We believe strongly in minimally invasive dentistry. Wherever possible we will use techniques that are kind to teeth and gums, involve no drilling of healthy tooth tissue and involve no pain. Our case is a smile transformation which follows these steps. The end result is simply stunning. Please take a look at the before and after photographs:
 

We forgot to post our case for January! Better late than never. Our case involves the use of the Waterlase i Plus 2.0 to perform a procedure called surgical crown lengthening. What is surgical crown lengthening? In simple terms, this is a procedure that exposes more tooth surface to allow a dental crown to be made in such as way that it can seat on sound tooth 360 degrees. Ideally, dentists require at least 1mm of sound circumferential tooth as provides a 'ferule' and greatly enhances the resistance form and retention of a crown. How is it performed? In most cases, surgical crown lengthening involved removing gum tissue, raising the gum away from the tooth and bone and removal of bone using a drill. Stitches would be required and a healing time of twelve weeks. Needless to day, this could be painful and traumatic. Not any more! We are able to use our amazing Waterlase i Plus 2.0 to perform the surgery with minimal trauma, minimal invasion, no raising of the gum, no stitches and greatly accelerated healing and minimal pain! Our Case Our case involves surgical crown lengthening of a lower molar tooth. It was heavily broken down with minimal sound tooth to place a crown above the gum level. Dr Nissit Patel used the Waterlase i Plus 2.0 to create a ferule to allow a crown preparation on the same day and impressions were taken also. The crown will be fitted in less than two weeks. Just take a look at the post operative photograph:
 

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:
 

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:
 

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:
 

Our case of the month for August is one involving cosmetic bonding. In this case, the edges of the central front teeth were worn, chipped and almost transparent.

Cosmetic bonding is a technique that can repair fractured, uneven, chipped and spaced teeth using a non invasive adhesive process. There is virtually no drilling required, no need for needles and no pain!

What's more is that we have recently improved our bonding process using fluid abrasion. The bond strength using fluid abrasion prior to cosmetic bonding is greatly enhanced.

Just take a look at the before and after photographs:
 

Our case of the month for July involves the restoration of severe tooth wear using the Dahl technique.

The Dahl technique is a great concept for the treatment of localised tooth wear, especially on the front teeth. The concept involves potentially a number of methods but we prefer direct bonding. For example, if the upper front teeth are worn but there is no space to restore them, we may use the Dahl concept to restore them. Direct composite restorations are placed to restore the teeth to the original anatomy and contours. This is done very carefully in accordance to occlusal planning (bite). This will cause premature contact on the new restorations and create space between the upper and lower back teeth. However, over time, this space closes and the jaw re adjusts to create contact once more. This can take a number of months. Therefore this treatment is often completely non invasive. Whereas in the past, teeth were cut down to pegs for crowns and veneers to restore tooth wear, we can now use adhesive technology to replace the lost tooth tissue.
 

Our case of the month for June is a short term orthodontic treatment (STO) to correct the upper teeth. STO has become extremely popular as a cosmetic dental option due to the non-invasive approach and the speed of treatment. In the past, traditional cosmetic dental treatments involved cutting down the teeth for veneers or crowns. Orthodontic treatment would often take 18-24 months, However, although there is a still a place for these treatments, there are alternative options. Please take a look at our before and after photos:
 

Our case of the month for May is one involving tooth wear. Tooth wear is a very common problem caused buy a number of factors and usually a combination of them all. The most common cause is night time grinding or bruxism. This can be hugely damaging to teeth. Did you know that on average our teeth make contact for only about 10-20 minutes of the day. During night grinding, the average contact time is 4 hours! It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out this is far too much contact which will lead to loss of tooth enamel. Just take a look at our case: