Fake or Real Cosmetic Dentistry?

I have just returned from a very enjoyable day at a conference focusing on the concept of Bio-aesthetic dentistry. This is the complicated way of describing what we aim for at my dental practice in Edinburgh namely improving the lives and smiles of our patients without aggressive drilling away of otherwise healthy teeth. It was also reassuring to find a room full of people that feel the same way . As part of the day I was reminded of a very powerful 60 second video by the manufacturers of the Dove range of soaps and cosmetics, that I first saw a few years ago. I think it is as powerful today as when it was released in 2005. Take a look and see what you think.....

 It serves as a timely reminder that in the field of cosmetic dentistry, aesthetic dentistry or whatever you actually want to call the process of enhancing and improving a smile that we need to keep our aims grounded in reality. More importantly it reminds us that almost every cover shot that we see on glossy magazines has been digitally manipulated in some way so these highly altered images are not the best benchmark by which to judge any part of ourselves. Don't get me wrong I think that enhancing any aspect of ones self  or situation with which we are unhappy can be a positive and life affirming thing to do, be it eating healthily, a new hairstyle, drinking less alcohol, exercising more or indeed improving a smile. I simply believe that chasing a false image of perfection may not be route to happiness.


So if we want to improve our smile ( which is really the only area where I feel qualified to comment ) what can we learn from this? I can only speak for myself  but, for me the answer is that the medias portrayal of perfection can be an illusion and I think it highlights the importance of realising that any cosmetic treatment is done for ourselves and not for others.  If you start from this point your chances of having a great outcome that you love is greatly enhanced.
What do you think?

Smile Makeover Tips From An Edinburgh Dentist

A smile makeover can mean many things to many people from changing just a single tooth to changing them all.  Most patients that come to see me have an idea in their head of what they wish. I am often asked for a specific treatment for example Teeth Whitening, Inman Aligner, 6 Month Smiles or Porcelain veneers.  These requests are  very often the result of hours of web based research. As a dentist  I am always pleased to find that my patients already know  a lot about the treatments that they are looking for as this is a great way to move towards a situation where you can make a really well informed choice of the right treatment for your mouth.

Ironically none of us really wants any of the above treatments, what we really want is the results that the treatments can bring,  be it improved confidence or simply  a better appearance in photographs. So I often  find the best place to start is to discuss in some detail what  results my patients hope to achieve. After that we  carry out a detailed point by point assessment of all aspects of our patients dental health. the aim here is to  look at  how we can create a smile that our patients will love while maintaining or better still improving their overall dental health.   

So to get the best out of any cosmetic treatment a great tip is to begin with the end in mind. By being clear about what you really want to change you can  aim to have the least amount of treatment  to achieve your goals.

Here are just a few questions that might help......

• What do you notice most about your smile good and bad - tells us what things we need to preserve
• When are you most aware of these features - can shed light on hidden problems that only show eg in photos
• If you could change just one thing what would it be - helps us to prioritise

Here are 3 more questions that I am always keen to hear my patients views on

• How do you feel about the colour of your teeth
• How do you feel about the shape of your teeth
• How do you feel about the position of your teeth

If you have a cosmetic problem that you would like to know more about why not drop us a line at our Edinburgh Dental Practice 

 

 

 

 

Kinder Than Porcelain Veneers, Faster Than Orthodontics?

There is a new idea catching hold in main stream cosmetic dentistry and to be honest, it is a change that is long overdue. In my  career to date as a  preventive dentist and a cosmetic dentist I regularly have had to balance my patients desire for a lovely smile versus my own personal view that we should always treat healthy tooth tissue as precious. For more than 15 years the team at Craigentinny have taken the view that that we should avoid  drilling away tooth  if at all possible. As a result  I have on many occasions declined to carry out treatment that patients have requested when it  would involve grinding away significant quantities of  a  tooth and lead to what I believe is  long term damage or complications.

