Archive for April, 2010
Green Tea Could Help Avoid Need For Cosmetic Dentistry
A recent study conducted in Japan has shown that regular consumption of green tea can in fact improve your oral health. Almost one thousand male subjects participated in the study. They were carefully examined for signs of periodontal disease and those who were experiencing inflammation of the gums and other similar ailments found that their symptoms were eased with the consumption of green tea.
The results are fairly conclusive that drinking green tea is an effective way to alleviate gum disease and improve oral hygiene, although unfortunately it is not entirely clear why. It is thought that the anti-oxidants that are found in green tea are effective in reducing the body’s inflammatory reactions to the various bacteria that cause these diseases.
Good news then for fans of green tea and perhaps something to consider for those who have a poor level of oral hygiene. As far as the world of cosmetic dentistry is concerned, any news like this is good news and your cosmetic dentist will encourage you to get into good habits that are likely to help protect your teeth. If you are a fan of hot drinks such as coffee and tea that can damage your teeth then perhaps you should consider switching to green tea instead. If you’ve recently undergone teeth whitening procedures then green tea may actually be a far better choice of drink as it is less likely to cause staining in addition to various other oral health benefits. It seems that is a far better choice than other popular hot drinks if you want to take good care of your teeth and mouth.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
| April 30, 2010 at 9:10 am | No comment
Gum Shields Cheaper Than Cosmetic Dentistry
If you play contact sports then you’re probably well aware of the need to wear a good quality gum-shield during play. In games such as rugby, where there’s a lot of aggressive contact between players, there’s plenty of scope for injury, so it’s important to take the necessary precautions.
Injuring your mouth during sports can be extremely painful and it’s possible to do serious permanent damage to your teeth if you’re not properly protected. Image taking a hockey ball to the mouth, you’d almost certainly loose a few teeth, so in games where there’s a risk of injury to the mouth a professionally fitted gum-shield should be worn.
High quality gum-shields might seem expensive, but the initial cost of a gum-guard is a lot less than the thousands of pounds worth of cosmetic dentistry you might need to correct any damage that could occur during a contact sport. There have been plenty of examples in the past where players who have received an impact to the mouth have been injured seriously enough to cause life long bite problems due to miss-alignment of the teeth. So, if you want to avoid expensive, painful and highly invasive cosmetic dentistry it’s worth investing in a high quality gum shield! It won’t save you from a split lip and bruising should you happen to be on the receiving end of a particularly hard tackle, but it certainly might save you from loosing teeth or seriously damaging your gums or jaw, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Posted in: Bite Problems, Cosmetic Dentistry
Tags: Bite Problems, Cosmetic Dentistry, Gum-Shields
| April 29, 2010 at 11:23 am | No comment
Visible Improvement With Invisalign
There’s no doubt that in today’s incredibly image obsessed world that anything that singles you out as looking different from everyone else, such as wearing braces, can have a significant impact on your social standing. This is especially true for young people who are often surrounded by horrifyingly shallow and empty headed peers fed on an incessant diet of vapid and mundane pop culture. Obviously aside from the obvious aesthetic issues caused by wearing braces and the knock-on effect that may have, there is also the discomfort factor to consider – the traditional wire braces are extremely noticeable to the wearer and can rapidly become quite annoying.
If you have to wear braces and are irritated by them for these reasons then you might be interested to know about Invisalign. The easiest way to describe this revolutionary new treatment is using the term ‘invisible braces’. When you’re wearing Invisalign it is almost impossible to tell and in many cases it’s just as effective at straightening your teeth as traditional braces. There’s more good news too! You might think that a treatment such as this would be extremely expensive, however that is not necessarily the case, typically Invisalign is only marginally more expensive that wire braces, and many clinics offer credit payment options.
So if you’re keen to avoid the discomfort and aesthetic disadvantages of wearing braces then why not ask a cosmetic dentistry expert about having Invisalign fitted. For many people it really is the best way to straighten and align your teeth without letting everyone know. This treatment is very popular with adults who require their teeth to be straightened, but are keen to avoid wearing traditional wire braces that they fear might make them look silly.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Invisalign
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Invisalign
| April 26, 2010 at 9:33 am | No comment
Anti-Aging Cosmetic Dentistry
A survey by Cosmetic News magazine has revealed that sun damage is still the most significant cause of ageing treated by UK doctors. Despite years of annual warnings over the dangers of UV exposure and spending too long in the sun, popular habit is still very much rooted in whipping everything off as soon as the clouds disappear for a couple of days. Part of this is understandable, especially in the north of the UK where most people see more lottery wins than they do a full week of sunshine, but it is when people go abroad and have a much stronger sun to deal with that they often make serious mistakes with their skin care.
Getting out in the fresh air and sunshine is good for you, but moving in to summer it is always important to make sure you use sun cream if you are planning on spending all day outside, and it is advisable to cover up or wear a hat when the sun is at its strongest in the middle of the day.
