Case 1: Composite Filling
As filled teeth age, the bond between the fillings and teeth gradually deteriorates with time. This can often lead to tooth decay in the parts of the tooth surrounding the filling, as well as aesthetic issues for patients when exposed at the front of the mouth.
At High Street Dental Practice these can be replaced using microsurgical techniques to carefully remove the stained fillings and parts of the tooth damaged through decay, whilst at the same time preserving as much of your own healthy tooth structure as possible.
This is often carried out under a small apron called a rubber dam which allows the dentist to isolate the teeth in the same way that a medical surgeon isolates the operating field. Once the teeth are adequately isolated and all of the unhealthy tooth tissue is removed, a careful selection of tooth coloured ‘composites’ are used to restore the teeth which work well both functionally and aesthetically over a long-term basis.
In today’s day and age ‘composites’ have revolutionised the way dentists work and in many cases have reduced the need for patients to have more extensive procedures such as veneers or crowns. This not only preserves the healthy part of your teeth, but often means shorter appointments and reduced fees.
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Case 2: Composite Rebuilding
In this case composite resin has been used to repair areas of tooth decay in the early stages. The dentist has gently removed the damaged part of the tooth caused through tooth decay. Again a careful colour selection was undertaken to ensure that the final result was acceptable to the patient when talking and smiling. Prior to modern day ‘composites’ porcelain veneers would have most likely been needed for an overall improvement in this patient’s smile, however this is a much more invasive procedure which carries with it an increased risk and cost to the patient.
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Case 3: Composite Rebuilding
In the case below a patient had fractured a porcelain crown through an accidental collision with his son. Rather than replacing the crown, a cheaper and quicker solution was used to repair the porcelain crown using modern day composite resins.
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Case 4: Composite Rebuilding
In the next case we can see the devastating effects of trauma to this patient’s teeth after falling and hitting a step. Once again tooth coloured composite resins were used to repair the fractures and the patient was happy with the final outcome of having her smile back.
This case was later treated with cosmetic porcelain crowns due to the extent of damage following her accident.
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Case 5: Selective Whitening
In this case a tooth had died following an accident, resulting in a visibly darker appearance compared to the neighbouring teeth. Following root canal therapy to disinfect the tooth and protect it from further infection, the tooth was selectively whitened using a peroxide based whitener. This procedure prevented the patient from requiring any of the healthy tooth tissue to be drilled away in order to restore her smile.
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Dental Implants
For many patients, removable dentures are not an acceptable solution for replacing missing teeth; due to the advances in dental implantology, we can now provide a fixed solution to most dental problems. Dental implants can be used to replace anything from a single crown to a full arch of teeth, as seen in this case.
Once the implants have been placed in the jaw (to act as artificial roots) impressions are taken and used to create teeth which are then firmly attached to the implants.
Many patients comment on how natural the replaced teeth feel and how much easier it is to eat and chew with teeth supported on dental implants. Whilst at first patients may find the process daunting, in the longer term the majority of our patients are very happy with the final results and are glad to have avoided removable dentures, which may have been the only option in their parents’ generation.
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