You see,  when a tooth is prepared for a crown  there is a 5 - 15% chance that the nerve in that tooth will die at some point in future. And if the nerve dies then a root treatment becomes necessary. So when an alternative exists that is kinder to the  tooth  its seems to me a no brainer that we should look seriously at this option. As a result in the last 10 years I have carried out a lot of resin bonding rather than place veneers or occasionally crowns for my patients. Resin Bonding  usually requires little or no removal of the underlying healthy tooth and as such is completely reversible. Indeed resin bonding is so conservative that very often we are able to complete it with no need for injections or anaesthetics. A real winner for my more nervous patients.

As a treatment Resin Bonding or Composite veneers as they can be known, matches crowns or porcelan veneers for speed as they can usually be completed in one or two visits. Resin bonding does not suit everyone. It is a bit more prone to gathering stain so smokers probably should consider alternatives, that said in normal use any minor staining is easily polished away. This simple before  and after series  from a few years ago shows just what can be achieved. The cost was significantly less than using poreclain veneers to achieve a similar result and my patient was delighted.  Better still the natural teeth were completely untouched. Today we  may well treat this lady differently as we have fast orthodontics available with  the  Inman Aligner  or 6 Month Smiles however as the resin bonding can be stripped off back to the natural tooth at any time this patient  still has these options available to her. If we had chosen to place 6 veneers that flexibility would have been lost. Don't get me wrong veneers and crowns are still a great option for the right patient, and I still provide a lot of these treatments  but  if you do nothing else before having some cosmetic dentistry carried out, please do make sure that you consider all of your options, their advantages and disadvantages before starting.

What do you think is the best way to enhance a smile?

The Truth About Teeth Whitening

With the holiday season upon us, we always find a surge in patients asking us about teeth whitening at Craigentinny Dental Care. So here is the low down on  one of the most straightforwards cosmetic dental procedures.

With many millions of tooth whitening procedures having been carried out by dentists worldwide we can say with some confidence that it is simple, safe and fast. With take home whitening or 1 hour whitening  to choose from here are a few things that you should  know.

1 Hour Teeth whitening
1 Hour tooth whitening works wonders to kick start the process, but unless you follow up with at home whitening trays it is highly likely that the results will not be as long lasting as you might wish. All tooth whitening dehydrates teeth which is why they look so much better immediately after treatment yet many patients report a bit of a fade back in the two weeks afterwards. Particularly if the 1 hour treatment is not followed  up.  See some examples of tooth whitening at our dental practice in Edinburgh.

Take Home Teeth Whitening
The at home systems where you wear custom made tooth whitening trays overnight are in many ways the most effective and kindest to your teeth as they use lower concentrations of gel to achieve the necessary results. For the very best results with this system you need really well mad and snugly fitting bleaching trays.

Deep Bleaching

For the whitest "Hollywood style look" combining 1 hour whitening with at home trays in a process called deep bleaching can work wonders. While not to every ones taste,   this combination gives you  the opportunity to reach the lightest shade on the regular dental shade guide as a bare minimum. Experienced providers often offer a shade B1 ( the lightest )  or your money back promise. Here is just one example of deep bleaching in action.

 

As a patient you need to know that any system that uses lights - be it Laser whitening , LED, or  halogen acts the same way. The light source  is warming up the active ingredients in the whitening product so it is more effective. In 1 hour systems we do use much more concentrated tooth whitening agents so an experienced pair of hands and familiarity with the system counts for a lot.  

How long does it last?
On average tooth whitening, when done well, is believed to take around 7 years on average to relapse back to where it came from. Obviously there will be quite a bit of variation depending on your diet and tooth cleaning habits. It is usually possible to maintain your final results with a simple touch up for 1 or 2 nights per year using at home whitening trays. At my dental practice in Edinburgh we offer this service free of charge to patients who become members of the practice.

Is Teeth Bleaching Safe?
In the right hands yes it is. Naturally we hope that you will chose our Dental Practice in Edinburgh for this treatment but if you are further afield bear in mind that only dentists are legally permitted to carry out dentistry - of which tooth whitening is part. Teeth whitening by a dentist is safe and  effective. Since a mistake in treatment can cost a dentist their livelihood,  we  tend to take the process seriously. This means using materials from reliable, traceable sources, having great infection control procedures (and believe me this is much much more than just wearing gloves), as well as insurance to protect you in the unlikely situation that a problem does occur. Tooth whitening in any other location is a riskier endeavour especially  if you do experience problems during or after treatment.

