Have you broken or chipped a tooth recently? If so you might have been tempted to ignore it, but it’s important to get it treated as soon as you can, and to make an appointment with Dr Zaki Bashir to have it mended. This is because a chip in your tooth will have broken through the outer layer of tooth enamel.

Tooth enamel is the hard substance that normally protects the tooth. When it is damaged then bacteria in your mouth will be able to attack the much softer layer of dentine that is just underneath the tooth enamel. Eventually the bacteria will cause a cavity, and you may find you bite down one day only to feel the tooth crumble away.  There is also a risk that the cavity might eventually reach the inner part of your tooth. The pulp lies right at the centre of the tooth and contains all the nerves and blood supply to the tooth. If the bacteria reaches the pulp then things can get pretty painful, and you will need to visit our dentist in Bromley Dental Practice for root canal treatment.

Mending Chipped or Cracked Teeth with Dental Bonding

It’s much easier to get that crack or chip mended. The process for mending chipped or cracked teeth can be pretty straightforward as it can often be done through bonding the tooth. This is where composite resin material is applied to the tooth to help repair any small areas of damage. The material is tooth coloured and bonds to the natural tooth extremely strongly, helping to restore the tooth to its full strength so you will be able to bite and chew normally without any fear of the tooth beginning to crumble away. Dental bonding can be completed in just one visit to the Bromley Dental Practice, and the results should last for several years before they need replacing.

Mending Teeth with Veneers and Crowns

If the damage is a bit more substantial then Dr Bashir might recommend a different treatment. It could be that the tooth would benefit more from being veneered, or it could need to be completely protected with a dental crown. Porcelain veneers in Bromley are good for treating chips in front teeth, and can help improve the overall appearance of the tooth. They will last longer than dental bonding, but do cost a little more.

Dental crowns cover up the whole of the tooth, right down to the gum line. They are good for mending larger chips or cracks, or for dealing with fractures in teeth. Dental crowns can completely replace the missing tooth structure so the tooth can be used normally. A dental crown can last ten years or more, provided they are looked after correctly.

Mending chips and cracks in teeth is much more cost effective than leaving the damage to progress and treatment can be far quicker.

Are you fed up with having stained teeth, or teeth that are chipped or crooked? In this case one of your New Year’s resolutions might be to do something to improve your smile, and this is where we can help.

Bromley Dental Practice offers a comprehensive range of cosmetic dental treatments, some of which can also help to improve or maintain your oral health. For instance, dental fillings will only last for a few years before they need replacing, and if you have any older style amalgam fillings these can be safely removed by your dentist in Bromley, and replaced with much nicer looking white fillings. These are made from composite resin, and the colour is very closely matched to your natural teeth so the new filling will be virtually undetectable. It is amazing what a difference this can make to a smile as it can help to eliminate dark or silver coloured areas in your mouth, making your teeth appear brighter and whiter. This type of treatment is not very expensive, and it will help to preserve your teeth.

Perhaps you are looking for something a little more radical, in which case you may want to think about dental veneers or perhaps dental bonding. Porcelain veneers in Bromley can help to mask teeth that are internally stained, and which will not respond to teeth whitening treatments. They can be used to mask chips and cracks in teeth, and can help to replace areas of the tooth that may have become worn down. If one or two of your teeth are misshapen or too small, then having them veneered can give them a more pleasing appearance while still preserving most of the tooth.

Dr Zaki Bashir or another of our dentists in Bromley will only need to remove a tiny amount of tooth material from the front of the tooth to make room for the veneer. Sometimes it may not even be necessary to do this, depending on the position of the tooth. The veneer will be made from porcelain, and once bonded in position will be relatively strong. A well-cared for veneer could last up to ten years, or possibly even longer, but this does depend on you having regular check-ups with one of our Bromley dentists, and good dental care at home.

If you don’t fancy having veneers, then an alternative could be to have one or more teeth bonded. This process is minimally invasive, and is ideal for camouflaging the appearance of teeth that might be slightly out of line. The process uses the same composite resin as for white fillings, and can usually be completed in just one visit to our dental practice. Just about everyone will benefit from teeth whitening, a treatment that can be carried our chair side by your dentist in Bromley in as little as an hour, or if you prefer we can provide you with custom-made whitening trays to use at home.

There are lots of different options for boosting your smile and even small changes can make a big difference, and won’t cost you a fortune. If you are interested in finding out more, the best thing to do is to book a consultation with one of our experienced cosmetic dentists in Bromley.

If you have ever needed crowns in the past you might think this sounds too good to be true, but this service is available from your local dentist in Bromley. This is because Bromley Dental Practice offers CEREC crowns that can be made on site. This system uses the latest CAD/CAM technology, so you receive a crown that fits incredibly well, and which looks fantastic.

Advantages of Choosing CEREC

CEREC crowns are ideal for anyone who leads a buys life, and who struggles to fit in dental appointments. You just need one appointment with Dr Zaki Bashir, and you can leave our surgery with your permanent crown in place.

The process for having a CEREC crown does not involve having conventional dental impressions that have to be sent to a laboratory. Instead our dentist in Bromley will prepare the tooth for the crown, before it is scanned using a very small camera. This is much more comfortable and far less messy. It is ideal for anyone who finds dental impressions unpleasant, as we know some people with a strong gag reflex really struggle with impression trays.

CEREC crowns are milled from a single block of porcelain, creating a very strong and natural restoration. We keep a large stock of ceramic blocks in lots of different colours and translucencies, so your crown can be closely matched to the rest of your natural teeth. Each crown is hand finished and characterised to blend in beautifully, so it should be virtually undetectable.

Teeth can break or crack at the most inconvenient times, often just before special events or holidays. Our temporary crowns in Bromley can look nice, but will never look as good as your final crown, and they are temporarily cemented in position so they can come loose or fall out. Being able to have your permanent crown in just one visit eliminates the need for any temporary restorations, and the worry about them falling out.

Not Just for Crowns

We often use CEREC for crowns, but this system can also be used to create larger filings such as inlays and onlays that would otherwise have to be made in a laboratory. An inlay is a filling designed to replace the central part of one of your back teeth, whereas an onlay is designed to replace one or more of the cusps of your teeth. The cusps are the raised points you can see on the inner and outer surfaces of your back teeth. Using CEREC to replace these areas of decay helps to strengthen the remaining tooth structure. Their precise fit helps to ensure all bacteria are kept out of the tooth, minimising the risk of further infection and decay.

CEREC restorations are excellent, but there may be times when we recommend you have conventionally made crowns. For instance if you intend to have a smile makeover you may still get the best results through having your crowns made traditionally in a laboratory.