Archive for March, 2010
Orthodontists Bearing Their Teeth At TV Show
Dentists have recently condemned the hit American TV Show ‘Ugly Betty’ for its negative portrayal of dental braces. In the show the lead character wears a pair of ‘train track’ wire braces. Orthodontics experts are worried that this could discourage people who need braces, as they may associate the unsightly train track style with orthodontic work. However, it is very rare for adults to be fitted with this style of braces and on the odd occasion when they are they are usually only ever required to wear them for a maximum of two years. The fact that braces are associated with ‘ugliness’, as portrayed in the program, has orthodontists worried about people avoiding having the treatment, when they may desperately need it.
However, if you’re one of these people who need corrective work done to their teeth, but are turned off by the idea of wearing braces then you should consult your orthodontist. They’ll be able to offer you a range of alternative treatments, and if it turns out that you are required to wear braces then it’s pretty unlikely you’ll have to wear the train track style wire braces. Modern braces are much more discrete and if some cosmetic dentistry experts are even able to offer their clients alternative corrective treatments that are just as effective as braces, but barely noticeable.
At the end of the day, you shouldn’t be worried about wearing braces as although popular TV shows may portray them as being typically unsightly, the fact is that most people probably won’t even notice you’re wearing them.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontics, Orthodontists, braces
Tags: braces, Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontics, Orthodontist
| March 25, 2010 at 4:03 pm | No comment
Grinding Out The Recession
It has been widely reported in the press recently that dentists across the country have noticed a massive increase in the number of people with damage to their teeth brought about by teeth grinding. Naturally the blame for this has been aimed squarely at the recession, the cause of all evil in the world. It’s hardly surprising that people are grinding their teeth to the point where they’re causing permanent damage, with the never ending stream of economic strife being broadcast through all media outlets it seems as though we’ve got plenty to grind our teeth about.
Of course, teeth grinding is neither productive nor healthy, and this habit can actually end up causing some serious damage to your teeth. Some of the worst news is that teeth grinding, like all unbalanced overuse of the jaw muscle, can bring on the dreaded TMJ pain. This is a most painful an irritating condition to suffer from and it’s surely far worse than any recession. It can bring about intense pain in the mandibles. Thankfully there are plenty of kinds of TMJ treatment that a cosmetic dentistry expert could advise you on, and many of these treatments have been shown to effectively relieve TMJ pain.
Of course, you could always try to relax and perhaps knock the teeth grinding on the head. It’ll save you a lot of stress and sleepless nights, and perhaps you’ll manage to avoid the onset of TMJ pain, an experience that nobody should have to suffer!
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, TMJ Pain, TMJ Treatment
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, TMJ Pain, TMJ Treatment
| March 23, 2010 at 3:17 pm | No comment
Jet Setting Teeth Whitening
It seems that an interesting new teeth whitening procedure that allegedly takes only twenty minutes is now being offered to travellers passing through Birmingham airport! As strange as it sounds to have a service such as this available in an airport it is presumably it’s a good way to kill some time if you’re waiting around for your flight.
However, cosmetic dentistry experts might cast a wry eye on a service such as this, as effective teeth whitening procedures, even a simple bleaching, will generally take significantly longer than twenty minutes to complete successfully. Although it might be tempting, with cosmetic dental procedures now being offered at international airports, to attempt a quick fix, most experts would recommend that you consult a cosmetic dentist before making any decisions about treatment. At any rate, a teeth whitening procedure that purportedly takes only twenty minutes and is available at an airport is unlikely to as effective as the treatments performed by a cosmetic dentistry expert in a surgery.
At any rate, if the thought of having some corrective work done to your teeth has crossed your mind then you’d be better off having a proper consultation as many cosmetic dentists will be able to offer you a variety of treatments, not just teeth whitening. So, you could have TMJ treatment, if you’re a sufferer of TMJ pain, and a smile makeover to augment your teeth whitening.
The airport certainly isn’t the place to make hasty decisions about cosmetic dental treatment, so consult an expert and have your teeth corrected professionally.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentists, Teeth Whitening
Tags: Cosmetic Densitry, Cosmetic Dentists, Teeth Whitening
| March 18, 2010 at 12:00 pm | No comment
Surgary Drinks Not Always The Right Choice
The latest step in the government’s never ending quest to make sure we know what is good and bad for our health is a series of adverts highlighting the various illnesses that can be brought on by excessive alcohol consumption. This isn’t the first time that the dangers of alcohol have been pointed out to the general public and revellers on nights out are often encouraged to drink soft drinks rather than vast quantities of alcohol. Of course, this will make sure that you don’t get too drunk and end up making a fool of yourself, but it’s not necessarily good news for your teeth.
Rather than having a soft drink in-between your alcoholic beverages when you’re out on the town have some water instead! Most alcoholic drinks aren’t particularly good for your teeth at the best of times, notably wine, but soft drinks are even worse and if you’re drinking them regularly then this could cause you problems with your teeth! This is a very good way to go about corroding and discolouring your teeth, so avoid the pop and go for water. This doesn’t just apply to nights out though; ditching sugary drinks in general will do a lot of good for your teeth.
We all know prevention is the best cure, but we might not have enough self restraint to resist the temptation of sweet soft drinks. Thankfully there are a range of teeth whitening solutions and other treatments available from your local cosmetic dentistry specialist that can improve the appearance some of the damage and staining caused by excessive sugary drinks. So, if you’re not happy with the condition of stained discoloured teeth you should perhaps look into the possibility of teeth whitening procedures, a qualified cosmetic dentist will be able to fill you in on the details. However, you really should try and avoid the problem rather than seek to correct it!