 Enjoy the summer months and whiten with care!

Inman Aligner vs Fixed Braces

There is no doubt that short term orthodontic treatment for adults is currently a hot topic. The ability to rapidly move a limited number of teeth into better position is without doubt an attractive proposition for many adults. A question I am often asked is what are the advantages and disadvantages of choosing what seems like a shortcut to the end result.  

 The key area is to consider how you view each treatment. For example the traditional fixed braces approach in the hands of an orthodontic specialist will  get you the result closest to perfection. By this I mean

• all teeth front and back in their optimum positions
• the roots of the teeth will be neatly aligned in the best possible arrangement
• the orthodontist will have very close control over the whole process and can move teeth in almost any direction.

The price that you pay for this level of control is time which is why the traditional approach takes 12 -18 months or longer.

Short term orthodontics such as the Inman Aligner  do not tick so many boxes.

• Generally no attempt is made to change the way your back teeth meet together
• Movements are limited to the front most teeth
• While great improvements can be achieved, this technique cannot achieve every single movement that traditional braces can.

For some examples of what can be achieved why not take a look at our Inman Aligner Edinburgh web site

So where do Inman Aligners fit in? overall my feeling is that they should be looked at first and foremost as an alternative to more aggressive cosmetic dental treatments such as crowns or veneers. If I had a choice to improve my smile by moving teeth over 12-18 weeks to a better position or having them ground away to receive crowns or veneers then I would choose the orthodontic option every time. If I had a problem with my bite or the way that my back teeth  met ase well then I would probably lean towards more traditional treatments.

Ultimately the only way to be really sure what the best option for you, is to speak to a suitably qualified professional. A good cosmetic dentistry consultation should follow a framework to make sure things are not missed and our patients leave with all of the information that they need. Here are just a few of the things that we talk about in a Cosmetic Consultation at our Edinburgh Dental Practice

• what are the things that bother you about your smile
• what are the most and least important items on your list?
• a clinical assessment of your mouth
• a discussion of  ALL of the options open to you as a patient
• what are the advantages and disadvantages of each option

Why not tell me what else do you like to speak about?

4 Questions To Ask Before Having Cosmetic Dentistry

I have practiced in Edinburgh for around 15 years,  and in that time  the face of dentistry has changed dramatically. 15 years ago dentistry was all about health and function, very  little was said about cosmetic dentistry. While there is no doubt that the cosmetic revolution has helped to drive improvement in dental techniques, materials and choices for patients  I think it is important that we also remember the important lessons of the past.

In my Edinburgh dental practice our records system has been fully computerised for the last 12 years. Every document we receive is scanned, and all of our notes and treatments  are recorded digitally. As a result of working not only as a Dentist in Edinburgh but at the same Dental Practice in Edinburgh I have had the opportunity to watch how treatments and materials  survive over time. Thankfully the answer is remarkably well and  our computerised records system allows us to see at a glance, how long a particular filling or crown or veneer has lasted.  At Craigentinny Dental Care we have never abandoned the mantra of dental heath first and last.  We believe that whatever we do for our patients should stabilise or promote their dental health even if the treatment is for cosmetic purposes, and when the treatment is completed it should be maintainable by you the patient.

Here are the 4 questions I think everyone should ask before having cosmetic treatment carried out.

1. how likely is it that this treatment will shorten the lifespan of my teeth?
2. are there alternative treatment options that are kinder to the teeth available?
3. if so, what  are there any compromises in the end result that I would need to accept?
4. how often will this treatment need to be replaced / re done?

Personally I love it when someone asks me these types of question as invariably it leads to a good discussion and, I hope a more informed patient. Not every one of the questions above  has a simple answer but the conversation that they provoke will invariably help you to make better decisions about your smile.

As a final parthing thought, follow our 4 tips for dental health and no matter what treatment you choose it will be much more likely to stand up to the test of time.