Although medical science is progressing constantly, prevention is by far and away better than cure. People automatically accept the need to clean their teeth at least twice a day to ensure their dental health, so trashing their skin with over-exposure to the sun seems comically short sighted. Whereas advances in cosmetic dentistry mean they can slap a new set of dental veneers over teeth that have been ignored, making your smile appear as youthful and flawless as a teenager’s, no one can provide you with a totally new skin. Not yet anyway. Be careful.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Veneers
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Veneers
| April 22, 2010 at 10:47 am | No comment
Good References Important Before Taking Cosmetic Dentistry Plunge
In the news this week has been the Houston physician jailed for administering fake Botox injections to her patients. Over 170 patients were treated in this way, believing they were receiving the official brand-name botulism derivative Botox, when actually they were being treated with a cut-priced alternative which had not yet been cleared for use in humans. Perhaps most alarmingly, the doctor in questions still appears unrepentant for the risks she took with her patients for the sake of a quick buck, telling a judge, “I made a mistake, and it became a federal case.”
If anything this demonstrates the vulnerability of patients to unscrupulous practises by those who owe them a duty of care, but cases of such malpractice are incredibly rare and are barely ever seen in the world of cosmetic dentistry. It is, however, important to always secure quality, independent references vouching when choosing a clinic for any elective procedure, such as porcelain veneers or teeth whitening.
Of course, in some countries, black market cosmetic procedures are knowingly embarked upon by patients. Take the case of “The Silicons”, a gang from, Venezuela, recently jailed for performing hundreds of cosmetic surgical procedures with little or no formal medical training. Scary stuff, but fortunately unlikely to happen to Harley Street!
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Porcelain Veneers, Teeth Whitening
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Porcelain Veneers, Teeth Whitening
| April 19, 2010 at 1:33 pm | No comment
Cosmetic Dentistry Is More Than Celebrity Makeovers
It is easy to get caught up in the negative publicity that some cosmetic medical procedures generate and tar the whole industry with it. Cosmetic treatments often have the same blanket generalisation applied to them as being unnecessary, or only for the incredibly vain, and this has extended at times in to the world of cosmetic dentistry through their increased exposure from extreme makeover reality TV programs.
Whatever your opinion of the people featured on those programs or the celebrities who (allegedly) spend more time under the knife than not, it is important not to forget the serious medical benefits that recent advances in the science have brought to thousands of people worldwide. There are many people who, through no fault of their own, develop a teeth or jaw alignment which is not only unattractive to look at, but actually affects their eating, breathing and general health. These issues go far beyond the mere aesthetics of the mouth and the changes provided by orthodontists have far reaching and life changing implications for the individual. Especially in the case of long term sufferers of TMJ pain.
It is also important that if you suffer with your teeth, perhaps from a misaligned bite or just the lack of confidence from a wonky smile, you shouldn’t be put off doing something about it just because of what you fear people might think about you. Your happiness and health should never be allowed to suffer due to the prejudices of others.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontists, TMJ Pain
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Orthodontist, TMJ Pain
| April 16, 2010 at 10:11 am | No comment
Easy Stain Removal With Teeth Whitening
If you are feeling less than confident about your teeth when you smile then teeth whitening can be a very effective way of making the natural colour of your teeth lighter without removing any of the tooth’s surface.
There are several reasons why you may wish to get your teeth whitened, everyone is different and just as everyone’s hair or skin colour varies so does the colour of our teeth, not everyone can have brilliant white teeth. Also the colour of our teeth can change as we get older. Your teeth can also become stained from the food and drink we consume such as tea, coffee and red wine and of course if you smoke that can also stain your teeth.
There are several teeth whitening solutions available but the most effective is a professional teeth whitening procedure carried out at your cosmetic dentistry practice. These will give the better results and will be longer lasting. Other solutions are available such as home whitening kits which can vary greatly in the quality of results achieved and of course you will all have seen whitening toothpastes on your supermarket shelves. Whitening toothpastes don’t actually white your teeth as such or change their colour but they are effective at removing stains so therefore improving the appearance of your teeth.
How long your teeth will stay whiter can vary from person to person but cutting down on those foods or drinks that can stain teeth and stopping smoking will of course help the results last longer, along with a good oral hygiene routine.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Teeth Whitening
| April 12, 2010 at 9:17 am | No comment
Porcelain Veneers For A Touch Of Hollywood
I’m sure you will agree that first impressions count. Imagine that if every time you smiled you were very confident that your teeth were as straight and as sparklingly white as a Hollywood film star. Well thanks to cosmetic dentistry you can be! Dental veneers are wafer thin shaped porcelain pieces that attach to the front of the teeth which means that you can say goodbye to stained, crooked or damaged teeth forever.
The easiest way to think of dental veneers is in the same way as false finger nails. Veneers are bonded to the front of the teeth in a quick and painless way leaving you with a perfect and dazzling smile.
You should consider dental veneers if you have damaged or chipped teeth; stained teeth from food, wine, coffee and smoking; crooked teeth, for teeth that are not overly crooked; also for spaces and gaps between your teeth, dental veneers can correct all of these problems.
There are two materials that are used to make dental veneers, a composite material and porcelain. Porcelain veneers are by far the more popular option as they are much stronger, they do not stain as easily, are much more natural looking and they will last much longer. Porcelain dental veneers can last up to five or ten years whereas composite veneers will last for a year or two at most. Of course to make your veneers last as long as possible it is important to follow a good oral hygiene routine and to visit your dentist at least every 6 months.
Posted in: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Veneers, Porcelain Veneers
Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Veneers, Porcelain Veneers
| April 7, 2010 at 3:47 pm | No comment
