Modern dentistry is all about finding ways to prolong the life of your natural teeth. ‘Teeth for life’ is the catchphrase we use to encapsulate this approach.
Teeth for life starts with you at home, making sure to spend two minutes twice a day brushing your teeth, cleaning out between them with floss and interdental brushes and steering clear of seriously sugary foods and drinks. Your routine also includes coming in for a check-up and scale and polish with us at Harley Street Dental Clinic.
If you do all this, you stand a very good chance of hanging onto your teeth for a good long time, maybe even your whole life. However, there is always the chance of dental decay and if that happens, what we call restorative dentistry has various tools for making your teeth like new again, ranging from fillings all the way up to crowns, and even if you do lose your teeth, we can fit you with dental implants, dentures and bridges.
We are not mad keen to remove your teeth. The best teeth are natural teeth, and as long as your tooth roots are good, we should be able to use one of our methods to keep the crowns going.
Fillings
We use white fillings to fill small cavities. These are made of composite resin, which we put into the cleaned-out cavity in layers, which are cured by a UV light. White fillings don’t remove as much healthy tooth material as amalgam, plus we can shape them to give you back the mound and valleys that make a good chewing surface. White fillings are much stronger these days and can last for years. Plus, they look much better.
Inlays and onlays
We make a new surface from dental porcelain when the cavity is large. This strengthens the tooth.
Crowns
This is an entire new cover for the crown of your tooth. We take away the original enamel and put this over the top. It’s a great way to keep your teeth going when the root is good but the crown isn’t, for example, when years of night grinding is starting to split the crown in two.