If you have read any of our case of the month articles in the past, you will know that we love the Social 6 lingual brace. We have been using this brace for over 16 years to straighten teeth in Fulham and across Europe ( yes, people do travel for this!). The major advantages are that the brace is placed on the inside of the teeth making it the only invisible brace on the market. Treatments are also super quick at usually 3-4months and certain tooth movements are made for lingual braces. Just check out our case of the month for June 2026 below and all will be explained.

One of our most popular cosmetic dental treatments is the Social 6 lingual brace. This is the truly invisible brace being placed behind the teeth so that no one will know that you are straightening your teeth! Most treatments only take three to four months. Get teeth ready for the Summer!
 

Our case of the month for April 2025 is a familiar one where there was some relapse after past braces and a front tooth had started to twist over the adjacent tooth. In the grand scheme of things, this is a minor issue but if you have already had braces and a front tooth starts to rotate, this is incredibly frustrating!

Now the good news is that we can correct this in a short space of time, with a discreet solution, with minimum fuss and at an affordable fee. The answer lies in the Social 6 lingual brace which is placed on the inside of the teeth making it the only truly invisible brace system. Please take a look at the before and after photos so see how it works.

One of our favourite treatments for cosmetic teeth straightening is the Social 6 lingual brace. This brace is the truly invisible brace as it is placed on the inside of the teeth. Even though lingual braces have been around for many decades, there is little awareness of the system as the treatment in the past has been kept within the realm of specialist orthodontists and the costs have been incredibly high compared to conventional braces. Now for complex cases, lingual brace treatment is an extremely difficult and technically demanding one for dentists and patients and the costs, quite rightly, relate to this. However, for more simple cosmetic alignment, the Social 6 lingual brace is a great option for simple, quick and affordable treatment.
 

Our case of the month for March is a simple but great one- we love it so much! It features composite bonding which is a favourite treatment of ours. People often ask what is cosmetic or composite bonding. Well the answer is simple. For many years, dentists have been using adhesive technology to bond fillings inside of teeth. The same technology can be applied to the outside of teeth to make them look pretty! In essence, if a tooth is worn down, fractured, uneven or discoloured then composite bonding can be used to enhance the tooth without having to cut the tooth down or destroy healthy tooth enamel. After all, dental enamel is the hardest tissue in the body for a good reason. It is there to protect teeth- why on earth would we cut it all away? The old days of Extreme Makeover (remember that show) are over. 

Often cosmetic bonding can be used for very subtle treatments such as our case. In this example, we treated the front teeth using Social 6 lingual braces to straighten the teeth first and then use composite bonding to enhance the smile line to even the edges, make pointed teeth look natural and camouflage the canine teeth which were quite pointed. There was absolutely no drilling of the underlying teeth, no needles were required, an entirely pain free process. Take a look at the difference:
 

Our case of the month for February 2020 involves using one of our favourite teeth straightening options- the Social 6 lingual brace and composite bonding to correct asymmetry. The treatment was completed by Dr Nissit Patel who comments: ' Over many years of being a dentist, I have realised how important it is to have teeth in the correct position before attempting any form of cosmetic dentistry. There are many benefits of this. Ultimately, if the front teeth are properly aligned then the following cosmetic dental treatments can be simple and have great results. For example, simple tooth whitening and composite bonding can have a profound effect without having to even touch the teeth in question. After all, enamel is precious and we should not be removing it for the sake for a quick fix. Modern day dentistry should not involve elective removal of tooth enamel - full stop. If teeth are crooked, without some form of orthodontic treatment, the only option is to drill the tooth down to create space for the restorative material to alter the appearance. This could be ceramic or composite resin. If any of you watched the series Extreme Makeover, you will recall how the patient was left with little stumps prior to the ceramic crowns and veneers. Yes, the transformation was profound but at what cost? Once the enamel is removed, which is the hardest tissue in the body, the protective layer has vanished leaving the tooth weak and prone to attack. We can be certain that a tooth that has been cut down will need additional treatment in the future whether this is replacement crowns, root canal treatment, post core crowns or even removal. Why take the risk? I advocate a minimal approach to cosmetic dentistry where the risks are extremely low. In our case below, the steps are simple:
 

1. Straighten using a Social 6 lingual brace
2. Tooth whitening with a take home kit
3. Teeth bonding with composite to enhance the symmetry
4. Retainers

In this case, there was absolutely no drilling of the enamel at all. Therefore the biology remains exactly the same and all that remains is a maintenance program to maintain the alignment using retainers and the polish of the composite. Yes, this is a commitment also but everything in life requires maintenance from cars, houses, fences (Storm Dennis recently took ours apart!) and teeth. Please take a look at the before and after photos. I was delighted and so was our patient.'
 

Our case of the month for August is a beautiful one involving a very natural smile transformation using minimally invasive dentistry. For those of you who have not read any of our case of the month articles, we believe in the least invasive techniques to produce stunning smiles. After all, we are all born with teeth that should last a life time. If the healthy tooth enamel is drilled away for cosmetic reasons, the tooth may not last a life time which would be a travesty. Our client was told to have a set of 6 veneers to produce the 'perfect smile'. Understandably, she was not happy with this solution which would mean cutting all of the enamel off the front teeth. Her aims were that of a natural smile rather than perfection and a treatment that involved keeping her teeth intact. The presenting situation showed uneven, crowded front teeth with some spacing present:
 

Our case of the month for December 2018 involves one of our favourite techniques: ABC A is for alignment. Straightening teeth using a discreet treatment method, usually in a short space of time. B is for bleaching. Whitening teeth to brighten your smile. C is for cosmetic bonding. Enhancing the overall shape and symmetry of teeth by adding to teeth rather than cutting away healthy tooth enamel. Our case presented with quite severely crooked lower front teeth which bothering him a great deal. They were rotated, overlapping and worn down from years of tooth grinding. Initially, they front 4 teeth were straightened using the Social 6 lingual brace. Aligning the front teeth means that any future cosmetic dental procedure such as composite bonding or porcelain veneers requires minimal tooth preparation if any at all. After alignment, the teeth were whitened using a take home kit with Phillips ZOOM gel 6% hydrogen peroxide, which lifted the overall shade by 4-5 levels. Cosmetic bonding was then performed on the front 4 teeth to level the edges. Not only does this enhance the overall aesthetics but this will also improve the bite. Having even edges on the front teeth allows a smooth guidance when eating and chewing. In turn, this will protect the back teeth also. Before and after photos:
 

Our case of the months for November is a simple yet effective teeth straightening case involving the lower front teeth. Straightening lower front teeth has a number of benefits which include:
 

1. Improved aesthetics
2. Improved access for cleaning
3. Improved anterior guidance (bite)
4. Reduces damaging forces on the edges and reducing tooth wear
5. Improved contact

For those of you who are not dentally trained, point 3 is how the lower teeth move up against the upper teeth forwards, right and left movements. The smoother the guidance the better. Teeth that are very crooked cannot, by nature, have smooth contacts with the upper and often one or two teeth take the force and are damaged as a result. A simple test is to stand in front of the mirror and bring your teeth edge to edge. Do they meet evenly? Does one tooth make most of the contact? Are your lower/ upper teeth worn and uneven? If so, it is worth considering treatment. Here are the before and after photos for our case: