Want whiter teeth without having to leave your own home? Well, we can almost make that a reality; Home tooth whitening kits are becoming increasingly popular. Some kits can be used entirely at home, though some will require a mould of your mouth to be taken at your dentist’s before home treatment can begin.

How do these wondrous kits work?

Be it by a dentist or yourself, a tray (or mould) will be produced in the shape of your teeth. It should be noted that when done professionally, these trays can take between 5 and 10 days to produce. Your kit should also include some tubes of bleaching gel. Once you have your tray, you will squeeze some of the gel into the tray and wear it for a specified time period. Some kits require roughly 30 minutes a session but others can require up to two hours, some kits even require the tray to be worn overnight. You then just keep repeating this daily until you achieve your desired result – this can take anywhere between a matter of days and a matter of weeks. As these are home bleaching kits, the bleaching solution provided will be weaker than the products used by your dentist. This is why home treatment can take a little longer to complete.

How much whiter will my teeth be?

This varies both according to the person participating and the treatment used. Your dentist will guide you through the most appropriate treatment and advise you on the likely result during your initial consultation.

Am I suitable?

Some people, such as those suffering from gum disease or other dental health issues, sadly may not be suitable for any form teeth whitening. This is why it is important to consult your dentist about any form of teeth whitening, rather than simply buying an over the counter product from a pharmacist. It should be noted that teeth whitening will not alter the colour of crowns, veneers or fillings, so these may need to b altered too. If you would like more information about whitening treatments available please do contact us at Dublin18 Dental Care near to Leopardstown.

 

On September 10^th it is Mouth Cancer Awareness Day where both Dublin18 Dental Care in Dublin and many other dentists will be offering free mouth cancer screenings on this day. Mouth cancer is something that effects people all over the world, but is more common in men than in women at the moment but this is slowly changing. Unfortunately in the UK this kind of cancer has grown quicker than any other cancer in the past twenty-five years.

Detecting oral cancer

It is very important that mouth cancer is caught at an early stage because at the moment around half of the diagnosed mouth cancers were detected at later stages. If this happens them more complex treatments may be needed and the chances of beating the cancer are slimmer the later the cancer is diagnosed. Dentists are able to spot signs of oral cancer and play a very important part in oral cancer detection.

Ways of lowering risks of oral cancer

Make sure that you regularly see your dentist for check-ups and maintain a regular oral health regime. Look out for any changes in your mouth such as ulcers that are still there a few weeks late or any white marks visible. You should also use sun protection on your lips as you would to protect your skin.

Free mouth cancer screening

During Wednesday 19^th September dentists up and down the country will be highlighting the importance of mouth cancer screening by offering free screenings to patients on this day. The screening itself only takes about ten minutes and these ten minutes could save your life so please do take advantage of the free screening this September. For a FREE oral health screening please contact the team at Dublin18 Dental Care in Dublin or go to your nearest dental provider.

 

 

 

Ah, dental veneers; False nails for the teeth, as they are often called. One dresses up for a special occasion to feel confident – who knows, you might even wear false nails – but a special occasion, importantly, ends. There is something far more fundamental about the appearance of your teeth than there is about a cocktail dress or tuxedo. It is possible to end up in a situation where the state of your teeth may weigh so heavily on your mind that the thought of another’s gaze seems terrifying. But what can help in said situation? Enter dental veneers.

What ‘exactly’ are veneers?

Going beyond the false nails analogy, Veneers are essentially wafer thin shells of material which are bonded to the teeth.

So what are they good at treating?

Elementary dear Watson, Veneers are capable of treating a number of problems. Badly stained teeth which cannot be improved by whitening procedures can essentially be covered up by dental veneers and no one will be the wiser. Teeth that have been damaged through an accident, a little too much grinding or even excessive consumption of carbonated drinks can be repaired. Gaps or spaces between teeth can also be closed via the use of veneers, providing you with a harmonised smile. Veneers are not ideal for use with crooked teeth, but can be of some use to people with only marginal misalignments. Sometimes referred to as ‘instant orthodontics’, veneers can be placed in front of crooked teeth to immediately give the impression of a uniform smile. In the long run, conventional orthodontic treatment may be a better option for crooked teeth. Conventional treatment can, however, take up to a year to complete. Veneers thus offer very quick results for slightly crooked teeth. In all cases, Veneers can be altered in colour so as to blend seamlessly with the rest of your teeth.

