Dental Blog - Harley Street Dental Clinic

Braces that don’t hog the limelight

The ideal braces are those that don’t dominate your appearance and become the main topic of conversation and unwanted stares while you are undergoing treatment. Dental research has focussed in the past couple of decades on making treatment as fast, comfortable and unobtrusive as possible. Now, depending on your individual alignment issues, it is possible to undergo treatment in a matter of weeks or months, and to have invisible braces in Harley Street.

Invisible braces in Harley Street are not actually invisible, but this term is used to describe braces that are hidden or so discreet that they become pretty much impossible to see by the casual observer.

Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we have a range of braces that can be termed invisible or discreet. Let’s take a look at two of them:

Incognito

Incognito is a brand of invisible braces in Harley Street that are as near as you can get to invisibility. They are bracket and wire braces, but with a twist. The brackets are fixed to the tongue side of the teeth instead of the cheek side. The technical term is lingual braces. A bracket is custom-made for the inside surface of each of your teeth and then wire is strung between them to pull the teeth into position. These are the braces for people with complex alignment issues who have a strong need for discretion during treatment. Treatment times vary with the alignment issues but can be a couple of years. However, during that time the braces are completely hidden by the teeth.

Invisalign

Invisible in a different way from Incognito braces, Invisalign is the brand name for a treatment involving a series of transparent plastic mouth guard-style aligners that snap on over the teeth. Once in place, the 0.3mm thick plastic straighteners pretty much disappear from view and certainly will not be spotted by the casual observer. Another big plus with this brand of straightener is that they are removed for eating and cleaning, making both so much easier to accomplish than with fixed braces. However, Invisalign really only works on mild to moderate alignment issues.

A brief history of tooth replacement

Dentures have served the human race well. Evidence of their use up to 3000 years ago has been found. From the 16^th century onwards, the introduction of sugar into the western diet saw a boon for tooth decay. The cheaper the sticky substance became, the greater the need for replacement teeth.

In the 18^th century, dentures were made of ivory and human or animal teeth. The first porcelain dentures were also created then but were viewed as too white to be convincing as real teeth. In the early 19^th century, porcelain was mounted on gold plates to provide replacement teeth, which was then superseded by vulcanite rubber. Our modern-day dentures are made of acrylic resin, nylon or metal.

Dental Implants in Harley Street Dentures are still the most affordable choice for replacing an entire set of teeth. However, they aren’t the most effective.

Dental implants in Harley Street provide stable and long-lasting restorations that re-establish the function of your lost teeth, as well as the look. Dentures rely on suction to the gums for their stability. Over time, the gums recede, especially without any natural teeth in them. This is why dentures become loose. No matter how well designed they are, eventually dentures will lose their grip.

This isn’t an issue for dental implants in Harley Street. The implants are fixed into the jawbone and replace the root as well as the crown of the tooth. This is what gives them their stability, and as long as the jawbone remains healthy and the gums free of disease, the implants are anchored in place. Because the implants are made from titanium, a material that the body accepts as natural tissue, the jawbone grows blood vessels and bone tissue around the implant, securing it in place as if it were a natural tooth.

No more worry about your teeth accidentally falling out or wobbling around in your mouth, causing speech difficulties. And no need to take them out to clean.

And dental implants in Harley Street maybe more affordable than you think. A whole set of dentures can be stabilised on just 8-10 implants.

Talk to our implant surgeons at Harley Street Dental Clinic today and consign your loose dentures to the history books.

Keeping your gums in great condition

It’s easy to overlook your gums, until something goes wrong. It’s so easy to get focussed on making sure your teeth are clean and looking great that the gums fade into the background and become merely the landscape against which your teeth are attractively displayed. But when you come to the dentist in W1, we know that having healthy gums plays a vital role in having healthy teeth. That’s why when you have a check-up at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we will be as interested in the health of your gums as we are in your teeth.

What are gums for anyway?

Gums, those easy-to-miss pinkish things that your teeth grow out of, have an important role to play in your mouth. They surround and cushion your teeth and help support them in biting and chewing. It’s only when your gums become inflamed and pull away from the teeth, or start to recede, that you will realise just how important they are. Without good gums, your teeth can start to wobble around.

When you come for a check-up with the dentist in W1, you will feel us poking gently at your gums with one of our instruments. We are looking to see if your gums are inflamed, or bleed easily, or if they are pulling away from your teeth. The gums should create a tight seal around the base of your teeth. This seal prevents bacteria from sneaking in to proliferate in your jawbone.

Bacteria and gum disease

You have no doubt heard of bacterial plaque, a sticky film that builds up on your teeth. It is what you are getting rid of when you brush and floss. These bacteria give off acids that attack the gums, causing inflammation and bleeding.

The early stages of gum disease, called gingivitis, can be easily treated with a good oral health routine. The later stages, however, are much harder to get rid of. Bacteria get under your gums and the acids they give off attack your jawbone. That’s when your teeth start to wobble and fall out.

Make sure you have regular check-ups with the dentist in W1 and hang onto your teeth.

A new you at the cosmetic dentist in Harley Street

Everyone loves a reality TV makeover programme – Changing Rooms, DIY SOS, Love Your Garden, Ground Force, What Not to Wear – we are so fascinated by the process of transformation.

And while it’s easy to look out at what needs changing – the house, the garden, the wardrobe – especially if it’s someone else’s, there’s something else we can makeover that can have an equally dramatic effect on our lives.

A smile makeover is the combination of two or more cosmetic dentistry treatments. And it’s more than this. The cosmetic dentist in Harley Street will take a wide view and look at your teeth, gums, mouth and face as a whole, and see what work will show off your smile to its best effect. They may even recommend facial aesthetics such as BTX or dermal fillers, so your new smile can be housed in a refreshed and younger looking face.

What does a smile makeover include?

Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we can offer teeth whitening to brighten the smile, veneers to cover up chips, cracks and deep stains, gum lifts to shape and reveal the smile, Invisalign clear aligners for teeth straightening and dental implants to restore lost teeth as part of a smile makeover.

Who is suitable for a smile makeover?

Cosmetic work is best carried out on healthy teeth and gums, so do visit our general dentist and hygienist for a check-up first.

If you have worn, chipped, stain, crooked, space or missing teeth, a smile makeover is a great way to restore the look and feel of your grin and give you back the confidence to show off your teeth again. Our patients tell us that feeling happy with their smile gives their self-esteem a boost, which in turn improves their wellbeing and relationships with others.

The benefit of coming for your treatment here at Harley Street Dental Clinic is that we have everything under one roof. Even if you decided to top things off with a facial aesthetics treatment, we can do that too.

Find out more

Drop in for a chat and a free cosmetic consultation with our cosmetic dentist in Harley Street and find out how you could benefit from a smile makeover.

In-depth knowledge of tooth alignment

When you need to see an orthodontist in Harley Street, it helps if they are backed by a large team of colleagues whose knowledge and experience covers every aspect of dentistry. Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we know that dental problems can be complex and do not fit neatly into silos of knowledge. You may come in to see us because your teeth are wonky, but when we examine you, we could find other problems that dentists with different skills are required to solve.

Orthodontist in Harley Street When you use Harley Street Dental Clinic as your dental practice in London, you will have access to a large team of highly trained and experienced dental professionals, who work together when needed to solve your dental problems. You, or your children may come in for a check-up, but if you have problems with the way your teeth and jaws meet together, there is no need for us to refer you on to another practice for help. We already have an orthodontist in Harley Street right here in our clinic. In fact, we have more than one. These dentists have been trained beyond the normal requirements for general dentistry and have an in-depth knowledge of how to diagnose and treat issues with the way your teeth and jaws line up.

Why bother with an orthodontist in Harley Street?

Teeth that don’t line up properly tend not to last as long. If they are crowded or twisted or have gaps between them, they offer all sorts of difficult-to-clean places for plaque-forming bacteria to hide out and proliferate. These bacteria give off acids that cause decay and gum disease. Also, if only a few teeth are bearing the brunt of your chewing forces, they may well crumble away before their time. Misalignments of the teeth and jaws can also cause pain in the jaws, head, neck and shoulders.

An orthodontist in Harley Street has many more techniques and devices to hand these days to make alignment faster, more comfortable and more discreet. Why not come in and see how we can help you solve your alignment problems?

How the dentist in Harley Street can help with your headache

The position of your teeth and jaws can cause neck and head aches. You might not be aware of it, but that pain in your neck could be a result of the way your jaw lies.

The meeting of your upper and lower arches of teeth is known as your bite. If, when you bring your teeth together they don’t quite meet, there are gaps, or one arch protrudes over the other, this is known as malocclusion. This is the dental term for misaligned jaws.

Dentist in Harley Street As medical issues go, it may not seem like a big deal. However, it can cause problems with your teeth, gums, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and your facial muscles.

TMJ disorder can cause you to clench your jaw and grind your teeth at night. All kinds of issues can arise from this, including: migraine, neck pain, facial discomfort, clicking jaw, shoulder and even back pain.

If your teeth don’t bite together correctly, it can cause uneven wear on the biting and chewing surfaces, meaning that some teeth may wear out sooner than others. And teeth grinding can also cause uncommon wear and tear on the teeth.

If you have any of these symptoms and there seems to be no other cause, it’s worth talking to your dentist in Harley Street. They will be able to see if there is an issue with your bite, or if you are grinding your teeth.

It could be resolved by simply wearing a mouth guard at night to protect your teeth. If your teeth having been seriously ground down, your dentist in Harley Street may need to repair or restore them with a crown, white filling, inlay, onlay or dental implant.

Here at the Harley Street Dental Clinic, we also offer Cerezen, a remarkable new treatment for temporomandibular disorders such as teeth grinding. A small, custom-made insert is placed in each ear, providing pain relief in a comfortable and minimally-invasive way. Its unique design helps the jaw to maintain an open bite position, reducing clenching and therefore pain.

Drop into our dental clinic in London today and find out how our dentist in Harley Street can help relieve your aching jaw.

Keeping on top of your oral care

Speak to any W1 dentist here at Harley Street Dental Clinic and they will be only too happy to outline the importance of preventive dentistry. Brushing, flossing and visiting your dentist for regular check-ups are all very important for maintaining optimal oral health. Preventive dentistry is an essential basic healthcare staple that can allow you to keep your teeth and your family’s teeth healthy for life.

Dentist in W1 If you have ever suffered from toothache, you can appreciate that a healthy mouth is integral to anyone’s overall wellbeing. The slightest toothache can cause seemingly endless misery. Our W1 dentists offer preventive dental services to make sure these situations happen as little as possible to you and your family.

Detecting dental problems early

Your W1 dentists and hygienists are trained to detect the early signs of weakness or damage to your teeth and gums. Detecting and repairing these problems early can prevent further deterioration and possibly even avoid issues such as cavities, broken fillings and gum disease. Leaving these issues to fester can lead to the need for more drastic procedures such as root canals, gum surgery and even tooth removal and subsequent jawbone deterioration. This may sound like the worst of it, but, did you know that gum disease has been linked to heart disease, strokes, pancreatic cancer and more? Now you can really see why visiting your dentist in W1 for regular check-ups is a good idea.

Making you comfortable

Our modern dental clinic is well equipped for all your oral healthcare needs. Our experienced team offer sensitive and reassuring dental care, using contemporary equipment and up-to-date techniques for adults and children alike. If you are considering prolonged or significant dental procedures you can visit us to talk things over. We want to make sure you can make an informed decision about your dental needs and we will always suggest the most appropriate procedures to suit you.

Financial options

We have a range of options to make treatment accessible, you can even spread the cost of treatments with monthly payment plans. To book a consultation, simply call us today to arrange an appointment.

Complex orthodontics in Harley Street

Very few people are naturally blessed with perfectly aligned teeth and jaws, but the vast majority of patients only need a little help with orthodontics in Harley Street to untwist or straight up their teeth. Sometimes however, things are more complicated and the jaws need realigning as well as the teeth.

Orthodontics in Harley Street Ideally, this kind of work is carried out when the jaws are still malleable and have not yet set hard, that is when you are under the age of 18. However, not everyone can get this kind of treatment at the right age. This may be because they are living in a country where complex orthodontics are not available.

If you are one of those people who has grown up with jaws that do not meet together properly do not despair, here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we have put together a team of dentists under one roof who work together to solve this kind of complex dental problem.

