Getting things straight – for you and your teeth

Deciding to get your teeth straightened is a big step for many people. At Harley Street Dental, we want to make the decision easier by providing you with treatment options and skilled advice before you even start. We offer a free consultation to those who are considering orthodontics in Harley Street.

orthodontics-in-harley-streetOrthodontics is a special field in dentistry that deals with sorting out misaligned teeth, correcting bites issues and closing gaps. Work of this nature requires careful planning to apply the correct amount of force in the right places and predict the behaviour of the teeth so that any issues with the final placement are solved in advance. For some people, for example, this might mean the removal of a tooth to make room for the other teeth to straighten out.

When you have orthodontics in Harley Street, we can let you have all the information you want about your plan and give you the reasons why we take each step so you feel in control along the way.  Remember to ask any questions you want to at your consultation or at any step along the way.

Many people experience benefits outside of aesthetics when they have orthodontics in Harley Street. Some bite issues can cause uneven wear on the teeth or even problems with the jaw muscles which can lead to neck, shoulder or even referred back pain. All of this can be alleviated with the correct repositioning. Also, straight teeth are generally easier to take care of and to clean so the chances are good that you will experience better oral hygiene after treatment.

Whatever orthodontics you have, you will need to visit your dentist quite often during the process so it is vital that you feel comfortable and happy doing so. We do everything we can to give you a good experience every time. We want you to look forward to coming because you know you are getting closer to the result you want.

Our team are friendly and professional with excellent orthodontic knowledge which means you can trust that you are getting fast, comfortable and well thought out treatment. Book your free consultation today to begin the journey with Harley Street Dental.

Visiting the Cosmetic Dentist in Harley Street

At Harley Street Dental, we want patients to be able to visit us for regular check-ups, for any work they need done and even for treatments that they just want to have.

cosmetic-dentist-in-harley-streetDentists can now offer a range of services to get you looking and feeling great and these are usually offered under the banner of cosmetic dentistry. These treatments are generally designed to enhance the way your smile looks but many of them can also have fringe benefits for the health of your mouth as well.

We know that some people have barriers to choosing dental treatments they want and so have addressed a couple of them below. Whatever your concern, it’s worth talking to one of our dentists as they are likely to be able to help.

What if I do not like going to the dentist?

We understand that some patients find it difficult to visit the dentist and this might make it harder for you to avail yourself of the benefits of elective procedures. Often people who are worried about visiting the dentist will only do so when they absolutely have to.

We think that everyone should have the opportunity to revitalise their smile with a visit to the cosmetic dentist. Harley Street Dental is sensitive to the needs of nervous patients and we are willing to work with you to make treatments more comfortable.

What about the cost?

Many people know that cosmetic procedures are usually not available on the NHS unless there is also a clinical need. This means that they are too worried about the cost to even investigate.

When you visit the cosmetic dentist in Harley Street, you will be given a full breakdown of costs up front including all likely visits and extra things you might need. Knowing what you need to pay without the possibility of future surprises is often the first step to feeling confident about going ahead. After that, you may choose to take a look at our finance plan to help spread the cost.

At Harley Street Dental we work with patients to overcome any issues whether they are financial or emotional so that everyone can benefit from the range of treatments we offer.

What to expect when you come to us for treatment

Are you looking around central London for a dentist? In Harley Street, you can visit a dental clinic that is proud of its reputation in the heart of London’s private medical district.

Your visit to the dentist in Harley Street will take place in a beautifully renovated Georgian house. Our dental clinic has been designed with patient care and comfort specifically in mind. The clinic is the brain child of our founding Harley Street dentist, Dr Stanley Kay, who wanted everyone who comes here to feel at home, no matter the reason for their visit.

cosmetic-dentistWhen you arrive at the dentist in Harley Street, you will be greeted by our warm, friendly and efficient welcome team. Once they know what you need, they can make sure you are seen by the most appropriately-skilled dentist, or treatment co-ordinator.

While you wait for your initial consultation, you can relax in our modern waiting area, where you will find tea and coffee, things to read and a television. We also have a dedicated interfaith prayer area.

The dentist you see will want to spend a while getting to know you and to understand what your needs and desires are, so that we can be sure that we fulfil them. They will also want to answer any questions you have, so that they can be sure they are offering you the highest standards of treatment most suited to your needs, and that you are going to find your whole treatment journey with us to be completely positive.

Once we have fully understood your needs and made a thorough initial examination, we can draw up a detailed treatment plan, including costs, which you approve before we go ahead with treatment. If your case is complex and requires more than one branch of treatment, then you will be treated by more than one dentist in Harley Street Dental Clinic. Your case, however, will remain the responsibility of one dentist, who will oversee your work.

By the time your treatment is complete, we want you to walk away feeling that you had great value for money, excellent dental care and a fully positive experience with us.

Your new life with dentures at Harley Street Dental Clinic

Losing one, some or even all of your teeth is a life-changing event. From now on, not everything in your mouth will have been made by you.

But at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we can help you make sure that it isn’t glaringly obvious to the whole world that not all of your teeth are your own.

dental-denturesFalse teeth have been around for thousands of years, since the ancient Egyptians. But they have never been very realistic. Think of joke wind-up chattering false teeth, or chewy denture-shaped sweets. The gummy bit is very pink, much pinker than real gums, and the white teeth are way whiter than most natural teeth. When you look back at your great grandma’s false teeth in a glass of water by the bed, you can see how these vital pieces of dental prosthetics got their comedy reputation.

However, in Harley Street dentists can now offer 21st century dentures made with materials that are so much more life-like than previously. The base (or gummy part) is usually made of acrylic and is shaped to closely mimic natural gums. These days the teeth can be made from either acrylic or, for a more luxurious option, porcelain, and they can be custom-made to blend with the shape and colour of your own natural teeth. Or, if you have lost all your teeth, your Harley Street dentist can recreate the shape and colour of your natural teeth if you have a photograph that we can use for guidance.

Wearing dentures has a number of advantages over living with the gaps of missing teeth. Firstly, there is the aesthetic value and the confidence that comes from facing the world with a full set of teeth on view. But also, dentures help flesh out the face and jaw to prevent the prematurely-aged appearance that comes with missing teeth. Dentures also help prevent the remaining teeth from moving around and to strengthen facial muscles, and prevent bone atrophy.

If you would like to find out more about dentures, then please book an initial consultation with your Harley Street dentist by calling 020 3813 9408.

Make the most of your smile

In Harley Street, orthodontic dentistry is an area of special dental focus. That’s because, here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we know how important it is to have a mouth that is great to look at as well as in great health.Orthodontic dentists make sure the teeth are well-aligned, and fit together as well as possible.

orthodontics-in-harley-streetIn Harley Street, orthodontic dentists aim to straighten out wonky teeth, not only to improve the patient’s smile, and but also to improve their oral health. They know that it is easier to keep straighter teeth clean than misaligned, crowded or crooked teeth, and this then reduces the risk of gum disease and tooth decay. Our orthodontic dentists also know that a bite with even pressure reduces pain in the jaw muscle and TMJ (jaw) joint, and can even dispel headaches that have dogged patients for years.

In Harley Street, orthodontic treatments offer various ways and systems to realign teeth and bites.

If you want your teeth straightened with utter discretion, then lingual braces could well be what you are looking for. These differ from traditional wire and bracket braces in that they are placed on the back teeth rather than the front ones. Lingual braces drastically reduce the visibility of your braces, meaning that the whole world does not have to know you are having your teeth gently moved into a new position.

However, if you do need braces on the front of your teeth, at Harley Street, orthodontic dentists can fix porcelain, tooth-coloured brackets to your teeth that will blend so that they are not the first thing people see about you.

If your case is suitable you could opt for another treatment. Invisalign invisible braces are transparent thermoplastic resin trays that fit snugly over the teeth and are so thin that they all but disappear to the untrained eye. Moving the teeth is done through gentle pressure exerted by series of trays, each one moulded to create another step along the teeth’s journey from crooked to straight. As the trays are removable, the patient can take them out to eat and drink, brush and floss, and attend important social or business functions.

Don’t let your smile hold you back in life

If you care about how people feel about you within those all-important first few seconds of meeting you, then you will know that having a great smile can make all the difference to how you are perceived when people first meet you.

cosmetic-dentistIf you are at some kind of crossroads in your life, perhaps you are planning a big career move in the next few months, or you are starting out again in the relationship department, then you might want to consider making sure you have a smile to dazzle with.

Having a smile makeover can make all the difference to your self-confidence, and Harley Street Dental Clinic offers a smile makeover that can refresh your entire look.

Here in Harley Street, dentists have trained in their special interests in bringing out the best in their patients’ smiles. Dr Mary She nouda has a special interest in conservative dentistry, and her colleague, Harley Street dentist Dr Abel Moreira is our designated cosmetic dentist.

When you come to see us for a consultation, we can offer ways to rejuvenate your teeth, whether they have been chipped and worn, or are discoloured or even gappy or crowded. With our specially-assembled team of specialists, nurses and staff, we can help you find ways to achieve an enhanced smile, and so boost your self-confidence and general well-being.

Your Harley Street dentist can offer a range of treatments to help you create the perfect smile, including:

  • Filling new cavities or replacing old amalgam filling with white composite fillings.
  • Teeth whitening to bring back the beauty of discoloured or stained teeth.
  • Porcelain veneers which provide an instant makeover by covering broken, stained or misaligned teeth.
  • Cosmetic dentures, custom-made to match your own gums and blend with your natural teeth.
  • Reshaping the gums in a laser procedure that lifts gums with little or no bleeding.
  • Dental implants, the permanent solutions to missing teeth.

Our Harley Street dentists aim for balance when creating your smile, taking into account the proportions of your face, as well as the shape, colour, size and alignment of your teeth. You will be able to see what we recommend with our 3D computer imaging technology, before you commit to any treatment.

Make sure your smile sparkles this Christmas

Here it comes again. The festive season. And for many people that means several weeks of parties, family reunions, hugs, kisses under the mistletoe, and smiling, lots of smiling.

teeth-whiteningWill your smile be up to it this Christmas? Will you be beaming your gratitude for your presents? Or will you be tittering behind your hand at this year’s appalling Christmas cracker jokes?

Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we know that feeling confident about smiling leads to more smiling and more smiling leads to higher serotonin levels, and more self-confidence.

If you would like a quick boost to your Christmas spirits, then visit our Harley Street dentist for whitening treatment. In the lead-up to Christmas we are offering teeth whitening at dazzlingly low prices.

Over our lives our teeth can become discoloured or even stained through the use of certain foods, drinks and even some medications.

However, teeth whitening, which is a safe procedure, can lighten the colour of your teeth with the use of a dental bleaching agent. How white your teeth become will depend on the nature of the staining and your initial tooth colour.

Choose from two methods of teeth whitening.

Firstly, you can choose to come into the clinic for a power teeth whitening session. This takes place in the Harley Street dentist’s chair. A protective barrier is placed over your gums and lips before the dentist applies a bleaching gel over your teeth. The gel is activated with light from a lamp, and the full process takes about one hour to lighten teeth by a few shades.

Secondly, you can opt for a home whitening kit. Your Harley Street dentist makes a special tray that fits perfectly over your teeth. You take it home and put the whitening gel in it and then wear it overnight or for a few hours during the day. This process takes about two weeks to achieve visibly whiter and brighter results.

This Christmas, you can take advantage of our treatments for the incredibly festive prices of £500 for the in-house treatment, and £200 for the at-home method.

Your child’s first visit to the dentist in Harley Street: what you need to know

As with many things, establishing a good pattern of visiting the dentist in childhood helps to establish good habits for life. At Harley Street Dental Clinic we have a skilled paediatric dental team, headed up by Professor Raman Bedi, Chairman of the Global Child Dental Fund.

dentist-in-harley-streetOur Harley Street team are highly experienced in working with children, helping to ensure that your little one’s early experiences of the dentist are always positive, stress-free, and fun. We offer a wide range of preventative treatments, including fissure sealants and fluoride varnish, to protect children’s teeth, with the aim of avoiding decay, cavities, and other possible causes of stress and discomfort.

Of course, we also live in the real world, so if a child’s tooth does need a filling, we will ensure that they are comfortable and pain-free throughout.At our Harley Street clinic the dentist will use a laser instead of a drill to remove any areas of decay before the filling is placed.