For more information on veneers at Dublin18 Dental Care near to Deansgrange contact us now.

 

 

As we venture further onwards into the technological era, talking phones and computers competing on quiz shows are beginning to seem that little bit less strange than they were a few years ago. The Oral B Triumph 5000 electric toothbrush is essentially proof that home dental care is just as abreast of technology as phones, televisions and computers. In fact, the Triumph 5000 is perhaps the best example, the peak even, of what an electric toothbrush is currently capable of; On the 11^th of August 2011, the Gadget Show ran a feature on the ‘Top 5 Electric Toothbrushes’. After testing twenty different toothbrushes, it was the Oral B 5000 smart guide electric toothbrush that came out on the top spot.

Instant feedback

Were not quite nearing the terrifying sentience of HAL or GLaDOS (for you sci-fi geeks out there), but the Oral B Triumph 5000 will comment on your brushing technique.  It is in fact the only toothbrush with a separate wireless smart guide to aid brushing performance. The Smart Guide responds and comments on the time taken for you to brush and the pressure you apply when brushing your teeth. For instance, if you apply too much pressure when brushing – a red light will appear to indicate so. Audio cues are also provided to indicate how long you have been brushing for. A handy wall mount is also provided, so the smart guide can be positioned in a convenient place in your bathroom. The toothbrush also brushes in three different modes: deep clean, whitening and massage

Plaque attack

Aside from the brush’s ability as a critic, it also offers some impressive technical ability: It purports to pulsate 40,000 times a minute and rotate 8,800 times a minute as well. This helps to effectively break up and brush away plaque. The 3D technology the brush utilises has also been clinically proven to remove twice as much plaque as a standard toothbrush.

Dublin18 Dental Care seal of approval

The Triumph 5000 received a platinum endorsement from the British Dental Health Foundation and we at Dublin18 Dental Care near to Monkstown echo this sentiment.

 

 

Tooth extraction is, sadly, sometimes necessary. This might be as a result of gum disease, tooth decay or an extreme fracture. It might even be something as simple as your wisdom teeth coming through at a funny angle, or that extraction is required in order for a brace to fit. There are several types of extraction available, all of which are used in different scenarios.

Simple extraction

These are usually performed under local anaesthetic on teeth which are visible in the mouth and require the use of instruments which can elevate and grasp the tooth in question.

Surgical extraction

This procedure is for teeth that cannot be easily accessed, or simply cannot be removed in the dentist’s surgery under local anaesthetic. Surgical extraction may sound scary, but it is nothing compared to the nightmare that is living with an infected tooth. At Dublin18 Dental Care near to Dublin18, we understand that a procedure like this may make you anxious and we are always happy to listen to your concerns and talk you through the procedure.

Upper wisdom teeth extraction

Wisdom teeth, unlike other types of tooth, tend to have three roots instead of two. As a result, they can quite easily be removed and may not be as painful or awkward as other extraction procedures. If your wisdom teeth are causing you problems, this procedure may be worth exploring as an option with your dentist.

Post-treatment

Following any kind of extraction, your dentist will provide you with a regimen to follow. Some bleeding following extraction is normal. It is advised that, following the procedure, you don’t smoke or rinse your mouth too vigorously. It is also advised to drink through a straw for 24 hours.

Consultation

If you fear the worst, don’t suffer in silence – the discomfort of extraction is nothing compared to living with major dental problems. Call us at Dublin18 Dental Care and we will do everything we can to help.

