Dental Blog - Bromley Dental Practice -

Dental implants in Bromley

People are unaware of the many health benefits associated with restoring a lost tooth or missing teeth. In Bromley, dental implants are an effective tooth restoration treatment which should not be overlooked.

Health issues associated with missing teeth

At Bromley Dental Practice we are happy to discuss the importance of restoring a full set of teeth with the use of dental implants. Missing teeth can lead to gum disease, jawbone degeneration and in some extreme cases, they can cause facial muscles to drop causing a look of premature ageing. Also, depending on which teeth are missing, this can cause difficulties eating or even create speech impediments.

What is the dental implant process?

In Bromley, dental implants are fitted during minor surgery. Tiny screws are inserted into the jawbone, which after a short period of healing (depending on the initial strength of the jawbone), the screws fuse together with the bone to make this treatment one of the more solid and stable tooth restoration treatments available. It is a permanent fixture so after the replacement tooth is attached to the screw, it is basically there for many, many years. There is no need to remove it at all. It is designed to mimic a real tooth and that is exactly how it should be treated.

Sounds daunting?

It’s not. Before we even consider dental implants in Bromley we can go through every aspect of the treatment, we can alleviate your fears and concerns and run you through how the dental implant process works step by step. We can also discuss the form of sedatives you may wish to take if required.

How many teeth can be replaced

Dental implants in Bromley have been used to restore one tooth to a whole arch or even a complete set of teeth. During your initial appointment, we can ascertain how many screws will need to be inserted to give you back a full and broad smile.

Your dental implants in Bromley will require the same care and attention you give your real teeth so it is recommended that a continued good oral hygiene routine is maintained for you and your new smile.

Bromley Dental Practice

Zaki graduated from University of Bristol 1999 and has practiced in Kent since then. He is passionate about dentistry and providing the highest standard of care for patients, at the same time, he keeps himself at the cutting edge of modern dental techniques.

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Your cosmetic dentist in Bromley

At Bromley Dental Practice, one of the areas of dentistry we focus on is cosmetic work. Through our general, preventive and restorative dentistry, we take care of the health of our patients’ mouths, teeth and gums. As a cosmetic dentist in Bromley, we look after their appearance, and hopefully give our patients a bit of a confidence boost at the same time.

While a visit to the cosmetic dentist in Bromley may seem like an indulgence or an act of vanity, our patients tell us what a great life benefit it is to have a smile they feel happy to show.

Here’s an overview of what we offer as a cosmetic dentist in Bromley:

Braces

Cosmetic braces that straighten the teeth come in many forms, often discreet and sometimes hidden altogether. Invisible braces can either be made from wires that blend in with the teeth, wires that are fitted to the back of the teeth or removable appliances that are clear and so hidden from all but the most eagle-eyed.

Another braces system we use is the Inman Aligner, which makes use of a single clear wire to straighten the teeth in a matter of weeks.

CEREC restoration

This technological marvel creates crowns, onlays and veneers while you wait, so there’s no need for a follow-up appointment, or to wear a temporary tooth while you’re waiting for yours to be made.

White fillings and inlays and onlays

For health and appearance reasons, you can opt to have your metal amalgam fillings replaced with hard-wearing white ones. Inlays and onlays can also be made from tooth-coloured material, blending in seamlessly with your healthy teeth.

Veneers

Made from porcelain, veneers are fixed to the front of the tooth with adhesive and can cover up chips, cracks and small gaps. They last around 10 years with a good oral healthcare routine.

Teeth whitening

We provide two types of whitening treatment:

Power whitening, which takes about an hour in the dentist’s chair
Home whitening, which takes around two weeks in the comfort of your own place. We create custom-made whitening trays for you to add the gel to and wear for a few hours each day.

Bromley Dental Practice

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New teeth, 21st century-style

Having a mouth that works properly is incredibly important for your overall health. Our mouths are the gateway to our digestive system. They are where we start the process to digesting by breaking down our food into a paste that the acids in our stomachs can get to, and our guts can extract the nutrients from. If we can’t chew our food properly and end up swallowing it in chunks or having to eat foods that are soft and contain fewer nutrients, the knock-on effects on our general health can be dramatic.

That’s why we offer dental implants in Bromley here at Bromley Dental Practice. Dental implants can make a huge difference to your ability to chew your food. Artificial crowns on dental implants embedded into your jawbone work as well as natural teeth, which means you can continue to eat all the nutrient-dense foods that you need to maintain your health, including meat, nuts, fresh fruit and raw vegetables.

How dental implants in Bromley work

Dental implants are tiny titanium posts or screws that are embedded into your jawbone during minor oral surgery under local anaesthetic. The process involves drilling and if you are a nervous patient, you can have sedation to help you relax.