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening, cosmetic dentist
Tags: cosmetic dentist, Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
| March 17, 2010 at 4:52 pm | No comment
Dental Hygiene A Long Term Issue
Recent research has shown that an alarming number of children are suffering from oral diseases as a result of their poor dental hygiene. There has been an increase in the number of children and young people suffering from oral diseases and tooth decay in the past twenty years, which may come as a surprise to some people as we live an age of excellent health care.
However, the problem seems to be that people aren’t teaching their children how to care for their teeth. How to brush properly is a very important skill that needs to be taught at an early age and the introduction of other oral hygiene techniques such as flossing and using mouthwash should be explained to children as soon as possible too.
Many problems can arise in later life as a result of not properly looking after your teeth as a child, and not all of them will be purely cosmetic. It’s certainly true that many oral problems can be tackled with cosmetic dentistry. For example, discolour teeth can be whitened using porcelain veneers. But, you must remember that cosmetic dentistry is just that, cosmetic. So, there are many serious oral problems that can arise from not taking proper care of your teeth as a child that cannot be fixed by a cosmetic dentist!
It’s best to ensure that your children know how to take care of their teeth and ensure that they also do if you want them to avoid serious dental problems in later life.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Porcelain Veneers, cosmetic dentist
Tags: cosmetic dentist, Cosmetic Dentistry, Porcelain Veneers
| March 12, 2010 at 2:29 pm | No comment
Red Wine – The Latest Health Food
It has recently been reported in the press that drinking a moderate amount of red wine each day is good for the health. This has often been reported in the past, but new findings have shown that those who drink one or two glasses a day are less likely to be overweight than those who stick to soft drinks.
Good news for drinkers then, but perhaps not such good news for their teeth. Wine, especially red wine is known for being especially acidic and this is not good for your teeth at all. If you’ve ever drunk a moderate amount of red wine in one sitting in the past then you’ll probably be well aware of how unpleasantly dirty it can make your teeth feel.
Red wine can corrode your teeth badly and it is also likely to cause a significant amount of discolouration too, especially if you’re drinking it regularly. Teeth can be easily stained by red wine consumption, and this can become quite unsightly! Naturally the effect can also be worsened through excessive smoking too!
Thankfully, for those of us who’ve regularly enjoyed a glass or two of red and now have discoloured teeth as a result, there are many different teeth whitening procedures available that can be effectively used to significantly reduce the staining! If you have stained or discoloured teeth and you’d like to do something about it then your local cosmetic dentistry specialist will be able to give you plenty of advice on the teeth whitening methods available to you!
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
| March 10, 2010 at 10:17 am | No comment
Adult Orthodontics
Many people will have had to wear braces during their childhood to correct teeth growing in at unusual angles. However, there is a small percentage of people who didn’t wear braces when they were younger, even though they really should have. In some cases this has caused a great deal of problems for these people in later life as their teeth may have grown in such a way that they have caused the individuals pain.
Not wearing braces during childhood, despite an apparent need can leave people with many different problems, some of which can be quite serious. However, in the majority of cases these problems will be purely aesthetic, and in the majority cases they can be corrected with cosmetic dentistry. The number of adults undergoing orthodontic treatments has increased sharply in recent years as more people who should have been wearing braces as children become aware of the fact that they can have the resultant dental problems corrected.
It’s quite common for people who didn’t undergo orthodontic treatment as a child to have very overcrowded teeth, as braces were not in place to control the direction of tooth growth. Most people will have this corrected for purely cosmetic reasons, however it some instances teeth that have gown in irregularly can cause some serious and quite painful problems!
Of courses, it would have been much better for these people if they could have prevented the problem in the first place, but thankfully adult orthodontics allows them an opportunity to sort out these problems in later life. If you think you could benefit from adult orthodontic treatment then get in touch with a cosmetic dentist today.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontics, braces
Tags: braces, Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontics
| March 3, 2010 at 10:50 am | No comment
Straight Teeth In Half The Time
With the popularity of “extreme makeover” reality TV shows, cosmetic dentistry has featured fairly heavily in prime-time schedules of late, normally demonstrating some of the more extreme treatments that involve surgery to completely rebuild someone’s jaw from scratch. Such an invasive procedure could well put you off having any kind of smile correction, but the truth is that there are a number of far less severe methods of realigning your smile that will never require a general anaesthetic.
One such method is using Invisalign aligners to close small gaps and correct misaligned teeth. The Invisalign system works by using a series of slightly different shaped aligners to gradually move your teeth in to the desired position. The great advantage of the Invisalign system over traditional braces is that they can be removed for eating and teeth cleaning, and they are almost invisible to the casual observer. No more train tracks, no more metal wires. Although there can be some discomfort experienced from wearing the aligners, it is far less than having a dental surgeon go in with a knife.
For people with only slightly misaligned teeth there is also the Invisalign Express system. This treatment is completed in around half the time of the normal Invisalign system, and because it uses fewer aligners it is also significantly cheaper. Of course, whether you are suitable for the shorter option will be something you can discuss with your cosmetic dentist during your initial consultation.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Invisalign, braces, cosmetic dentist
Tags: braces, cosmetic dentist, Cosmetic Dentistry, Invisalign
| March 1, 2010 at 4:29 pm | No comment
