COSMETIC DENTISTRY

It is everyone's dream to have a confident perfect smile with brilliant white teeth. Many fields of dentistry come into the equation. Treatment may include aesthetic metal-free restorations ranging from simple fillings, to complex tooth or implant supported crown and bridge restorations. Orthodontics is often used to straighten teeth. More often than not patients do not wish to wear braces so porcelain veneers are used as an alternative. The remaining teeth may be whitened with ZOOM laser tooth whitening or with the use of home-kits such as Day White or Nite white. The replacement of metal fillings with porcelain inlays or onlays is also an option using the in-house CEREC CAD CAM system. Patients may also wait for their crowns and veneers to be done in one appointment as the CEREC mills them there and then in the on-site laboratory.

Case Studies

Tooth whitening

Daywhite / Nightwhite

This home-whitening kit is an affordable efficient way of whitening your teeth with very good results. A mould of both the upper and lower teeth is taken and a transparent plastic tray produced within the day. The custom made tray fits the teeth like a glove and is used to keep the bleaching gel in direct contact with the teeth. This is done during the day or at night and must be kept for a period of approximately 7hours. The results are immediate and improve over 3-4 whitening sessions. The trays are reusable making them useful to whiten the teeth prior to any important occasion, social event or for personal aesthetic confidence.

Zoom Laser 1 hr Tooth whitening

This is a chair-side quick way to whiten ones teeth. The procedure is done in the clinic and shows immediate results. The patient lies down on a dental chair and after applying protection to the face, gums and eyes the ZOOM light is brought close to the teeth. The procedure lasts between 45-60minutes throughout which the bleach is changed three times over so as to achieve the maximum results. Whilst the results are immediate the teeth keep whitening for the next 48hours. Teeth may at times become sensitive so patients are advised to use a tooth paste for sensitive teeth.

Veneers Porcelain/Composite

Veneers are thin facings of porcelain or composite stuck on the front of teeth. These are used to straighten or aesthetically improve the teeth by closing spaces, adjusting colour and achieving an even aesthetic look. The procedure may or may not involve minimal trimming of the front of the tooth so as to achieve a good bonding surface for the veneer. This is one of the most conservative methods utilised to improve a patient’s smile. However this leaves the veneer very thin and prone to fracture and debonding. The technique employed during cementation as well as the actual cement are of paramount importance to the success of using veneers.

There are two types of composite veneers namely chair-side and fabricated in the laboratory. Chair-side composite veneers are done directly on the patient’s teeth and completed within the appointment whilst composite laboratory veneers are custom-made in the laboratory requiring a few days to produce. Porcelain veneers are said to offer the ultimate aesthetics however may require a slight tooth reduction of 0.5mm. Both composite and porcelain veneers may now fabricated using our in-house Cerec system. Also see CEREC CAD-CAM Dentistry

Composite Veneers

Composite veneers are the most conservative way of making aesthetic changes to your smile. Without injections, without drilling your teeth and with only one appointment it is possible to correct:

• Dental diastema closing space between the teeth
• Repair dental fractures
• Tooth colour
• Re-shape teeth and straighten teeth
• Change poor looking fillings
• Misaligned teeth
• Dental agenesis camouflage

The materials used are COSMEDENT from USA. Over the past 30 years many of their products have received the highest awards for their esthetic excellence. Cosmodent are amongst the most wear-resistant, colour stable and highly polishable composites on the market.

All-Ceramic Crown and Bridges

Ceramic crowns and bridges enjoy the advantage of offering the best aesthetic result. Fabricated solely out of porcelain with a possible metal-free sub-structure made of zirconia, all-ceramic crown and bridges offers the ultimate natural aesthetics. Zirconia, a non-metal rigid material making up the substructure of the crown or bridge is covered with porcelain and placed in the oven to fuse and become one. This eliminates any visible metal, possible metallic allergies and also feels lighter in the mouth. The result is a very strong metal-free restoration capable of withstanding high masticatory forces. All-ceramic crowns and bridges may now be produced within a single appointment using our in-house Cerec system. 

The process of crowning teeth involves the circumferential removal of tooth tissue and its replacament with alternative tooth tissue, usually ceramic. In the past gold was used due to its high biocompatibility but in today's aesthetically driven clientele requesting high calibre aesthetics, all-ceramic metal-free restorations are the choice of treatment. Highly compatible and versatile, ceramic and other metal-free alternatives like zirconia are the way forward. They offer high strength and also come with a five-year guarantee. Cerec technology goes hand in hand with this. Also see CEREC CAD-CAM Dentistry

All-Ceramic Fillings

All-ceramic fillings are available as onlays or inlays. Following an initial consultation these may be done in one appointment using Cerec CAD-CAM technology.

Complete Smile Make-over

This treatment modality may include porcelain crowns, inlays and/or veneers. Remaining teeth may be whitened using laser tooth whitening so as to even out discoloured teeth.

Discoloured Teeth

Discoloured teeth maybe corrected with tooth whitening procedures as well as porcelain crowns, inlays/onlays or veneers.

IN-House CEREC

Using CAD-CAM technology digital images of the prepared teeth are recorded and the information sent to an on-site milling machine capable of producing the restoration/crown/veneer within 20minutes allowing the patient to wait for the final fitting on the same appointment.