Harley Street Dental Clinic

A cosmetic dentist can help improve the appearance of a gummy smile. Many people come to our Harley Street clinic concerned that their gum line is too low, too high, or too uneven. A gum lift is a cosmetic dental procedure designed to sculpt and improve the appearance of the gums, giving you a smile you’ll be eager to show off.

Every year, the team of cosmetic dentists at Harley Street Dental Clinic perform many gum lift procedures on men and women who have uneven gum levels. Also known as gum reshaping, this procedure is a pain-free, effective way to improve the appearance of your smile.

How it works

If you are suffering from a gummy smile (where too much gum tissue is on show) you should first book a consultation with a cosmetic dentist at our Harley Street clinic. They will carefully assess the current condition of your smile and will ascertain if a gum lift is the most appropriate treatment option. Then they will draw up a detailed treatment plan.

In some cases, a gum lift simply involves the use of a laser to reshape the gum line, by increasing or reducing its length to better fit the shape and structure of your teeth. As well as being pain-free, laser dentistry involves cauterises the gums so you should not experience any bleeding.

More extensive cases may require oral surgery, in which case your cosmetic dentist will refer you to one of their surgical colleagues here at Harley Street Dental Clinic. Surgery can be carried out under local anaesthetic or sedation, and may involve the removal of gum and bone tissue.

Recovery time

In most cases, you will be able to return to daily activities straight after a gum lift. Your dentist will advise you of post-operative recovery time and care should you require more extensive treatment.

Teeth whitening is one of the most commonly-requested procedures from a cosmetic dentist. It’s one of the fastest and simplest ways to boost the appearance of your smile, so it’s not difficult to understand its popularity. At Harley Street Dental Clinic, our skilled cosmetic team offer three options for teeth whitening treatment: home whitening, power whitening here in the practice, or a combination of both options.

How teeth whitening works

With teeth whitening treatment, a special dental bleaching gel is used to gently remove everyday stains from the teeth. Tea, coffee, and red wine all contribute to staining of the teeth, as does smoking cigarettes or cigars. Some medicines and medical conditions also produce tooth staining as a side effect. Teeth whitening carried out by a cosmetic dentist is a safe and effective way to remove these stains.

Why you need a cosmetic dentist

There are many treatments available from the internet and from high street outlets that claim to give you whiter teeth. These are often cheaper than the options available from a dentist, but buyer beware – when it comes to teeth whitening, if an option sounds too good to be true, the chances are it is.

The treatments offered at Harley Street Dental Clinic have been extensively tested and have been proven to be both safe and effective. Products available from other outlets are unlikely to have gone through such rigorous testing, which means that not only are they less likely to produce predictable results, but also in some cases they can damage your teeth, gums or mouth.

Teeth whitening should also only be carried out on a healthy mouth, to reduce the chances of sensitivity during treatment. A cosmetic dentist will check you are in good oral health before starting your treatment. At our Harley Street clinic we have a team of dental experts on hand, who can treat health problems large or small before whitening treatment.

Patients who have lost all their natural teeth may not think a cosmetic dentist can do much for them. However, at Harley Street Dental Clinic our skilled cosmetic team can work with colleagues including prosthodontists (who create dental restorations) and implant surgeons to restore your smile in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Modern dentures have come a long way from the false teeth used even 20 or 30 years ago. Dentures of a sort have been around since ancient times, but 21st Century restorations have been designed to look and act just like natural teeth. By combining your dentures with dental implants, your cosmetic dentist can create a bespoke treatment plan that will enable you to eat whatever you like, smile and laugh with confidence, and have less chance of experiencing bone loss.

Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we know the value of both your smile and your oral health. When you come in to see us for a consultation about ways to replace your missing teeth, your cosmetic dentist will undertake a thorough clinical examination of your gums and any remaining natural teeth, as well as taking a detailed medical history and finding out a bit about your lifestyle. This enables them to create the perfect set of cosmetic dentures to suit your needs.

Dentures can be made from a range of materials, including plastic and porcelain. At our Harley Street clinic we also offer the option of stabilising your dentures with dental implants, which replace the root portions of missing teeth and keep your dentures securely in place at all times.

The advantages of dentures are manifold. These include:

• Helping maintain the shape of your jaws and face
• Strengthening the facial muscles, which helps with biting and chewing
• Preventing remaining teeth from moving position

Have you considered seeing a cosmetic dentist, but put it off because you don’t know what treatments are required to help you get the smile you’ve always wanted? Harley Street Dental Clinic’s cosmetic team comprises a unique collection of highly-skilled dental professionals who are here to help you whatever treatment is required. We welcome new patients for a no-obligation cosmetic dentistry consultation, whether you require procedures large or small, and even if you have no idea what treatment will be best for you.

When you come into our Harley Street clinic for a consultation, you will meet a highly experienced cosmetic dentist, who will examine your teeth and gums, and will also take such considerations as facial structure, hair colour, and personal smile goals into account before running through all the appropriate treatments from our extensive cosmetic dentistal treatment menu. They will also be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

While some patients require just one treatment to achieve their dream smile, others benefit from combining two or more treatment options. Whatever you decide, your cosmetic dentist will ensure you are happy and understand exactly what is involved in any treatment before drawing up a detailed treatment plan, which will include estimated timescales and costs, and the order in which procedures will be undertaken.

