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{ Progressive Dentistry }

New Year, New Smile 2016

We are now into a new year, 2016 and what better way to start the year than transforming your smile. If you have a deadline in mind such as a special occasion, a holiday, a party or even your wedding now is the time to plan ahead. For example, here is list of how long treatments usually take:

1. Simple crowding: 1-3 months

2. Moderate crowding: 3-6 months

3. Advanced crowding: 6-12 months

4. Straightening and bite correction: 12-24 months

5. Porcelain veneers: 1 month

6. Tooth whitening: 90 minutes in surgery and then 1-2 weeks at home

7. Composite bonding: Immediate, one visit

8. Single tooth dental implant: 3 months

9. Multiple tooth implants: 3-6 months

10. All teeth implants: 6-12 months Of course, every case is different and time frames vary.

If you are considering transforming your smile in 2016 don't delay- call us and get the ball rolling. You only live once!

ABC - The Future Of Cosmetic Dentistry

Yes, we know it is now the 1st of December! However, our case of the month for November is truly stunning and deserves to be posted. The case highlights the future of cosmetic dentistry- ABC A is for alignment B is for bleaching C is for composite bonding Just take a look:

Dentistry Awards 2015

Due to our nominations for Best Practice London and Best Patient Care by the Dentistry Awards 2015, we will absent from the practice this Friday 27th November attending the ceremony. The reception desk will remain open for the usual hours from 0900-1500. In a dental emergency after hours please email info@progressivedentistry.co.uk We are incredibly honoured and excited to be shortlisted for these prestigious awards and will be sure to keep you posted.

How To Take A Good Dental Impression With Difficult Access

As a dentist, I strive for excellence in all aspects of dentistry. In all indirect restorations, superb impressions are paramount for accurate recording of the prepared tooth/ teeth and surrounding soft mucosa, gingiva. It is all too easy to accept a sub optimal impression and ask the technician to 'do his best'. This is not acceptable. The working impression should replicate the patient as closely as possible. This will allow your technician to case an accurate impression and ultimately produce a well-fitting restoration with minimal or no adjustment. I will describe a technique that will allow an accurate impression in those cases with difficult access.

Prior to taking the impression

1. Ensure that the margins are clear and visible.

2. A dry field is required.

3. Use retraction cord with a haemostatic agent or a soft tissue diode laser if you have one. This will allow removal of excess tissue, provide haemostasis and most importantly allow the recording of at least 1mm of tooth tissue below the margin line.

4. Ensure there is adequate occlusal clearance. Most technicians say that the most common error is lack of occlusal space. Use clearance guides if you have them or use parallel sided hand instrument which is pre measured using calipers and slide along the medial and distal aspect of the preparation to verify clearance.

5. Use loupes to ensure your margins are clear and even. If you have a intra oral camera, take an image from an occlusal view and ensure you have 360 degree visualisation of the preparation.

6. Block out any undercuts and large inter dental spaces using block out resin. This is a step that is often overlooked but vital to ensure the impression can be removed with ease. Your patient will love you for this!

Taking the impression- second mandibular molar sites are ideal for this technique

1. These areas can be very difficult due to the limited access and muscular actions of the tongue.

2. Initially choose your tray carefully and ensure it covers all aspects of the preparation and the entire arch.

3. Take a PVS impression of the entire arch in heavy and light body impression material. My material of choice is Honigum by DMG. This should be accurate as possible.

4. Trim the excess around the borders.

5. Re seat and ensure the impression re locates with ease.

6. Remove and bur away the preparation site using an acrylic bur. Drill a hole into the occlusal aspect of the impression tray of the prepared tooth and a channel buccally from the impression material.

7. Re seat the impression and syringe into the access hole light body material until the excess flows through the pre drilled channel. Allow to set.

8. Remove and you should have recorded an accurate impression of the preparation with NO airflows, NO drags, clear margins and at least 1mm below the impression line. This technique will allow you take impressions in the most difficult access cases- please try it the next time you have a crown or bridge prep.

If there are any questions on this technique, please do not hesitate to contact me: nissit@progressivedentistry.co.uk

The future

The future is digital. Intra oral scanners will become a greater part of dentistry in the next few years which will eliminate the need for conventional dental impressions. This is incredibly exciting and there are huge benefits with this technology. Having tested this in practice, I can say the techniques are incredibly accurate. However, at present the systems are too costly for most dental practices and time consuming. This will change as we have seen with digital radiography. Once it does, we will convert to intra oral scanning for all of our impressions. I will keep you posted.

This article is for dentists, written by Dr Nissit Patel.

Footballers And Rotting Teeth!

In a recent study by UCL, shocking statistics were found on the levels of tooth decay and gum disease on footballers. The article was in The Telegraph. We have certainly seen decay present within the sports industry due to the diet that is often required for energy levels. For instance, energy sports drinks are FULL of sugar. These drinks are often sipped throughout training sessions and therefore there is a high frequency of acid attack on the teeth. We would like to suggest many other ways of maintaining energy levels in a natural way. For example, a banana can provide huge amounts of natural energy. The natural sugars present are far better than added sugar within products.

If there are any football clubs that would like to screen their players, feel free to give us a call. We have the highest levels of technology to detect the earliest of tooth decay or gum disease - early intervention and prevention is always best!

Full Mouth Ceramic Orthodontic Treatment Using Damon Clear Braces

Our case of the month for October 2015 is a great orthodontic case which completely transformed our patients smile and life. She hated her 'fang' like canine teeth- topical with Halloween around the corner! This is a common problem and is not a particularly aesthetic feature of a smile. The treatment undertaken was a full mouth ceramic orthodontic treatment using Damon Clear braces. The results speak for themselves:

Certificate Of Excellence

We have just been pleasantly surprised with a certificate from Three Best Rated. The certificate reads: On behalf of ThreeBestRated.co.uk this certificate of excellence award is proudly presented after duly checking customer reviews, ratings, history, complaints, satisfaction, trust, cost and general excellence. Here is the certificate:

All On Four Dental Implants

Our case of the month for September involves a full mouth reconstruction using dental implants and a technique called All on 4. All on 4, as the name suggests, involves replacing all of the teeth using 4 upper and 4 lower dental implants. The great advantage of this technique is that by using only 8 dental implants in total, the overall surgery is reduced thus reducing trauma to the oral cavity and there is an associated lower cost compared to traditional techniques where 6-8 implants were required for each arch. The typical case is where gum disease has severely affected the teeth health over many years thus resulting in a full mouth clearance, which was the case for our patient. Please view the before and after photographs:

Social 6 Lingual Brace

One of our favourite techniques is the Social 6 lingual brace. This is a great technique for the cosmetic improvement of the front 4 upper or lower teeth. The brace is placed on the inside of the teeth, making this a truly INVISIBLE brace.The treatment times are often very quick, making this a short term treatment. So if you cannot stand the thought of metal train track brackets, using aligners (such as Invisalign) for 20-22 hours of the day, and you simply want to straighten your front 4 teeth, the Social 6 lingual brace could be for you. Here is a recent example of how the system works: