Dental Blog - Harley Street Dental Clinic

Creating good habits for a lifetime

As a new parent, you will know that it is important to instil good habits in your children, but did you know that they will be taking in your every move, and trying to replicate it, from the moment they are born? This means that you can start preparing them to have good teeth for life from a very young age by bringing them to the dental clinic in W1.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we believe that the earlier you start getting your little ones used to the dental clinic in W1, the easier it will be to get them to create good oral hygiene habits. To that end, we suggest that you bring your infants along to your own appointments. It may not seem like they are taking anything in, but those tiny people are sponges and nothing gets past them. If you show them that having a check-up is a positive experience from the word go, they’ll see it as such when the time comes for them to have their own check-ups.

Check-ups

At Harley Street Dental Clinic in W1, we can start taking a look at your children’s teeth as soon as there are any to look at. Meanwhile at home, you can start brushing their teeth with your finger and a bit of children’s toothpaste before moving onto a baby’s toothbrush.

You can make toothbrush time into all sorts of fun games so that it’s more fun to stand at the bathroom sink and clean.

Tooth decay

Children’s tooth enamel is softer than that of adults, which is why they suffer more from decay. Of course, sugary snacks and drinks also play a big part.

There are a couple of treatments that can also help protect children’s teeth against decay. We can soak them in trays of fluoride gel, which hardens up the enamel against decay. We can also paint the back teeth with sealants to stop decay-causing bacteria getting at the teeth.

The hygienist can also help by teaching them great brushing skills in a fun and engaging way.

Between us, we can turn your child into a toothbrushing ninja, set for a lifetime of great teeth.

Keep it regular with your dentist in Harley Street

Are you having a busy day? A busy week? Month? Year? Life? We bet you are. It seems that no matter how many gadgets we invent to make the day go by with less effort, the more we seem to run around. With work, doing things for the kids and trying to fit in the odd bit of exercise, the day is over before it has begun and seemingly important tasks can get put off so many times that they are officially forgotten.

It’s understandable that going to the dentist in Harley Street might be one of those things on your ‘forgotten-to-do list’ but if it is, you need to put it back at the top of your actual to-do list. Here’s why:

Coming to the dentist in Harley Street for a check-up is how we keep an eye on what’s going on in your mouth. When we peer into your mouth and gently poke at your teeth and gums, we are looking for signs of tooth decay, tooth damage and gum disease.

The earlier we catch any signs of decay, damage or disease, the easier they are to treat. Better a tiny filling than a massive one. Better to know you may have to step up your oral hygiene routine a bit, than succumbing to gum disease. And so on, and so on. The longer you leave any problems to chance, the more expensive and invasive they will become to fix.

The last resort for most tooth problems is extraction and replacement, and this can lead to a whole new level of expense and hassle, especially for some treatments.

Twice a year please

Come to Harley Street Dental Clinic twice a year for a check-up and a scale and polish with the dental hygienist. The latter removes any build-up of tartar and plaque, the acids from which are the root cause of decay and gum disease. If you do that, and carry out a diligent oral health routine at home, you stand a good chance of hanging onto your teeth.

Book yourself in now and get back on track with your teeth.

Line up your teeth with Invisalign in Harley Street

If you are looking for reasons to invest in getting your teeth realigned that go beyond the cosmetic benefits, then you will be glad to know that teeth that are well aligned tend to last longer than wonky teeth. This is because they are easier to keep clean and work better as a team in bearing the strain of the force that chewing creates.

Now that you know there are multiple oral health benefits to investing in straightening, all you have to do is decide which method to go for. How about Invisalign in Harley Street?

Never heard of Invisalign? Don’t worry, it’s not because it’s not well known as a treatment. In fact, more than 6 million people have had their teeth realigned with Invisalign since these clear aligners first came onto the market over 20 years ago. It’s because these aligners are so good at being unnoticeable that you are unlikely to ever see anyone wearing them.

Invisalign in Harley Street go over the teeth like a mouth guard. But that’s where the similarity ends. Invisalign are made of clear, rigid plastic that is so thin its’s just like an extra layer of enamel. Inside each aligner are pressure points that press on the teeth. After about 72 hours of sustained pressure, the jawbone reacts by rebuilding the bone around the tooth to relieve that pressure.

You are given a series of aligners and wear each one in turn until the pressure wears off. This takes around 7-10 days for each set.

What about eating?

One of the reasons why more than 6 million people have chosen Invisalign is that you can take the aligners out to eat and drink. This means you still retain your freedom of choice when it comes to eating, and that you don’t have to spend ages picking food out from between brackets and wires after every meal.

You must wear your aligners for at least 20 hours a day to get your treatment done on time, but this is easy when you know they can’t be seen anyway.

Want to know more? Book yourself in for a consultation with Harley Street Dental Clinic.

Dental implants in Harley Street: the basics

If you are looking at gaps in your mouth and wondering how to get them fixed, then you need to know about dental implants in Harley Street.

Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we have fitted thousands of dental implants and will guide you through the various stages we know so well. We know that when you understand why dental implants in Harley Street take time, you’ll be thrilled with the end result. We treat each patient with the utmost care and patience, and the time invested is absolutely worth it.

Consultation

The first step is an in-depth consultation. We will answer any questions you have about the process and will be happy to allay any fears you have about it. We will take a detailed look at your teeth, gums and jawbone, using x-rays and scans. These are needed to plan the treatment, and to know where to put the implants. They are also needed to make sure that your jawbone is healthy enough for the implant surgery and will sustain the implants when you start using them in the same way as you would your natural teeth.

Preparatory work

If your jawbone looks like it needs some help, we may suggest you have a bone graft or a sinus lift. This means adding in new bone material that then requires some weeks to integrate with your jawbone.

Implant surgery

The surgery itself doesn’t take all that long. It is carried out under local anaesthetic and you can also have sedation if you are feeling nervous.

Healing time

You will need to allow 2-6 months for your dental implants to integrate with your jawbone. During this time, the bone will grow new tissue, fusing with the implants. This is what holds them in place so that you can chew properly again. How long it takes depends on your age and state of health. During this time, you need to stick to soft foods.

After that, you can eat whatever you want again, and no one will know these are not your real teeth.

Want to find out more? Come in for a chat with our friendly team at Harley Street Dental Clinic.

Have you been checked for oral cancer recently?

Going to the dentist in W1 is not just about dealing with decay and gum disease, another important thing we are always on the lookout for is oral cancer.

Mouth cancers can develop almost anywhere in the soft tissues of the mouth: the tongue, the cheeks, the gums, the roof of the mouth and the lips. Less commonly, cancers can also grow on the saliva glands, the tonsils or the back of the throat.

Part of our job as your dentist in W1 is to give you regular checks for oral cancers.

Symptoms of mouth cancer

As your dentist in W1, we will check the inside of your mouth for

mouth ulcers that refuse to heal
strange lumps in the mouth and neck that don’t go away
odd numbness on the lips and tongue
red or white patches
development of a lisp.

We will look carefully inside your mouth and also feel into your neck.

Who is at risk of mouth cancer

Mouth cancer is directly linked to lifestyle, so it tends to show up in later life. If you are aged between 50-74, you are more likely to develop mouth cancers.

What you have been up to in your life will also determine the likelihood of your developing oral cancers. Needless to say, if you have been a smoker, or smoke now, you are more likely to develop mouth cancers. Your chances also go up if you are a regular drinker.

If you do both, then you are at even more risk. This is because the carcinogens from the tobacco dissolve into the alcohol and can then move into the cells more easily.

You are also at more risk if you’ve had a poor diet, so eating more fresh fruit and vegetables is a good idea. Obesity is also linked to mouth cancers.

Younger people at risk

Generally speaking, younger people are at less risk of developing mouth cancer. But if you have human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts, the risk goes up.

If you feel that you fall into any of the above categories and have never, to your knowledge, been checked for mouth cancers, please do ask for a check.

Get a check-up with the orthodontist in Harley Street

Did you know that you can bring your child into Harley Street Dental Clinic for an orthodontic check-up? If you perhaps don’t know what that actually involves (you’re not the only one), let us explain so that you can see how vital this check-up is to the future of your child’s dental health.

Orthodontist in Harley Street These days, it’s highly unusual for a child to develop a set of perfectly aligned teeth in a good wide jaw. It’s all to do with not chewing enough, but that’s another story in another blog this month.

If you can find out what is going to happen to your child’s adult teeth when they come through, you can put plans in place to deal with any problems as they arise, rather than waiting for the teeth to be fully in place and then dealing with them.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we recommend bringing your child in for a check-up with the orthodontist in Harley Street when their adult teeth are just starting to come through, around the age of 7.

Our orthodontist in Harley Street can use scans and x-rays to take a look at the adult teeth lining up behind the baby teeth and make accurate predictions as to how they are going to come through. We can also take a look at the jawbone and predict whether it is going to provide enough space for the teeth to line properly on.

If there are any potential problems, we can put a treatment plan in place to deal with them effectively as they happen. What this means is that your child can start wearing braces around the age of 9 if it’s likely they will need them, rather than having to wait until they’re an adult where treatment can be slower and more complex.

Some realignment treatments can take 2-3 years to complete, which can be embarrassing for self-conscious teenagers (we’ve all been there). If you start their orthodontics treatment at an early age, your child can sail through dreaded adolescence with their teeth already fixed, making life easier for the both of you.

Long-term stability with dental implants in Harley Street

What do you want from your replacement teeth? Do you want teeth that look like your original teeth? Do you want teeth that don’t take too much time and hassle to keep clean? Do you want teeth that can bite and chew through any food you fancy eating? If you have answered yes to all of the above (and who wouldn’t?), then you need to investigate getting dental implants in Harley Street.

Dental implants in Harley Street are the latest generation of tooth replacement options. They revolutionised the world of false teeth when they first appeared in dental clinics more than 30 years ago. Dentists could see the versatility they offered, and came up with ways of making them more affordable and available to people.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we have been fitting people with dental implants for many years. We never cease to be delighted with how these little gems of dental engineering can transform lives, giving people back their spontaneity and freedom of diet.

Why so happy?

Dental implants are the only method of tooth replacement that mimics nature by replacing the root of the tooth. Fixed bridgework and dentures only replace the crowns, and this can cause problems for some people.

Dental implants replace the roots with little posts or screws made of titanium. This is a bit of a miracle metal as it’s one material that the body treats as part of itself rather than an invader it must get rid of. When dental implants are put into specially created channels in the jawbone, the body grows new bone tissue all over them. This is what holds the dental implants firmly in place, giving people back their chewing power.

One dental implant can hold up to 3 teeth on a bridge, so there’s no need to have one implant per lost tooth, which can save a lot of money. Plus, cleaning them is simply a matter of a rigorous oral health routine to remove plaque. If you are careful to keep your implants clean, you can expect them to last for at least 15 years, and probably for decades.

To find out more, why not come in for an exploratory chat?

Looking for a dentist in W1?

Welcome to London. It’s enormous. It’s busy and it’s crammed full of dental clinics. How on earth are you going to find one that’s right for you? Well, if you live or work in central London and want a great private dental clinic, and you don’t really know the city, then it makes sense to start in Harley Street, which has been a centre of exclusive medical practices for hundreds of years.

Harley Street Dental Clinic is housed in a beautiful Georgian townhouse that has been turned into a friendly, elegant dentist in W1 that caters for every dental need you may have.

We are a large clinic, with highly trained dentists in every area of dentistry. That means that you will never need to go anywhere else for specific treatments and can have all your dental needs met under one roof. Bearing how long it can take to get from A to B in this huge capital city, not having to travel for extra dental care can be a real bonus.

When you first come in for a treatment, the dentist whom you first see will oversee your treatments from then on. Even if you have a treatment with one of our other dentists, you will always come back to your initial dentist, who will have been informed of any additional treatments and will know exactly what’s been going on and what needs to happen next.

Now, what about treatments? Well, whatever you have done, you will always need to come in for regular check-ups. We recommend twice yearly for most people for a general check-up and a scale and polish. From that check-up, we will be able to see if you need any particular treatments and answer any questions you may have.

You may need help with gum disease, or deteriorating teeth. You may need braces or cosmetic dental work to improve your smile. Whatever you need, rest assured that you will be able to find it here at Harley Street Dental Clinic.

Why not come in and meet our friendly, professional team before you decide to register with us?

Inspiring lifelong oral hygiene habits

When you become a parent, you find yourself constantly under surveillance by a tiny being, intent on copying your every move. What you say, what you do, how you take care of your teeth, everything goes into that little brain and will later be reproduced subconsciously in order to navigate the world. It’s an important responsibility, and a fascinating glimpse into the way nature prepares our young ones for life.

As far as teeth go, you cannot start early enough in getting your infant comfortable and familiar with coming to the dentist in Harley Street.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic in London, we like you to start bringing your children in with you as early as you can. Their inquisitive brain is soaking up its environment and will register the dental clinic as a safe place to be. It will see you in the dentist’s chair having a lovely chat with the dentist and dental nurse and store away that this is a good thing to do.

Later on, when your baby has their first tooth, we can take a little look inside their mouth and get baby used to having check-ups too. At home, you can start brushing gently and let them see you brushing your teeth too.

With repeated exposure to the various aspects of oral hygiene at home, and at the dentist in Harley Street, your baby will grow up to effortlessly include tooth brushing and check-ups as a regular and important part of life.

Taking care of children’s teeth

It takes children a good few years to master the art of toothbrushing. In the meantime, their tooth enamel is softer than it will be in later years, and chances are that they are also big fans of sweet things. No wonder that they are so susceptible to tooth decay.

The dentist in Harley Street can help fend off decay with a couple of great treatments. Fluoride treatments, when we soak the teeth in a gel, helps harden up the enamel. Fissure sealants are painted on the chewing surfaces of the teeth to provide a barrier against decay-causing bacteria.

Between us, we can give your children great teeth for life.

Clear braces in Harley Street, what you need to know

If you want to get your teeth straightened, modern dentistry means that you can have treatments that won’t take over your life or your face. Clear braces in Harley Street blend in with your smile so that they can barely be seen. You can carry on with your life without feeling like everyone is staring at your teeth or asking constant questions about your treatment.

Getting started

If you’re interested in clear braces in Harley Street, the first step is to book a consultation with our resident orthodontics dentist Dr Emma Laing. Emma studied this branch of dentistry for some years after completing her five years of training in general dentistry. She will recommend the most appropriate clear braces in Harley Street for your alignment issues.

Going through the treatment

Once your braces have been fitted, you will likely go through a few days of getting used to wearing them. If you have fixed braces, there is a learning curve around eating and the subsequent cleaning routine afterwards, but you will soon get used to it. You may also need a few days to adjust to speaking with braces in your mouth.

You will need to come back to see Emma every couple of months, so that she can check on your progress and make any necessary adjustments. This is a great time to ask Emma any questions you may have about your treatment.

How long your treatment will take depends mostly on how complex your alignment issues are. It also depends on your age; the younger you are, the quicker the treatment.

After treatment is complete

Once your teeth have reached alignment, and your braces have been removed, you will need to wear a retainer for a certain amount of time. Retainers keep the teeth in their final positions while the ligaments that hold them in their sockets and the newly built bone around them, settle down.

People also often choose to get their teeth whitened or have any little imperfections dealt with so that they feel like they’ve had a complete smile makeover.

Speak to our friendly team about clear braces in Harley Street, and take the first step towards your very own picture-perfect smile.

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