When to bring your child to the dentist

Harley Street Dental Clinic recommends bringing your child to see the dentist for the first time by the age of one year. By this time, most children’s milk teeth have started to appear, although all children vary and some babies are even born with teeth. You can come in for a chat with a dentist in Harley Street at any time during your child’s tooth development, even if all that is needed is to put your mind at rest.

These early visits to the dentist help your child to familiarise themselves with the practice environment. If they attend an appointment with a parent or sibling, young children often like to copy what they see – after Dad sits in the dentist’s chair and opens his mouth, the child gets their turn, too.

Your Harley Street dentist or hygienist can help your child develop a fun and effective tooth brushing routine at home, as well as providing age-appropriate information about the importance of eating a healthy diet, to ensure that their teeth stay in tip-top condition.

Why visiting the orthodontist no longer needs to mean metal braces

When you hear the word “orthodontist” do you picture metal train-track braces, so popular with teenagers? These are only one of the treatment options available from Harley Street Dental Clinic, who appreciate that in the world of adult orthodontics, discretion is almost as important as successful treatment.

An orthodontist is a dental professional who has undergone additional training to specialise in treating malocclusions, improving the position and alignment of the teeth and also of the jaw.

orthodontics-in-harley-streetWhilst the services of an orthodontist may be traditionally associated with children and young people, at Harley Street Dental Clinic we offer orthodontic treatment to patients of all ages, and have a wide range of both fixed and removable appliances available.

It’s part of our ethos here at Harley Street that it is never too late to visit the orthodontist, so if you missed out on treatment as a child or had treatment only to experience adult relapse (perhaps not wearing your retainer as directed), why not come into our dental clinic for a consultation to find out what an orthodontist can do for you?

Treatment from a Harley Street orthodontist

When you come into Harley Street Dental Clinic for a consultation with an orthodontist, they will undertake a thorough clinical examination, and will then talk you through the pros and cons of all appropriate treatments.

Among those on offer from Harley Street Dental Clinic are:

Porcelain braces

Braces afford your orthodontist in Harley Street maximum control over the movement of each tooth, and produce highly predictable results. Porcelain braces work in just the same way metal braces do, comprising brackets and wires. However, these are made from clear and tooth-coloured parts, so blend in well with the natural colour of your teeth.

Lingual braces

Lingual braces are made from gold alloy, making them an excellent choice for nickel allergy sufferers. Unlike regular braces, your orthodontist in Harley Street will attach these appliances to the rear – or lingual – surfaces of the teeth, rendering them invisible in daily life.

Invisalign

An alternative to fixed braces, Invisalign treatment involves using a series of clear plastic aligners to gradually reposition your teeth.

Beating your fear of the dentist to get back to health with a dentist in Harley Street

Are you scared of the dentist? Harley Street Dental Clinic is here to tell you thatyou are not alone – in fact, one in ten UK adults is so scared of dentists and dental surgeries that they neglect to go to regular check-ups. At Harley Street Dental Clinic we understand the needs of nervous dental patients, and have a number of methods of working with you to help you beat your fear and get back to full oral health.

dentist-in-harley-streetFear of the dentist has many causes. Some people have endured a bad experience during childhood, which has been enough to put them off dental treatment for life. At our Harley Street clinic we have a dedicated team of paediatric dentists, who are highly experienced in working with young patients, ensuring they feel safe and comfortable at all times, and helping to reduce the chances they will be scared of the dentist as an adult.

Other people fear they may be judged for having less than perfect dental health, whilst some can identify specific triggers – the sound of the drill, the sight of a needle, the feel of a Latex glove. Others still can’t pinpoint an exact cause of their dental anxiety.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic we will never judge anyone if their teeth and gums are less than perfect. We know that this would be counterproductive and could end up making their fear of the dentist worse. Instead, we will work closely and compassionately with you to find the best route to treatment.

We are happy to talk through your concerns at any time – nervous patients can have their first appointment in the form of a friendly chat, away from the dentist’s chair, where you can discuss your fears. Dentistry has advanced a great deal in recent years, and many people who haven’t seen a dentist in decades are surprised how much things have changed.

You can use in-chair entertainment – such as listening to music or watching a DVD – during treatment, and if you need extra help to relax Harley Street Dental Clinic also offers various forms of dental sedation. With all the best techniques available to phobic patients, we hope that you visit our dentist in Harley Street.