution to missing teeth. Following an initial consultation, small metal screws are placed into the jaw in a minor operation. If the bones in your mouth are in very good condition, then the next stage can take place immediately. Otherwise, we allow time for the implants to become established. In either scenario, the tissues of the jaw meshes around the implants, stabilising them so that they will stay firmly in place. Crowns, bridges and dentures are fixed to the implants for a lasting restoration.

Long-term benefits

Having fully functioning teeth again not only enhances your look, it also means that you can eat a full range of food again. This has a great impact on your nutrition, improving your health well into the future. A further benefit is improved structure in the tissues of your jaw. This is because dental implants act in the same way as natural tooth roots. So, when you bite and chew, the pressure exerted stimulates the bone and blood vessels of the jaw. This strengthens them and prevents their degeneration, which can happen when there are gaps or after years of using traditional dentures. Having dental implants in Orpington is a lasting investment in your health and appearance.

You do not need to restrict your life any longer. Talk to our dedicated team today to find out how dental implants in Orpington can help you. Relish your favourite foods again and enjoy your smile with a long-lasting solution to missing teeth.

Problems due to crooked teeth?

Do you have misaligned, crooked, crowded or overly spaced teeth? You may wish that your smile was straighter or even be experiencing problems with eating or speaking. If your top and bottom jaws are very out of place, you may have what is referred to as a bad bite. This can cause issues with your teeth and gums or the joints and muscles in your face. Some people clench their jaws or grind their teeth which can cause pain, problems with biting or chewing or headaches. At Orpington Dental Care, we can fit braces in Orpington to help you.

Considering braces?

If you are looking for tooth realignment in Orpington, braces offer a range of solutions. Thanks to advances in techniques, you are no longer limited to unsightly metal’train track’ braces, which can be uncomfortable and time consuming. Clear plastic aligners, removable clear wire aligners or the use of clear brackets and tooth-coloured wires mean that treatment is more discreet, comfortable and effective than ever before. If you are an adult who missed out on teeth straightening treatment as a child, it is not too late to experience the pleasure of having straighter teeth. Many procedures are very fast and you could have the smile of your dreams in as little as 6 months.

Long-term benefits

Having correctly placed teeth improves your appearance and can contribute to enhanced self-esteem, as you feel better and more confident about how you look. It can also improve the health of your mouth. Straighter teeth are easier to clean as there are fewer gaps for plaque to accumulate in. In addition, if your teeth are properly aligned, they are more stable. This decreases the chances of other teeth moving into the wrong place or even becoming loose. This ensures that you can use your teeth properly and enjoy a full range of food for a lifetime. Having braces in Orpington is a long-term investment in your health and wellbeing.

For our patients in Orpington, braces offer a great way to improve your oral health and the way you look. Do get in touch with our experienced team to discuss your options.

How important is dental hygiene?

Dental hygiene is an extremely important aspect of general dentistry and is regarded as the ultimate preventive measure for keeping your oral health in top condition.

white-fillings-in-orpington Most dentists will tell their patients that the most important dentistry work is done outside the practice. If you can maintain a good level of dental hygiene daily, then your trips to the dentist are far more likely to be trouble-free.

If you are not looking after your teeth, then this will lead to tooth decay. Tooth decay can cause toothache and most of us would do anything to avoid that.

Poor dental health can also cause a host of other problems. It can lead to halitosis, gum disease, teeth failure and gingivitis. There is also some clinical evidence to suggest that people with poor dental health may be more likely to suffer heart problems. Surely regular brushing and flossing is easily done if there’s a chance you can avoid heart disease. It is important to have a good general dentist, such as Orpington Dental, to help show you the way to excellent oral health.

Will having white fillings help my oral health?

White fillings tend to be known as a cosmetic dentistry procedure to provide a more pleasing and natural tooth-like appearance. But, white fillings have the potential advantage of not containing mercury or other metals that may contribute to sensitivity or toxicity, therefore could benefit your overall health.

Most dentists are skilled in traditional silver fillings, but their level of skill may vary. Selecting an appropriate dentist, such as those at Orpington Dental in Orpington, is an important factor in treating tooth decay or similar damage.

White fillings are made up of glass, quartz and other materials mixed with a resin compound. The flexible material means that the dentist at Orpington Dental can better shape and mould the filling to meet the restorative as well as aesthetic needs of the patient.

It can be adapted for different uses, such as a more rugged type to fill a molar tooth that has a higher chewing load or a less rugged version for front teeth. This means white fillings can not only look better, but also actually benefit your oral health.

Dental implants in Orpington

If you wear dentures, are you frustrated that they affect the way you talk or eat? Dentures have traditionally been the best means of replacing missing teeth. Unfortunately they are not the perfect solution to the problem. Over time they may become loose due to the loss of bone from the jaw. They can also cause you difficulties when you talk or eat. Many dentists are now advising their patients about the benefits of dental implants.

dental-implants-in-orpington There are a number of benefits that come from having dental implants. These include providing support to the muscles of the lips and face. Here at Orpington Dental Care in Orpington, dental implants are proving to be an increasingly popular alternative to dentures. The implants can be used in a number of different ways; as a replacement for individual teeth, or as a method of fixing bridges and dentures. You could say that dental implants are almost as good as your own teeth. Once fitted, you may even forget that they are not your own.

