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One of the most important aspects of dentistry is to prevent dental disease. This is achieved by regular examinations with your dentist – Dental Treatment in Winchester
Both natural teeth and teeth with fillings or restorations need to be in a clean environment. At Arbour Dental we aim to help prevent cavities, preserve teeth that have restorations and manage the health of the gums.
At the initial visit, a complete examination is carried out – assessing teeth, and gums, screening for oral cancer and any other pathology, and establishing oral hygiene practices and regularity. We also include a dietary check to ensure that the intake of sugary foods is minimised.
Oral hygiene instructions are given including brushing technique and flossing regime and reinforced in subsequent visits. We aim to educate patients of all ages to maintain a healthy oral environment
Coupled with the complete examination we have very experienced hygienists who will ensure that the gums stay in a healthy state and will explain and show you all the necessary techniques involved in keeping the mouth clean.
Over 80% of the adult population have some mild to severe gum disease. Patients have to maintain healthy gums as this is important to prevent tooth loss. Inflammation of gums, if left untreated, will lead to loss of bone and ultimately tooth loss.
Amalgam, white or gold fillings.
Traditionally amalgam has been used to restore cavities in teeth.
In more recent years amalgam has been widely replaced by white fillings called Composites.
If cavities are too large and broken down then ceramic inlays, gold inlays or onlays can be made.
When teeth are badly broken down then crowns can be made to fit over the prepared remains of the tooth structure. These can be gold or a mixture of metal and porcelain.
When teeth are missing they can be repaired with bridges.
Commonly wisdom teeth are removed only because they do not have room to erupt into an ideal position in the mouth. This will be carefully assessed using xrays and decision will be made.
In the unfortunate instance when a tooth is so badly broken down or fractured then extraction might be the only solution.
When a tooth has had either its blood or nerve supply damaged from decay, injury or infection then a root canal treatment is performed.
The aim of root canal treatment is to remove the infected tissue inside the tooth canal ( in some teeth there are multiple canals) and then clean out and sterilize the canals and thereafter filled to prevent further infection.
Finally the tooth is restored with a filling material and if very large it may require an onlay or a crown.
Implants, in recent years, are becoming increasingly popular to replace missing teeth.
A dental implant, is inserted into the bone where the tooth is missing. Once fused to the bone, usually within 3 months then it is restored permanently. This acts like the root of a tooth and forms a stable base onto which crowns, bridges or dentures can be attached.
These are also used to replace missing teeth by using adjacent teeth to act as retainers or abutments.
If there is only one missing tooth then the better option would be an implant.
Dentures are an option to replace a single tooth to multiple teeth. As they have to be removed twice daily to be cleaned, it has become a less popular choice of long term treatment.
They also become loose with time as gums and underlying bone shrinks and those can pose discomfort with eating and speaking and can decrease a person’s confidence.
However, if you are wearing dentures they can be stabilised using implant retainers.
Cosmetic dentistry involves improving teeth shape, colour or positioning in order to improve a patient’s smile.
It can therefore be simple treatment or extensive smile makeovers. It is a common fact that people with a good smile often exude confidence.
Some of the treatment in this area include teeth whitening, and movement of teeth (orthodontics) – here we use Invisalign (invisible braces) veneers, crowns, etc.
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