We have a team of consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeons upon whom we can call to work with our orthodontists to solve the problem of badly aligned jaws and teeth. This involves maxillofacial surgery to move the jaws. Often it is a case of moving the lower jaw forward very slightly so that the teeth will line up properly, and then the patient might also need to have some braces to make sure the teeth are all pointing in the right direction and are evenly distributed along the jaws.

Dr Emma Laing spends all her time here at the clinic working in orthodontics in Harley Street. She has also spent time working in maxillofacial surgery so she knows when surgery is the right step for alignment issues. Emma can call on three maxillofacial surgeons: Mr Peter Hardee, Mr Paul Norris and Ms Helen Witherow. Dr Laing also has other colleagues who are orthodontists. Dr Ahmed Abdullah also works with children’s dental issues.

Here at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we believe that having a large team of dentists available under one roof makes life so much easier for our patients who need orthodontics in Harley Street.

Dental implants in Harley Street: keeping old age in its place

Most people associate missing teeth with old age – the inevitable wear and tear that leads to replacement crowns and maybe further down the line a full set of dentures. As we age we have to accept the breakdown of the body and that everything isn’t as sprightly as it used to be.

Dental Implants in Harley Street However, this isn’t something you factor in when you’re in your 20s. Everything works great, you can push your body to its limits on a daily basis with little or no consequence. Except if you lose a tooth. Contact and extreme sports such as hockey, snowboarding and mountain biking are an easy way to knock out a tooth or two and then you are immediately faced with a so-called problem of old age – and several decades to live with it.

Wearing a denture for the rest of your life isn’t an appealing prospect, especially if it’s your front teeth. Dentures rely on suction to the gums for their stability and as the gums recede over time, they become loose. Wearing even a partial denture can affect speech and food choices – certain crunchy and chewy foods can be off the menu.

Once a tooth is lost, the jawbone starts to deteriorate. It can lose up to 25% of its density in the first year after a tooth is lost. This can cause the face to sag. And if the gap isn’t filled, surrounding teeth may start to drift into it and also become loose.

How to prevent having to deal with these premature problems of old age? Dental implants in Harley Street replace the root as well as the crown, so it’s just like having your natural tooth back. They are screwed into the jawbone and secured there by osseointegration – the body views the implant as natural tissue and therefore bonds with it, growing blood vessels and bone around it. So, no more avoiding certain food, no more gum or jawbone shrinkage and no more speech impediment.

Dental implants in Harley Street give you the confidence to live without care again. Talk to the implant surgeon here at Harley Street Dental Clinic about how implants can help you today.

The importance of regular dental check-ups

At Harley Street Dental Clinic in W1, we provide a comprehensive dental service. Your wellbeing and the health of your teeth are important to us. However, we cannot offer you peace of mind if you forget to make your regular check-up appointments. Yes, it’s true that most of your dental maintenance takes place at home, and perhaps you feel like you’re doing a fantastic job, but the reality is that there are some things you may miss without the all important, six-monthly check-up at your W1 dental clinic.

Why are the six monthly check-ups so important?

The importance of regular dental check-ups and teeth cleaning cannot be stressed enough. It is essential to keep track of your oral health. When you let us here at Harley Street Dental Clinic in W1 take care of your smile, the chances of having to get dentures or undergo other expensive procedures decrease substantially.

During your regular check-ups, our dentists can check all basis for anything you may have missed and prevent minor problems from becoming big problems. We can spot signs of gum disease, tooth decay, oral cancer and other potential diseases. We can also advise you on any areas where you could improve your oral hygiene habits to prevent future problems. This includes brushing technique advice, perhaps you need a different tool to clean that hard-to-reach wisdom tooth for example.

Do I really need to visit the hygienist for that tooth clean?

Having your teeth cleaned regularly is not just great for your appearance but your health as well. You probably already know that a build-up of plaque can result in gum (periodontal) disease. But did you know that plaque contains bacteria that can cause inflammation and irritate your gums? Studies have linked strokes and heart attacks to gum disease, regular teeth cleaning could greatly reduce your risk of developing these issues. Aside from these rather heavy facts, a whiter, brighter smile just feels good, and a regular deep-clean helps to remove stubborn stains caused by coffee, tea, wine, tobacco, and other products.

Overall, regular cleaning and dental check-ups are the most effective way to ensure you enjoy good oral hygiene.

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