Bridging the gap

Missing teeth can make you feel less confident and can also cause longer term problems with your overall oral health. Because the gaps allow the movement of the remaining teeth on either side of the space, they may also become loose and be lost.

Dental implants are made of two parts; a carefully engineered titanium screw and the replacement tooth or teeth. The dental implants can sometimes be fitted at the same time that a tooth is removed, otherwise a minor surgical procedure is required to place the implant into the jaw. Generally it is necessary to allow a few months for the implant to become completely fused with the bone in the jaw. Once healed the replacement tooth or teeth are then fixed in place.

Finding out more about dental implants in Orpington

Dental implants are suitable for adults of any age, as long as you have sufficient bone in your jaw and your overall health is good. Just think how good it would feel to be able to eat, talk and smile with complete confidence because you know your teeth are going to stay exactly where they belong. With proper care dental implants will last a lifetime. To find out more contact us to book an appointment.

Which braces system is best for you?

If you are one of the many adults thinking about having braces in 2017, then why not come in to us at Orpington Dental Care and see if we have the braces system that suits your alignment needs?

braces-in-orpington Here in Orpington, braces have come a long way since the train track heavy metal braces of the 1970s and 80s, where you could barely see the teeth for the steel. These days, the teeth are to the fore and with some braces systems, it is almost impossible to tell they are even there.

Braces in Orpington at Orpington Dental Care come in three different systems, each one of which has a slightly different method or aim. Let’s take a look at how each system could help you resolve your crowded, crooked, gappy or misaligned teeth.

Six Month Smiles

These braces use the traditional bracket and wire system, where the wires strung through the brackets pull the teeth into the desired position. But, as these braces are aimed only at correcting mild misalignments on the front six ‘social’ teeth, they do not need to exert such strong pressure as train track braces and are therefore much smaller and finer. Added to that the ceramic brackets are transparent, and the wires are tooth-coloured, so that they almost disappear against the teeth. Six Month Smiles are so called because that is the average length of treatment.

Inman Aligner

The Inman Aligner is designed to correct the front teeth, top or bottom, only. It uses a lingual coil spring, which fits behind the teeth, to put pressure on the back of them. At the same time a wire across the front of the teeth exerts pressure backwards. These two components work in unison to reposition the teeth. The Inman Aligner is great for correcting moderate crowding and rotation, is barely invisible and can be removed for eating, cleaning and important occasions.

Invisalign

These clear plastic aligner trays can treat the whole arch. Treatment involves wearing a series of them over a period of about a year, each one pressuring the teeth to move one step on towards alignment. The plastic is so thin and transparent that the aligners are all but invisible. They can be removed for cleaning, eating and special occasions.

So, as you can see, as far as braces in Orpington go, we have something for everyone here at Orpington Dental Care. Call us and find out what we can do for you.

Food! Glorious food!

Remember those little boys in Oliver! Singing about hot sausage and mustard, peas pudding and saveloys, and the joys of indigestion when you can eat what you like? That’s a bit how it can be if you have just lost one or more teeth, and, with them, your freedom of choice around eating.

dental-implants-in-orpington Chewy food (toffees, steak), crunchy food (apples, carrots), gloopy foods (nut butters), bitty foods (seeds and nuts) – the list is long. Not being able to eat these things can be severely restrictive for some people. Fortunately, there’s a wonderful solution that can give you back your varied diet, and we have it on hand here at Orpington Dental Care in Orpington-dental implants!

In Orpington, dental implants allow a more varied diet than dentures and other artificial teeth because they replace the root as well as the crown of the tooth. The replacement root is a titanium post that we insert into the jawbone under local anaesthetic. Some anxious patients also choose to receive sedation during this procedure.

The implant becomes a stable and fixed feature in the jawbone, just like a natural root, over the following weeks to months. This is because the titanium from which it is made is able to fuse with bone tissue. When bone and post become one, it creates a stable chewing base. Also, because the titanium catalyses bone growth, the jawbone remains full and strong, and you can avoid sunken aged look often acquired by denture wearers as their jawbones lose density.

Once this integration period is completed, you can come back to us for the remaining part of your dental implants in Orpington. During this appointment, we will fit an abutment into the post. An abutment is an internal screw. It is onto this that your new artificial crown is fitted.

Your crowns are custom-made to blend in with your natural teeth. The material used is porcelain and this comes in a range of shades to match the colour of the surrounding teeth. Because tooth shape and size is also important, technicians are specially trained to hand craft teeth to match impressions or photographs of your natural teeth.

Come in for a consultation today to find out more about how dental implants in Orpington could brighten up your smile.

You choose how to get your teeth whitened

At Orpington Dental Care, teeth whitening is a very important treatment.

