Perfect Smile Treatments
Call us on 0208 616 0590 or email us at [email protected] to book an appointment.
Enhance Your Smile with Cosmetic Dentistry
Our smiles are really important to us. Thankfully cosmetic dentistry is more advanced than ever and increasing in popularity all the time. Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Deepa tells us more about how to get a perfect smile.
Please click here to visit our Cosmetic Dentistry homepage.
| Cosmetic Dentistry Consultation | FREE |
| Dental / Composite Bonding | from £160 |
| Composite Veneers | from £450 |
| Porcelain Veneers | from £600 |
| Crowns & Bridges |
from £525 |
| Chip Repair |
from £100 |
Cosmetic Dental Treatments
Our cosmetic dentistry treatments, such as composite bonding, are carried out by Dr Deepa. She is an experienced Cosmetic Dentist and has the gentlest of touch. Our patients love her down to earth endearing nature, always coming back and asking for her.
We can typically offer appointments at short notice – please call us to book an appointment.
Our smiles are really important to us. According to the Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, approximately 50% of adults think that their smile is the most memorable feature when they meeting someone for the very first time. In this age of social media, there are plenty of tools to brighten and adjust your smiles in photos, but they can’t fix the underlying dental issues. Thankfully cosmetic dentistry is more advanced and popular than ever before and it can give you a picture perfect smile in your day to day life.
Cosmetic and medical dentistry are inter-related and connected. London Waterloo cosmetic dentist Dr. Deepa says “Every treatments that we undertake to restore tooth function and its surrounding tissue is done in an aesthetic and cosmetic pleasing manner.” The materials we use today enable decayed or worn teeth to be reconstructed in a natural looking manner, which is also highly functional.”
Here are five cosmetic dental procedures that can help achieve a beautiful smile.
In-Surgery Teeth Whitening
Most of us are fixated on the colour of our teeth. Teeth whitening is a quick and convenient way to enhance their appearance by removing discoloration caused by stains and help brighten teeth.
While a number of at-home kits exist, they are not as effective as working directly with a dentist to whiten your teeth. The usual over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all kits have a low concentration of bleach and do not deliver strong results for many people. A dentist can help find the right approach that will work best specific to your teeth.
The process of teeth whitening is quick and convenient. First, our dental hygienist will clean your teeth and gums to remove any particles and microbes that could interfere with the teeth whitening process. Next, the dentist will cover your gums to protect them from the whitening chemicals. They will then apply the whitening gel and will then use a UV light to activate the whitening agent. This process will be repeated a few times until the desired whitened shade is achieved. There are a number of teeth whitening products that offer in-surgery treatments, like Philips ZOOM and Enlighten, all of which have their own subtle differences.
Composite or Dental Bonding
Composite bonding repairs chipped teeth, closes gaps between teeth and even changes the shape of your teeth. The treatment works by applying a durable composite resin to the tooth. A special light is applied to then harden and bond the composite resin. The resin is the same colour as the teeth, leaving you with improved smile that looks completely natural. The entire process typically takes on average about 60 to 90 minutes per tooth to complete.
Composite bonding allows for a quicker and less expensive alternative as compared to other cosmetic dental treatments like veneers or crowns. It is also a good option for patients who do not want to compromise the structure of their teeth. However, composite bonding is less strain and chip resistant than Veneers or Crowns. To get the most out of composite bonding, patients should avoid habits like biting fingernail or chewing on pens / pencils etc.
Enamel Shaping
Like composite bonding, Enameloplasty or enamel shaping, is a relatively quick and relatively easy fix for small chips, uneven enamel and irregularly shaped teeth. However, unlike composite bonding, enamel shaping is permanent as the process involves removing small amounts of tooth enamel.
Before committing to Enameloplasty or enamel shaping, patients should have a consultation with a dentist to assess the thickness of the teeth’s enamel. If your enamel is too thin, you may not be a suitable candidate for the process and may want to consider other procedures such as dental bonding or veneers. The overall process is relatively quick and involves the dentist using a sanding disc or paper to smoothen out and recontour the tooth. Because some of the tooth enamel is being stripped, the dentin layer of the tooth is more exposed, making the tooth more sensitive to heat or cold.
Dental Veneers
Dental veneers, often referred to as porcelain veneers or dental laminates, are a good option for patients looking to fix chipped, misaligned or irregularly shaped teeth. Veneers are thin custom made shells, made from porcelain or composite resin that covers the front surface of the tooth. Veneers are bonded to the teeth and are dyed to match the colour of your teeth. Although it finally comes down to personal preference, porcelain is more stain resistant and can reflect light more naturally than composite resin.
Veneers are not to be confused with dental crowns, which are usually a medical necessity, rather than a cosmetic requirement, are thicker than veneers and require a lot more enamel to be removed. Although crowns can also be used for cosmetic reasons, they are typically prescribed for more serious medical issues like decay or tooth breakage.
The procedure for veneers is more time consuming than dental bonding, usually requiring three trips to the dentist – an initial consultation, a visit to make the moulds for the veneers and then a final visit to apply them to the teeth. During the second visit, the dentist will trim some enamel and take a mould to send to a laboratory to make the custom shaped veneers. It can sometimes take up to a few weeks to get the veneers back from the laboratory, so often temporary veneers are applied in the interim duration. To fix the veneers to the teeth, a special light is used to bond the dental cement, very similar to dental bonding. Depending on a patient’s specific requirement, a follow-up appointment may sometimes be needed.
Veneers are a permanent procedure as the enamel is removed and teeth are shaved down. Patients can experience heightened sensitivity to hot and cold afterwards. Veneers typically last around 7 to 15 years and can eventually experience discoloration and chipping.
Gum Reshaping
When it comes to enhancing your smile, people often forget that their smile goes beyond just teeth. Reshaping your gums can also make a huge difference. Gum contouring or gingival can even out the gum line and also fix a gummy smile. Someone can have uneven gums for a number of reasons – it could be due to genetics, medical conditions or even due to certain medications. Gum reshaping can sometimes be medically necessary, for example to cure gum recession; however, it can also be done for purely cosmetic reasons.
Before surgery, the dentist will draw out the new gum line directly onto the patient’s mouth and work with you to map out the desired result. Local anaesthesia will then be applied to the gums. The Cosmetic Dentist or Periodontist will use different tools and procedures to perform the gum surgery depending on the patients needs. Some dentists use technology like lasers or radiosurgery, while others dentists use more mechanical methods such as scalpels. Depending on the structure of the patients teeth, sometimes recontouring of the underlying bone is also recommended. This enables the results to last and ensure the gums do not grow back. The entire process usually takes one appointment.
Gum recontouring has a little more downtime for the patient than other cosmetic procedures as the procedure involves surgery. The recovery process includes taking ibuprofen pain and consuming only soft foods for a short duration of time. Recovery time often depends on the surgical method used, however pain should subside after a few days and the gums will typically heal within a couple of weeks.
Whites Dental provides Perfect Smile & Cosmetic Dentistry treatments including Composite Bonding, Dental Bonding, Composite Veneers, Porcelain Veneers, Chip Repair, Crowns & Bridges to patients in London Waterloo & London Bridge. We are conveniently located in London Waterloo SE1, adjacent to Southwark Tube station. We are also a 5 to 10 mins walk from London Bridge, Southbank, Waterloo station, Borough and Elephant &Castle. Please visit our homepage for more details about Perfect Smile Enhancement Cosmetic Dental treatments.
We regularly share preventative dental health tips on our Facebook page – www.Facebook.com/WhitesDentalUK/