Once the implants are in place, they need a couple of months to integrate with your jawbone. The bone will grow new cells and blood vessels all over the surface of the implants, like soil filling in around newly transplanted seedlings. After this, the implants will give you such a firm anchor that you can eat anything you like.

The versatility of dental implants in Bromley

Dental implants can each support up to three crowns on a bridge. They have an internal screw on the end, so we can choose what fixings to put in. We can even use them to stabilise your dentures if you’d rather hang onto them.

What you need

A strong jawbone for the implants to anchor into. If there’s some problems, we can use various methods, such as bone grafts and sinus lifts, to increase the density of your jawbone.

Bromley Dental Practice

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Your most important accessory

How often do you read the fashion blogs and magazines and marvel at the cost of a handbag? Is it really worth spending hundreds of pounds on something to cart your stuff around in that will go out of fashion in no time? Perhaps a better use of your money would be investing a smile that you will use day in, day out for the rest of your life? It doesn’t really matter how gorgeous your handbag is if you dare not smile, and nothing is more attractive than looking happy. So, step away from the handbag department and get yourself to the cosmetic dentist in Bromley instead.

Here at Bromley Dental Practice, we offer a wide range of treatments with our cosmetic dentist in Bromley. You may already know what you want to get fixed, or you may just be unhappy with your smile and need some help in finding ways to make it look lovely.

Our cosmetic dentist in Bromley is trained in the art of smile design, because it is an art. There’s a lot to know about the ratio between the teeth and the gums and the size of the mouth to be able to create a smile that really works and makes the wearer look naturally lovely. It’s a subtle art but get it wrong and a smile can miss the mark and become a thing of comedy or even horror. Just think of those too big veneers that celebs have shocked us with.

Can we fix it? Yes, we can!

Whether your teeth are out of alignment in some way, or have become stained or damaged with chips, cracks and worn edges, or you have unsightly gaps or your gums come too far down your teeth, we can transform them.

You can either a simple, single treatment such as tooth whitening, or a veneer, or you can go for the smile makeover. For this we have an in-depth consultation with you and draw up a treatment plan to work on your smile as a whole. Most of our treatments will last for years, much longer than that expensive handbag.

Bromley Dental Practice

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Dental implants in Bromley – your questions answered

If you lose one or more teeth, you will be pleased to know that you have another option besides dentures and bridges – dental implants. These small titanium posts have gained popularity over the years and have grown to be a favourite among patients and dentists alike.

At Bromley Dental Practice, we have been using dental implants in Bromley successfully for many years. Our dentists offer customised implant solutions to patients who wish to restore one, many or all of their missing teeth. Implants look and feel better than conventional dentures and bridges and since they are embedded into the jawbone they also function just like real teeth.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are screw-shaped titanium plugs, which are surgically positioned into the jawbone. Once in place, they are left to heal for a specific period of time (this is different from patient to patient) and once the healing period has passed, they are mounted with replacement teeth such as crowns or multi-teeth restorations (i.e. dentures, bridges).

Why choose Bromley Dental Practice?

At Bromley Dental Practice, we are committed to providing high-quality, affordable implant treatments to patients of all ages. Our experienced dentists are well-trained in the latest implant techniques and are here to help you decide which treatment is right for you. Each patient is different and we strive to offer the best possible results for a complete smile makeover with dental implants in Bromley.

Are dental implants safe?

Dental implants are completely safe, mainly because they are attached to the jawbone like tooth roots. As you wouldn’t expect your tooth roots to suddenly move out of place, so it is the case with dental implants. Moreover, dental implants can last for many years with proper care and this adds to their safety.

I have only one missing tooth. Can I still have dental implants?

Dental implants are very versatile and there are many restoration options for patients missing one, several or all of their natural teeth. If you are missing one tooth you are likely to be fitted with a single crown depending on your individual case. If you are missing several teeth you can opt for an implant-supported bridge or dentures.

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The cost benefits of dental implants in Bromley

If you are in your 40s, this can be a time when some of your teeth can start to fail. It may just be one or two, perhaps because you grind them at night and they are crumbling away. Whatever the reason, you are now at a crossroads and must decide how to replace those teeth.

At Bromley Dental Practice, we are great believers in finding the best method for each person’s circumstances, and that includes their budget. People tend to think of dental implants in Bromley as being the expensive option for tooth replacement, but if you are in your 40s, they could work out to be the best value.

Fully functional restorations

Firstly, let’s be clear – in terms of giving you restorations that mimic your natural teeth as closely as possible, dental implants do this far better than dentures or fixed bridges can. This is because only dental implants replace the root of the tooth. Dentures rely on adherence to the gums for their stability, and bridges are fixed to neighbouring teeth. What this means is that dental implants, which actually integrate with the jawbone, give you back 100% of your chewing power. You can eat what you like. Nothing is off limits.

A long-term solution

The other great thing about dental implants is how long they last. It is also important that your dentist uses a world-leading brand of implants. At Bromley Dental Practice, we use Straumann implants, which have an excellent record and high success rate.

You also need to take good care of your implants, and then you can expect them to last for 15 years, and maybe even for the rest of your life.

Compare that to the lifetime of dentures and bridges, both of which have to be replaced every 7-10 years. If you are in your 40s, you could be looking at having to replace them four or five times. Couple the costs with the pluses of what you can eat, and it’s easy to see why more and more people are choosing dental implants in Bromley.

Drop into the surgery today and find out more about this stable and durable method of tooth restoration.

Bromley Dental Practice

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Cutting the hassle in half

If you are thinking that your teeth could do with an upgrade but don’t have the time to spend hours in the dentist’s chair during several appointments, then you need to come to Bromley Dental Practice to see the cosmetic dentist in Bromley.

Here at our practice, we have a Cerec machine that can save you time, money and hassle. The Cerec machine makes veneers, inlays, onlays, and crowns while you are sitting in the dental chair.

Normally, your cosmetic dentist in Bromley will need you to come for at least two appointments if you need inlays, crowns or veneers. During the first appointment, your teeth are prepared and impressions are taken. These are sent off to a laboratory where your porcelain restorations are made by dental technicians. This can take as much as two weeks. In the meantime, you have to wear temporary restorations. They don’t look as natural as your permanent ones will, so there’s added self-consciousness for a couple of weeks, and sometimes they fall out, and you have to go back to the cosmetic dentist in Bromley to get them put back on, all the while waiting for your permanent restorations to come back from the lab.

With Cerec, we can prepare your teeth, make the restorations and fit them all in one appointment. That’s one less appointment you have to fit into your busy schedule, one less journey, one less shot of local anaesthetic your body has to flush out afterwards, and no walking around in less than lifelike temporary restorations. Cerec helps make your life so much simpler.

Why do you need restorations?

Crowns cover the whole tooth and are a way of giving teeth that are starting to crumble, but still have a healthy root, a new lease of life. They fit over the whole tooth and strengthen it.

Inlays are used when decay has left a particularly large area to fill. The porcelain seals the cavity and strengthens the crown.

Veneers are fixed over the front of the teeth to hide imperfections such as chips, cracks and stains that whitening can’t remove.

Bromley Dental Practice

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Different Toothpastes for Sensitive Teeth

Having sensitive teeth is among the conditions that most people consider as the most frustrating to deal with, because they hit just the right balance of pain and insignificance. The sharp jolt of pain from drinking anything cold is certainly a concern. As sensitive teeth do not cause or are indicative of any serious dental damage, there have been few efforts to address the condition long term.

The most reliable products that manufacturers have been able to come up with are desensitizing toothpastes, and though they all look the same to people, there is actually a bit of variety to them. Learning these different kinds and the way these work will help patients with sensitive teeth choose the product that is best for their unique conditions.

The Marketers Toothpaste

The most common desensitising toothpaste is the potassium base, or potassium nitrate toothpastes. These have a potassium base. Manufacturers prefer this type to market the most because it can work despite acid erosion, and other abrasive events that happen to teeth every day.

The way potassium bases work is that the potassium ions depolarise nerve endings that become exposed during the course of a patient’s diet. This essentially stops the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain. The only downside to potassium bases is because of their durability against external factors, it takes longer for patients to feel its maximum effect.

Going Au Natural

The next type of desensitising toothpaste is a calcium base, also known as Pro-Argin Technology. Most dentists recommend this type, because it uses specific ratios of arginine and calcium to mimic the remineralising properties of saliva to plug open pores in the dentin.

Patients will feel relief more instantaneously, as it emulates the natural process of the mouth. The big disadvantage to using this kind of toothpaste, though, is that patients are limited to using it at times when they do not expect to eat or drink. Calcium bases are vulnerable to acid erosion and abrasive chewing.

Choosing the right type of toothpaste is an important decision, so consult your dentist regarding the kind of dental products that suit for your teeth. Contact us, so we may answer any questions you might have on dental health.

Bromley Dental Practice

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Why Do Gums Recede?

Have you noticed your gums look as if they might be pulling away from your teeth recently? Or perhaps your teeth look longer than before? Gum recession is where the gum tissue surrounding the tooth begins to wear away or pull back, exposing more of the crown of the tooth or even the tooth roots. When it occurs, it’s possible for pockets or gaps to form in between the tooth and the gum tissue which makes it very easy for bacteria to build up. Even worse, these pockets can be quite tricky to clean as it is nearly impossible to get your toothbrush right into them.

Dentist Bromley The main problem with gum recession is that it can affect the stability of your teeth because bacteria in the gum pockets will gradually eat away at the gum tissue as well as the supporting tissues and bone holding your teeth in position. If you do have gum recession or think your teeth look longer than before, it is worth contacting Dr Zaki Bashir for a proper checkup. Gum recession isn’t something you should ever ignore and it’s a great idea to book an appointment with your Bromley dentist as soon as you can. But why do gums recede? In fact it can be due to a number of different factors which include:

Periodontitis which is a bacterial infection that destroys the gum tissue. This is the main reason for gum recession.
Genetics as some people are more susceptible towards gum disease, while others will simply have thinner gum tissue that is more easily worn away or destroyed by disease.
Brushing your teeth tooaggressivelyor using the wrong technique or a brush with hard bristles can damage your tooth enamel and will wear away your gums.
Poor home dental care as improper brushing and flossing makes it easy for plaque to build up on your teeth and this substance soon hardens into calculus or tartar. This can only be removed through booking a professional dental cleaning at Bromley Dental Practice. It is important to have regular professional cleanings to help prevent tartar build-up and subsequent gum recession.
Hormonal changes, as women’s hormone levels can fluctuate at certain points during their lifetime. Changes in hormonal levels can raise sensitivity towards disease causing bacteria in the mouth, increasing the risk of gum disease.
Smoking, as people who smoke are more likely to have sticky plaque that is difficult to remove and which can cause gum disease and gum recession.
Bruxism or clenching and grinding your teeth will put a lot of force on your teeth and gums and can cause the gums to recede.
Oral piercings can rub against the gums, wearing away gum tissue which is relatively delicate.

Treating gum recession can be quite straightforward provided you catch it early enough. Your dentist in Bromley can deep clean your gums through a process called scaling and root planing which removes the build-up of plaque and tartar on the teeth and tooth roots surfaces. This treatment can be very effective, and if necessary you can be prescribed antibiotics to help get rid of any remaining bacteria. If your gum recession cannot be treated through deep cleaning then you may need surgical treatment to try to repair some of the damage to your gums.

Bromley Dental Practice

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Is That Glass of Fruit Juice Really Healthy for You And Your Family?

At the moment a 150ml glass of fruit juice can be counted towards your five a day but just recently the British Dental Health Foundation has advised that fruit juices are detrimental to dental health. It’s been discovered that many fruit juices aimed at children have at least 6 teaspoons of sugar and often come in cartons larger than the recommended portion size. In addition, many people are opting to drink fruit smoothies as they are marketed as being healthy due to the considerable fruit content. Unfortunately these also contain very high levels of sugar, as well as acid from the fruit and can do considerable damage to teeth.

Dentist Bromley Even though fruit juices can be a good way to consume more fruit, the high levels of acid and sugar often mean they can be bad for your dental health, particularly if you like to sip them over a long period of time. Smoothies tend to be a lot thicker and are prone to sticking to the teeth which enables sugar to come into contact with teeth for longer periods of time. Every time you have a fruit smoothie your teeth will be softened by acid in your mouth for up to an hour afterwards.

As a result, the British Dental Health Foundation is supporting Action on Sugar’s recommendations to remove fruit juice from the current guidelines for getting plenty of fruit and vegetables every day. They feel recommending fruit juice sends the wrong message to parents and could ultimately result in higher levels of childhood tooth decay.

Parents often provide children with fruit juice in between meals in the belief that they are giving them something that is relatively healthy. However if you do want to give your child a fruit juice or enjoy one yourself then it is best to do so as part of a meal. In general it is better to stick to giving children water or milk to drink, and to encourage them to eat the whole fruit rather than just the juice.

If you or another family member dolike to drink a lot of fruit juice and have not been to a dentist in a while then now might be a great time to book that check-up. Dr Zaki Bashir can assess the condition of your teeth and gums and will carefully check each tooth for any early signs of cavities. This is a visual examination, although he may gently probe the surface of each tooth to check for any softness in your tooth enamel.

Sometimes it is possible to reverse the early effects of acid erosion with fluoride treatments, but if a cavity has already begun to develop then it is much easier and cheaper to get it filled as soon as possible. It’s quite likely your Bromley dentist will recommend white fillings to mend any cavities as these are strong, and once in place are nearly invisible. As well as being cheaper to fill, early treatment reduces the possibility of more extensive tooth infections that can be pretty uncomfortable and which may require more extensive treatment such as root canal therapy to put right.

Bromley Dental Practice

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