Tooth discolouration is a common problem for patients who have had poor dental hygiene. It is also caused by food staining (tea, coffee and smoking are often to blame), fluoride exposure, dental trauma, antibiotics and aging.

teeth-whitening-in-orpington Having badly discoloured teeth can have a big impact on your confidence, causing you to cover your mouth and suppress your smiles. Many people are turning to teeth whitening to improve their smile and confidence, and despite the lure of cheap over-the-counter whitening kits, it is a procedure that is best followed under the guidance of a professional.

Teeth whitening is wrongly thought of as something you can do at home with a kit bought at the chemists. At Orpington Dental Care, we carry out teeth whitening using a system called Zoom! This system can be carried out in two ways. You can have a power whitening treatment at the dental clinic, or you can do it yourself at home with a kit supplied by us.

Good quality, long-lasting teeth whitening can take time. Once you have had an initial consultation with us to assess the condition of your teeth, we take impressions of your teeth, and from those make custom-fit trays in which to put the whitening gel. These trays ensure the maximum contact between tooth and gel, and minimise spillage, which is a common problem with off the shelf kits. We supply you with a teeth whitening gel to apply for two weeks, which should be long enough to see results, if you wear the trays for a few hours every day, or, preferably overnight.

If you would rather, we can do the teeth whitening here at the clinic. The advantages of a power whitening session is that it only takes an hour, so you get instant results rather than having to wait for a couple of weeks and maintain the discipline of doing the whitening yourself. Also, as dental professionals we are able to use a more concentrated gel. We protect your gums and lips before putting the trays over your teeth. The active ingredients in the gel are activated by a UV lamp. You then lie back and relax for an hour while the gel does its work.

If you would like to find out more about teeth whitening in Orpington, please drop in or call us. We love to talk about how our treatments can help you.

Invisalign versus Six Month Smiles braces in Orpington

Are you hesitant to straighten your teeth as an adult because you believe that the only option is metal braces? Healthy teeth can be treated for teeth straightening at any age. Treatment more commonly begins while a child is growing, but that doesn’t mean that adults can not enjoy the benefits of teeth straightening.

braces-in-orpington At Orpington Dental in Orpington, our dentists offer discreet teeth straightening options designed for adults, who find the thought of noticeable metal braces unappealing. To help adults achieve more attractive smiles without the use of traditional braces, we offer Invisalign and Six Month Smiles braces.

What’s the difference?

The main difference between Invisalign and Six Month Smiles braces in Orpington is that the latter integrates a traditional clear bracket and elastic system into its design that helps your teeth move into their right position. Invisalign instead consists of a series of transparent, removable aligners, which gradually move teeth into place. Both treatments are more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing than metal braces.

In terms of treatment length, Six Month Smiles braces work much quicker than Invisalign, because they do not require as many visits to the dentist. Six Month Smiles braces are designed to correct moderate cosmetic issues in a short period of time. Six Month Smiles treatment targets only the teeth which are visible when you smile.

On the other hand, the Invisalign system has the ability to move the posterior teeth and fix a wider range of dental problems. Since the braces are removable, this allows you to maintain better oral hygiene without compromising your daily routine and comfort. Despite the fact that Invisalign aligners have to be worn at least 22 hours a day for guaranteed results, it may be the ideal solution for better oral health over a longer period of time.

Find out more

If you are an adult with crooked or misaligned teeth but do not want to wear braces to achieve straighter teeth, schedule a consultation with one of our dentists at Orpington Dental. Our dental practice offers both Invisalign and Six Month Smiles braces in Orpington.

There’s a hole in my smile

Every time you smile at someone you know they can see the gap in your teeth. This is a problem that you shouldn’t have to put up with and with advancements in dentistry you no longer have to.

dental-implants-orpington At Orpington Dental Care in Orpington dental implants are provided in many forms. We provide a bespoke service for everyone who comes into the clinic. Even if your jaw itself has degraded we have the power to provide you a solution with our bone graft surgery.

If you are missing just one tooth, several teeth or every single tooth we have the experience and technology to help.

What is involved?

While there are obviously similarities in all procedure everyone has their own wants, and needs. Your treatment will be as individual as you are but we aim to provide the same result for everyone, that smile you’ve been missing and the freedom to eat what you want. So, if you live in Orpington,dental implants from Orpington Dental Care might be exactly what you’re looking for. Once your treatment is finished you may want to find a local bakery for some fresh crusty bread.

The treatment begins with a consultation with your dentist. We examine your teeth in minute detail, take X-rays, photographs and moulds. We also use state of the art computer modelling to show you your treatment path from start to smiley end.

Titanium implants are directly inserted into your jaw, and here’s the amazing part, your bone will naturally mesh with the implant forming a strong artificial root. The attachment is so strong that it may be possible to attach your entire set of teeth with as few as four little titanium screws.

Will the surgery hurt?

If you’re worried about discomfort or are a nervous patient in general, we understand and have ways to help. We offer a range of sedation and we have experienced staff on hand for administration.

I’m thinking about it…

If you want dental implants in Orpington feel free to contact us either by calling or chatting with someone on our website. We understand that it can be a big decision and we are ready to offer you our advice and full support.

Contact Us