Education: educating our patients in oral hygiene, eating habits and children’s dental care and maintenance.
Dental check-ups: six-monthly oral health evaluations.
Routine oral hygiene visits: to keep the mouth and teeth clean to prevent dental problems and bad breath.
Fissure sealants are placed on children’s teeth once permanent molars have erupted to prevent dental caries – prevention is better than cure!
Dental fillings
This procedure restores a tooth to full functionality and morphology.
- Indication: Symptoms can vary from slight sensitivity to sugar or temperature changes, to severe pain.
- Prognosis: With early detection a tooth can be restored to full functionality very successfully.
- Policy: Our practice strives to keep all dental fillings metal free and use tooth colour composites.
Root canal treatment
This is a treatment sequence of a tooth’s pulp chamber and nerve canals after it has died off due to decay or trauma.
- Indication: It can vary from hot/cold sensitivity to acute or throbbing pain; the tooth can be sensitive to biting.
- Prognosis: If all debris are successfully removed from the tooth and the canals, and the pulp chamber properly filled and sealed, the tooth can regain full functionality. Dental crowns are often placed after treatment to ensure a longer life span of the tooth.
- Policy: All treatments are done with a rubber dam to ensure a more sterile environment. We use the latest titanium files.
Dental extraction
This is the removal of a tooth from the mouth due to decay or trauma.
- Indication: Severe pain.
- Policy: Dental extraction is the last resort in the treatment of tooth ache or trauma. Patients receive aftercare instructions. It is advised that any teeth removed be replaced as soon as possible by either dental implants, bridges or dentures.
Fixed dental appliances
These are dental appliances placed to replace and restore missing tooth structure or teeth and are not removable.Crown/veneer
Dental restorations completely covering (like a thimble over a finger) or partially covering (like a false nail) a tooth to restore tooth structure and functionality, as well as for aesthetic purposes.- Indication: teeth with large filling restorations, broken teeth, after root canal treatment, discolored teeth.
- Policy: all crowns and veneers are manufactured by a qualified laboratory technician; we strive to keep all laboratory work metal free.
Bridge
This is a fixed dental appliance used to replace one or more teeth.
- Indication: To replace one or more extracted teeth.
- Policy: All crowns and veneers are manufactured by a qualified laboratory technician. We strive to keep all laboratory work metal free.
Removable dental appliances
These are dental appliances not fixed permanently in the mouth, like dentures, night guards and sports guards.
Dentures
They are removable appliances replacing teeth that are extracted permanently or as an interim measure while healing takes place. Dentures can also be placed on implants for better stability.
- Policy: We place acrylic, chrome cobalt, and flexible dentures depending on the case. All dentures are manufactured by a qualified laboratory technician.
Night guard:
This is a mouth guard protecting teeth while sleeping for patients that grind.
- Indication: Waking up with headaches, tenderness of the jaw, ear ache.
- Prognosis: By wearing a night guard, symptoms will be alleviated.
Sports guard:
This is a custom-fit guard protecting the teeth against trauma while playing sports.
- Indication: important to wear when partaking in any contact sport, including hockey.
Laughing gas:
This is used in dentistry for its anesthetic effect.
- Indication: Any patient willing and able to cooperate with the practitioner, but is too anxious or scared to do so.
Conscious sedation:
This is a technique of administering sedatives and analgesics to calm the patient while performing a dental procedure. The procedure is done at the dental practice.
- Indication: Any patient older than six years that is scared of dental treatment, but willing to cooperate. It is often used as a substitute for general anesthetic.
For more information on dental procedures and appliances, visit any of these websites:
www.southernimplants.com – (implants)
www.opalescence.com – (teeth whitening)
www.oralb.com – (dental care)
www.colgate.com – (oral care)