Of course, every patient’s requirements will be as individual as they are. However, some of the popular treatment options available from your Harley Street cosmetic dentist include:

Discreet orthodontics

Using either tooth-coloured or lingual braces, or clear aligners, our orthodontists can improve the alignment of your teeth.

Teeth whitening

Teeth are easily stained. Teeth whitening is a safe, fast and reliable way to remove common stains.

Cosmetic dentures

Dentures don’t have to be unwieldy and obviously false. Our specialist prosthodontist can create beautiful, realistic restorations to help you smile again.

A smile makeover is one of the most popular treatments requested from a cosmetic dentist at Harley Street Dental Clinic. Whether you have a particular cosmetic dental treatment in mind, or just know that you want to improve the way your smile looks, by coming in for a smile makeover consultation, your dentist can discuss all the best treatment options to help you reach the smile of your dreams.

How smile makeovers work

The cosmetic dentistry treatment menu available at Harley Street Dental Clinic is extensive and includes treatments large and small. Some patients will require just one treatment, whilst others will benefit from combining two or more options from our treatment list.

If you are interested in a smile makeover, you will see a cosmetic dentist who will carefully examine your existing smile and surrounding structures, as well as listening to what exactly you would like to change. They will then use the latest dental technology to enable you to see the results of any recommended treatments before you start – enabling you to make a fully-informed choice about treatment options.

At your initial assessment in our Harley Street practice, your cosmetic dentist will take into consideration such factors as hair colour, facial structure and features, to ensure that all treatments recommended produce results that are as natural-looking as they are beautiful.

Your dentist will discuss all relevant treatment options in-depth, and with the help of photographs, scans, and impressions taken as necessary, they will use 3D computer software to create a realistic idea of what results will look like from various treatment options.

Only when you have agreed on the best course of treatment will your cosmetic dentist finalise your treatment plan. This will include details of projected timescales and costs, and how any combinations of treatments will work.

A “gummy” smile is a common problem reported to cosmetic dentists. Some patients also come to our Harley Street clinic complaining that their teeth are too short. In most cases their teeth are in fact standard length, but are covered by excess gum tissue. Our skilled team of dental specialists have helped many patients to improve their confidence in their smile by removing excess gum tissue to eliminate gummy smiles for good.

What is a gum lift?

Every year many patients at our Harley Street clinic undergo a treatment known as a gum lift – also sometimes referred to as gum reshaping – to get rid of excess gum tissue and expose more of their teeth, to help create a more even appearance to the gum line. This boosts both the aesthetic appearance of the smile and the patient’s self-confidence.

How treatment works

When you come into our Harley Street dental clinic for a consultation with a cosmetic dentist, they will examine you and will explain the various treatment options available to improve the appearance of a gummy smile.

In many cases it is possible for your cosmetic dentist to remove excess gum tissue painlessly with a laser. As well as being painless, a major advantage of laser gum treatment is that you will be able to see the results straight away.

For cases where more extensive treatment is required, you may need dental surgery to remove excess gum tissue or bone. We have a skilled team of maxillofacial surgeons here at our Harley Street clinic, meaning that all your treatment can be carried out here in the comfort of our modern dental practice.

There is very little down time after a gum lift. You may experience some swelling or redness post procedure, for which we will prescribe anaesthesia. Your cosmetic dentist will discuss the down time associated with surgery at your initial consultation.

A cosmetic dentist can offer a range of fast-acting treatments to restore your smile. While at Harley Street Dental Clinic we don’t believe there is any such thing as a “quick fix” solution to dental problems – for we believe that treatments should be durable as well as aesthetically and functionally pleasing – we do offer a number of effective and long-lasting cosmetic treatments for patients who want to boost their smile quickly.

Smile makeovers

If you are interested in boosting the appearance of your smile with minimal fuss and time constraints, we invite you to join us at our Harley Street clinic for a smile makeover consultation with an experienced cosmetic dentist.

Every patient’s needs and requirements will be as individual as they are, so when you come to see a cosmetic dentist for a smile makeover, they will take the time to listen to your wants and needs from treatment as well as carefully examining your teeth, gums and surrounding structures.

At your initial smile makeover consultation, your cosmetic dentist will us 3D computer-aided smile design, combined with photographs, impressions and x-rays as required, to recommend the best course of treatment to meet your needs, and to show you what to expect from treatment before it begins.

Quick smile boosters

Some of the fastest smile-boosting options at our Harley Street dental clinic include:

Teeth whitening

Using special dental bleaching gel to remove everyday stains from your teeth, this treatment can be carried out here in our Harley Street clinic or at home. Treatment from a cosmetic dentist here in the practice typically takes an hour, while home treatment usually lasts about two weeks.

Veneers

Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain or composite material (white filling material) your cosmetic dentist can use to improve the appearance of your smile. They are placed over the front surfaces of the teeth to disguise a number of minor aesthetic issues.