Restorative

List of procedures

  • Diagnosis and/or Treatment planning restorative cases, including:
  • Patients with complex treatment needs
  • Patients with Multidisciplinary treatment needs.
  • Dental Veneers, onlays, crowns and bridges (tooth or implant supported)
  • Smile analysis and reconstruction
  • Removable dentures (tooth, gum or implant supported)
  • Discoloured teeth
  • Splint therapy
  • Crooked teeth
  • Congenital disorders e.g. hypodontia, amelogenesis and dentinogenesis imperfect, cleft lip and palate.
  • Dental Trauma
  • Tooth surface loss.
  • Complex prosthodontic needs e.g. deranged occlusion, pre and post cancer dental treatment/maintenance.

Crowns

A crown is a type of dental restoration used to fix teeth that have been broken, weakened by decay or contain a very large filling. Here is how it works:

  1. An impression is taken of the tooth that needs restoring.
  2. A crown is made in the dental laboratory to fit the tooth precisely and match the neighbouring teeth.
  3. The tooth is then prepared and the crown fitted securely on top.

A crown could be a good solution for you if you have some discoloured fillings and would like to improve their appearance. Crowns can be used to replace these to give you a more appealing smile. Additionally, if you have had root canal treatment you will need a crown to protect or cap the restored tooth, allowing you to eat and bite down on it as if it was a real tooth. Crowns are also used to anchor a bridge or denture firmly in place in the mouth.

Life Benefits
  • Strengthens remaining tooth structure.
  • Natural-looking restoration.
  • Functions like a real tooth, so you can bite and chew as usual.

If periodontitis is treated, it improves the control of blood sugar and lipid (fat) levels in diabetics. Therefore it is important to treat and regularly maintain the health of your periodontal tissues. It is important to speak to your doctor to check your sugar levels if you have a history of diabetes in the family.

  • Some drugs, taken for certain medical problems, are associated with overgrowth of the gums in a small number of patients, which can make oral hygiene more difficult. Examples include: drugs used to control blood pressure like nifedipine, felodipine, amlodipine; the anti-epilepsy drug Phenytoin and the immunosuppressant Ciclosporin.
  • If you are pregnant, you may experience bleeding and / or overgrowth of your gums. This is due to the hormonal changes in your body. It is vital that you increase the time you spend brushing your teeth regularly to prevent plaque from accumulating under the gums. In most cases, the gums stop bleeding after child-birth and the overgrowth reduces. However, severe bone loss can occur during pregnancy. Extra attention to tooth brushing is recommended during pregnancy. We also recommend you also see a hygienist every 3 months during your pregnancy.

Bridges

If you require a more extensive restoration than a crown or have more than one tooth that needs to be repaired, a good solution is a bridge. Here is how they work:

  1. Bridges are usually made of a precious metal base, which gives them a solid structure and makes them hard-wearing. If you need a bridge in your smile line, porcelain is usually added to the base to make it look more like real teeth.
  2. A bridge helps to strengthen the prepared teeth and makes chewing and eating easier because they are fixed and can't come out.
  3. Some bridges can also be fixed to your jaw with dental implants, if you have several teeth next to each other that are missing.

Once you have a bridge fitted, you will have to take extra care during your daily hygiene regime to ensure it stays plaque free and does not cause bad breath.

Life Benefits
  • A sturdy way to restore several teeth in a row.
  • Beautiful, natural-looking restoration.
  • Restores the ability to chew and eat as before.

Dentures

If you have a few or all of your teeth missing, one solution is to have a denture. Here is how it works:

  1. A denture is made from hard-wearing material that mimics the look of teeth and gums to give your mouth a natural appearance.
  2. After impressions are taken, a denture is designed in a dental laboratory.
  3. Dentures are made to fit snugly on your gums and you will be able to remove them for cleaning.

When you wear a denture for the first time it may take some getting used to when speaking or eating and chewing. It is important that you take extra care when conducting your hygiene regime so that you can avoid bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease. The hygienist will be able to show you how to best take care of your denture and gums and will tell you about specialised brushes you can use to do this.

Life Benefits
  • A solution to replacing several missing teeth.
  • Designed to give you a natural-looking smile.

Dental erosion or “tooth wear” is the loss of enamel and dentine from the tooth as a result of direct acid attack. It can be caused by excessive exposure to acid substances such as fruit juices and fizzy drinks. It is an irreversible condition. Tooth erosion differs from tooth decay. Tooth decay is the progressive loss of tooth enamel by plaque acid attack. Bacteria in the mouth break down sugars into acids which then attack the teeth. The most common teeth affected by dental erosion are the upper front teeth, although all teeth can be affected. Teeth that have been eroded look glassy, can appear short, and have uneven tips that are easily chipped away. Teeth that have been eroded may become sensitive. Research has shown that erosion is very common (50 percent of 4-18-year-olds have some tooth erosion).

The source of acid that causes the erosion is either from an intrinsic source from within the body (eg acid from the stomach) or from an extrinsic source from outside the body (eg acidic foods, drinks or medicines). Intrinsic causes are vomiting and acid reflux (where acid from the stomach escapes up into the mouth) which can be caused by a hiatus hernia, obesity or certain drugs. Fruit juices and soft drinks, together with foods such as rhubarb and citrus fruits, are examples of extrinsic sources of acid.

​ Regular check-ups at the dentist mean signs of erosion can be detected early. If dental erosion has been diagnosed the first stage is to record accurately how severe and extensive the damage is; this is best done by the dentist taking impressions of your teeth. The impression is cast in plaster and can be used to see if the amount of erosion is getting worse over a period of time.

For those affected by erosion it is important to:
  1. Limit acidic foods and drinks to meal times
  2. Reduce the number of times during the day that acidic foods and drinks are consumed
  3. Choose soft drinks which have no added sugar and have been shown to pose a negligible risk of tooth erosion
  4. Finish meals with a small piece of cheese or a drink of milk
  5. Delay brushing teeth immediately after having acidic foods or drinks.

It may be possible to improve the appearance of teeth that have been eroded with the use of adhesive filling materials, veneers or crowns. However, it is important that the cause of tooth erosion is identified first before this kind of dental treatment is undertaken.