Our dental tip of the month is to ensure that your oral hygiene is as good as possible. This is the best way to prevent dental disease in the future. Here is a simple oral care regime:

1. Brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste for 2 minutes. 
 

2. Always floss or use in between cleaning aids. 
 

3. Keep sugary foods and drinks to a minimum in between meals. 
 

4. Visit the hygienist on a regular basis. If you have gum disease or have suffered from gum disease in the past, this should be every 3-6 months. 
 

5. Use plaque disclosing tablets occasionally to see where you are missing plaque from the teeth and gums. These can be bought from all good chemists.

Did you know that we routinely check your gums during our dental examinations and provide percentage scores on dental plaque and bleeding levels? This is a great way to monitor your oral health in the long term. Our sophisticated software automatically calculates these scores for us on every check up. Please remember, prevention is better than cure. To book your oral health assessment please call us on 020 7731 1162 for a comprehensive analysis.

The latest version of Invisalign is now available. There are significant benefits of the latest version with greater applicability, predictability and usability. The great advantage of Invisalign braces are that they are removable. 

Therefore they will not have an impact on oral hygiene, which is crucial when undergoing orthodontic treatment but also in everyday life. They can also be removed for social occasions and work related activities for example. If you have thought about Invisalign braces in the past, there is no better time to join over 1.8million people worldwide and straighten your teeth with this fantastic system. 

If you have any questions on Invisalign braces, please contact Paula our Practice Manager at our Fulham dental practice on 020 7731 1162 . She is currently undergoing treatment with Invisalign and has experienced some fantastic results.

The event of the year is taking place today, the Royal wedding of Catherine and William. What you may not have realised over the past few months is that Catherine has been wearing lingual braces to straighten her teeth the totally invisible way. Lingual braces are fitted on the inside of the teeth and this means that they are the only purely invisible brace. The brackets have a special low profile so that they are comfortable and easy to wear. The added advantage of a fixed lingual brace is that you have peace of mind that the specially designed brace is constantly working. We undertake a full range of cosmetic lingual braces to create a new smile, form very simple alignment to more advanced corrections. Our specialist laboratory, Wired orthodontics, are experts in the field and provide a diagnostic set up model to show you the final anticipated results. This enable us to plan your case carefully to achieve the best results possible. A case below demonstrates a social 6 brace in action. The results can be seen very quickly.
 

Continuing on from our series of case studies, the next case involves dental implants to replace a full upper set of teeth. Dental implants are the gold standard in replacing missing teeth. They can be used to replace single, multiple or all missing teeth. A common misconception about dental implants is that it is a very invasive and traumatic procedure. With modern techniques and planning, the procedure can be done with minimal trauma. In fact a patient recently mentioned that he did not feel a thing during or after the procedure! We believe that removing a tooth is far more invasive that replacing it with a dental implant.

The case in question required replacement of nearly of all the upper teeth. There were some badly decayed teeth present and these were removed first. A new denture was then made which provided function and aesthetics that the patient was happy with. After careful planning using CT scans and virtual planning software, 6 Astra dental implants were placed. On top of these very secure implants, a fixed bridge was placed using the Astra Cresco Bridge system. This is a non removable bridge which provides excellent chewing ability and aesthetics. 

After years of having a constantly sore mouth, loose dentures and gum disease our patient regained his confidence and smile with a new set of dental implant retained teeth. The photographs underneath highlight the dramatic change:
 

Invisalign treatment is about to improve! Tomorrow at the London Bridge Hilton Hotel, Invisalign will launch their new G3 software which will offer superior treatment options to Invisalign trained dentists and orthodontists. Our Principal Dentist and Prosthodontist Dr Nissit Patel will attend the launch and be able to offer the new Invisalign treatment regime as early a next week. Please contact us if you wish to learn about Invisalign treatment or cosmetic orthodontics in general.

We believe in creating beautiful smiles with non invasive measure whenever possible. Due to the advances in modern technology, achieving straight teeth quickly and comfortably is now a real possibility. In fact, many celebrities that you see on screen everyday are having cosmetic orthodontics. Did you know that Kate Middleton is completing a course of lingual braces, the truly invisible brace, just in time for the royal wedding?! There are many options to choose from and we will guide you to the most suitable ones.

One such example is Invisalign. This is a highly innovative system which is fully digital and uses clear plastic aligners which slowly guide the teeth into position. A highly sophisticated computer generated programme called 'Clincheck' will also show you the final anticipated result in a video format, unlike any other orthodontic system.

The advantages of Invisalign braces is that the aligners are removable which means that oral hygiene is easy to maintain. They are also virtually invisible to the human eye. Paula, our Practice Manager is currently mid way through treatment so feel free to ask her any questions you may have on Invisalign. Invisalign are changing their logo and branding soon. In line with this, we will soon be offering an unrivalled Invisalign Full Package. 

Watch this space for more details!

Our next case involved two front teeth which had two crowns. The patient was unhappy with the colour, shape and overall appearance of them. The main request was to provide a natural replacement. Front teeth are the first point of eye contact and as such extremely important in cosmetic dentistry. A number of factors must be assessed before treatment can begin and this starts with thorough planning. Initially, study models were prescribed and a diagnostic wax up. This is to enable the patient to see the anticipated final shape and contour of the crowns and compare them with the current situation. The wax up will also be used as the template for the final crowns and for the temporary crowns. The following photographs show how we dramatically improved the situation with cosmetic dentistry.
 

We are running a series of case studies to demonstrate the treatments and outcomes that have been achieved at Progressive Dentistry. Our first case was a long and complicated case involving failing crowns and bridges, which required a full upper arch rehabilitation. Initially the gum disease was treated by our Dental Hygienist and Therapist, Jenny Wiggins. This was done over a number of sessions with superb results. After all the failing crowns and bridges were removed, the patient wore a set of temporary teeth to allow the gums to heal and ensure that they could get used to the new design and bite. This was left for a period of 3 months. After full healing and adaptation, the temporary crowns and bridges were removed and a new set could be made. The difference in the gums and overall oral health was outstanding. The overall result was natural, aesthetic and met all of the patient requirements. 

Please view the series of photographs below:
 

Dr Nissit Patel, our Principal dentist and Prosthodontist, has been shortlisted in the last two for the Best Young Dentist category by Dentistry magazine. 

This is an award for dentists under the age of 35 years, who have shown an exceptional dedication to their profession demonstrating outstanding clinical skills, patient management, team leadership and continuing further education. 

Dr Patel says: "This is a great honour not only for me but for the entire team here at Progressive Dentistry. We have worked extremely hard over the past year to develop our first rate practice, which is dedicated to excellence and outstanding patient care. We aim to continue to improve the practice in the future ensuring we are one of the premier dental practices in London for general and cosmetic dentistry."