So you have crooked teeth, want to get rid of them fast and don’t want anyone to know about it. The lengthy treatment time of traditional orthodontics looms over you with its partner the fixed metal brace, whilst the image of your own crooked teeth seems to place you between a rock and hard place. But what if you could discreetly have orthodontic treatment at (relative) speed?

The six month smile

Six months could be quite a long time in any other field but, given that standard treatment can take up to three years for orthodontics, this is pretty speedy. The six month smile procedure is also discreet, the wires used in the treatment being tooth coloured and thus difficult to notice. The treatment is also cheaper than conventional brace work and much more comfortable as your teeth are gently repositioned.

How does this work?

Children tend to require braces to fix bite problems caused by growth issues. Adults on the other hand, tend to require braces for aesthetic reasons. As a result, adult treatment tends to involve repositioning the front teeth without any major modifications required for their bite and it is this which shaves off so much of the time that brace treatment normally requires. New technological advancements, such as the special nickel titanium which the wires are made of, also aid with the speed of the treatment.

How does the procedure work?

Firstly, your suitability for the treatment will be assessed; this will involve your dentist examining your smile and taking some photographs and x-rays. Following this, you will be fitted with the special braces (which have come directly from a laboratory in the United States). You will then be required to attend quick appointments (roughly 10-15 minutes) every month or so, so that your dentist can check on you and adjust the braces. This will continue until the six months are up! So, if you are interested do contact us at Dublin18 Dental Care near to Carrickmines for more inform

Traditional metal wire braces are sometimes compared to ‘train tracks’, and, if we shake this comparison from its common position as an insult, there is something appropriate, maybe even poetic, about it. Orthodontic treatment is a kind of journey, potentially quite a long one, towards the glistening Valhalla that is a corrected smile. Unfortunately, however, the journey does not end once the braces are off. The last hurdle – you’re running on those train tracks now – is in fact the few months post-brace, a period when your teeth could ‘relapse’ and negate all that dental work. How can you avoid this? Simple: A bonded retainer.

What is a retainer?

A retainer is a removable device, usually made of plastic and wires, which keeps in place (or ‘retains’) the position of your teeth after brace treatment, and they usually come in one of three types: Hawley, Essix or Bonded. At Dublin18 Dental Care near to Foxrock, we provide bonded retainers for patients.  Your mouth is especially prone to relapse during the first month after brace treatment and it is recommended to wear a retainer at all times, but there is no fear of forgetting with a bonded retainer as they are, quite literally, bonded to your teeth. Bonded retainers can also have the aesthetic advantage of being practically invisible. They can be fixed to the inside surfaces of teeth, though in some cases this will affect the quality of your bite and may not be suitable.

Retainer care

Bonded retainers are often left in place for months, years or even lifetimes! Despite the miracles they are capable of working, they also require a little bit of care. When brushing, take some extra time out and brush around the retainer thoroughly. Floss daily and, if it helps, use a floss threader to floss between your teeth and retainer. Remember to attend regular dental checkups and cleanings, and also stay away from sugary food and drinks. The care required for retainers is similar to braces, so the transition shouldn’t be too strange.

 

Dentures are removable replacements for your teeth which can, nowadays, almost be indistinguishable from legitimate pearly whites. Originating in 700BC, Dentures are one of the oldest solutions to the problem of tooth loss. The oldest problem, however, faced by denture wearers is that of slippage. Dentures are a very affordable form of tooth replacement, but they can move about whilst eating and speaking. Some people may also be required to use denture adhesives which can be messy and tend to trap food particles which, if any natural teeth remain, can lead to further decay. There are, however, alternatives to this slippy, messy fate.

Dental implant stabilisers

One way of bypassing the slippage issue is to get dental implants, as these will hold the dentures in places. In this procedure, small titanium screws with ball-tops are inserted into the jaw. Most people will require six screws to be implanted, as this ensures optimum stabilisation. The screws will fuse with the jaw and, once your jaw has healed, your dentures will be altered so they can snap onto the ball tops. By applying upward pressure to the front of the denture, via your thumb, they can be easily removed for cleaning and such like. The process of implanting the screws should take roughly an hour, but can sometimes take longer. You may experience some minor discomfort after the implants, but this tends to be minor and can simply be eased with medication.

Other advantages

When worn without implant stabilisers, dentures will compress the gingiva and reduce blood supply to the bone. This will, in turn, cause accelerated bone loss. Thankfully, dentures worn with implant stabilisers stimulant the bone and help prevent such bone loss. Stabilised implants will also make your dentures look, feel and function like natural teeth. They can also help overcome denture related speech issues and ‘denture palate’. This form of treatment also bypasses the need to grind down health teeth, which can be required for other procedures. For more information about dental implants and dentures contact us at Dublin18 Dental Care near to Stillorgan for more information.

 

 

When Sartre wrote “hell is other people,” he was probably referring to teenagers.  Some long for the carefree days of childhood. But others, however, were more than happy to leave the republic of adolescence firmly behind us. The abject cruelty of which those under voting age are capable still sends shivers down many people’s spine, and it is often amongst such school yard tyranny that teens are first made to wear braces. That adolescent fear can leave its mark, even among non-brace wearers, and full grown adults can sometimes find themselves irrationally fearing the brace. But… what if no one knew you were wearing one?

The invisible brace

Invisible aligners are virtually unnoticeable clear braces, and they can help one achieve a naturally straight smile without any apparent change in appearance.

Advantages of invisible aligners

Aside from being invisible, they also provide a more comfortable treatment experience than traditional metal braces which can inflame and irritate the gums. Invisible aligners are also more convenient than their metal & wire counterparts as they are removable, thus bypassing the age old complaint of getting food trapped between wire and elastic. This ability to remove invisible aligners also helps with maintaining oral hygiene during treatment, something which can be neglected with metal braces and lead to future problems.

How it works

Treatment via invisible aligners consists of several clear aligners which will be changed every fortnight. Each aligner worn will gradually shift the teeth to their desired location. It is important to note that, although invisible aligners are suitable for most patients,this treatment may not be appropriate in some severe cases. A patient’s suitability, however, will easily be assessed during the initial consultation. It is following this consultation, if the patient is deemed suitable, that a patient would have several photographs and a mould of their mouth taken. It is from these images that a 3D model of their mouth will be produced. From this a simulation of a patient’s desired mouth position can be constructed, and the aligners produced will be based on this model. Here at Dublin18 Dental Care in Dublin we can offer you advice and treatment options regarding invisible aligners, so contact us today.

 

 

The GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) congress recently passed a motion making it mandatory for juvenile players to wear mouth guards from the start of 2013. This rule will come into effect for senior player from the start of the following year. According to the IDA (Irish Dental Association), Ireland has one of the highest rates of sports related dental injuries in all of Europe. Unsurprisingly, they have shown great support for the ruling. Of course, this is only the tip of the issue; Mouth guards may now be obligatory, but the one size fits all mouth guard sold in most sports shops are the least effective of the guards available and ‘boil and bite’ guards aren’t a huge improvement. Sadly, it is these store-bought guards that make up 90% of the mouth guards used.

Custom fitted guards

The summer may be upon us, but it won’t be long till until the ‘back to school’ signs are up in the shops. If you your child will be playing contact sport and you really want to protect their pearly whites, then you might want to investigate in custom fitted mouth guards. One common complaint about stock guards is their impact on speech; as these guards lack retention, they must constantly be bitten down on so that they are held in place. This can lead to kids and adults alike altering the guards so that they are better held in place. Often these alterations completely negate what little protection the guards offered in the first place. Custom guards, in contrast, are custom fitted to the wearer’s teeth and will provide the highest degree of both comfort and protection that a mouth guard is currently capable of.

The process

Having a mouth guard fitted is a simple process which we at Dublin18 Dental Care near Dundrum are happy to provide. We will simply take an impression of your teeth and send it on to a dental lab. It really is as easy as that!