If you wear a partial denture or are considering filling the gaps in your mouth where teeth have been extracted, a bridge is a good option in very specific cases.
A bridge is merely a number of crowns that are fixed together with a prosthetic (false) tooth placed in the space to replace one or more teeth. Because it is cemented on, it is not removable and eliminates the need for partial dentures.
The procedure usually involves 2 - 3 visits; the first involves the preparation of the teeth on either side of the gap and impressions are taken of your mouth. The colour and fit of the bridge usually require another 1-2 appointments if we're to insure good function and cosmetics.
If required, we often ask our lab to do an in-office visit or have you go to their nearby location to aid in matching the porcelain to the neighbouring teeth so that the crown looks more natural.
Between appointments, we insure that the tooth is covered with a temporary crown while our laboratory is preparing your final restoration.
If your tooth has a large filling that is failing, chips and cracks and/or has had root canal therapy that has left is succeptable to fracture, we may suggest that you have a crown placed. A crown covers the tooth and helps restore it to it's original shape and function. Once cemented on, it helps prevent the tooth from further deterioration and subsequent loss.
The procedure usually involves 2 visits; the first involves the preparation of the tooth and the second the cementation of the final crown approx 1-2 weeks following the first.
If required, we often ask our lab to do an in-office visit or have you go to their nearby location to aid in matching the porcelain to the neighbouring teeth so that the crown looks more natural.
Between appointments, we insure that the tooth is covered with a temporary crown while our laboratory is preparing your final restoration.
As health care practitioners, we advocate prevention of disease and maintenance of systemic health. However, there are times that this simply necessitates the removal of teeth that have a hopeless prognosis and cannot be saved. In many instances all of the remaining teeth have to be removed because of advanced gum problems, decay, dental problems worsened by systemic disease, cancer treatment, illicit drug use etc. Often we are able to place a full denture (upper, lower or both) immediately following the extractions so that you never have to be without teeth. For many this will be the first time in years they are able to smile without being embarrassed.
It is important to understand that although we are eliminating disease, there are other long term problems associated with full denture wear. We will certainly discuss the pros and cons of denture wear and whether implant placement following extractions would be an option for you.
The effects of tooth loss on your overall health, appearance and self esteem is well known to those who suffer from it. When one loses a tooth, the neighbouring and even opposing teeth can shift out of place causing your bite and smile to be affected. As well, the bone surrounding the extracted tooth can shrink over the course of months and years compromising the function and cosmetics of the remaining teeth even more so.
Whether you've lost teeth due to cavities, trauma or gum disease, it is important on many levels to consider replacing them to insure that you can eat with comfort, smile with pride and confidence but also prevent further bone loss that can make you look older than your years. Implants are often a great way of achieving this goal.
An implant is simply a root shaped surgical grade piece of titanium that is installed at the site of the missing tooth. The success of implants follows years of research that shows that this type of metal actually stimulates bone growth and - over a period of months following placement - can actually bond to your own bone. Once the implant has succesfully integrated with your jawbone, a post (abutment) and crown are attached to the implant permanently.
It is currently known that the most of the bone loss following an extraction takes place in the first year. Valuable supporting bone and gum will shrink away leaving unsightly spaces that can affect the cosmetics of the area. If the area of the extraction site lends well this procedure, we can often place an implant into the extraction site the same day to help prevent this bone and gum loss. Not only do we preserve the site of extraction but we also minimize the number of surgical appointments you will need. In certain cases, a temporary crown can actually be attached to the implant at the very same appointment so that you never have to smile without a missing tooth. Click here to reach our Patient Education videos and select the Implant tab for further information.
This fascinating science has allowed us to replace missing single teeth (implant supported crown), multiple teeth (implant supported bridge) or all teeth (implant supported dentures). Please contact us at info@dentistryonwilson.com for more information or to set up a consultation to see if you’re a candidate.
Orthodontics is often the first choice of treatment when correcting cosmetic, functional (bite) and/or TM joint problems. There are many people who avoid it because of the stigma they feel is associated with wearing brackets and wires on their teeth – at almost any age. With Invisalign, we can eliminate the use of the unsightly metal hardware on your teeth with this orthodontic system.
Invisalign treatment consists of a series of plastic aligners that are custom made to fit only your mouth. Using precise impressions of your teeth, these virtually invisible aligners snap on and gradually shift them over a predictable period of time. A new one is placed approxamitely every two weeks during the course of treatment and continues until we achieve the smile you've always wanted. Please ask us for a demonstration or video presentation that shows this amazing procedure.
Porcelain veneers are the simplest, fastest and least invasive way of transforming your existing smile to the one you've only dreamed of having - and most often this can be achieved comfortably in only two visits. By adding a thin layer of porcelain to each of your front teeth, we can change the shape, colour, eliminate chips, cracks and spaces instantly. In many cases where there are fillings already placed in the front teeth, we can actually improve the aesthetics and make the tooth stronger by reinforcing them with the bonded porcelain.
The process usually follows this timeline; at the first appointment the selected teeth are prepared by removing - only if necessary - a very thin layer of enamel. Often this reshaping allows us to fit the porcelain onto the tooth without making them appear to thick. If required, temporary veneers will be placed to help us determine the final shape we are trying to achieve with the final veneers. 1 - 2 weeks later, at the second appointment, the super thin veneers are tried in and checked for fit and colour. Once approved by you and our team, they are cemented into place.
Veneers do not wear out or stain however they are subject to breakage just like your real teeth. If you have a clenching or grinding habit, you''ll need to wear a guard to protect your teeth at night or you may not be a candidate for veneers in the first place.
Sometimes the smile you've always wanted is the one you have! Misshapen, rotated, tipped or chipped teeth can often just have small adjustments done to them to make them cosmetically attractive once again. Occassionally we can even enhance that with small amounts of tooth coloured bonding material (hilight so this links to "tooth coloured fillings") but with or without, it's often the simplest way to improve your smile.
There is another important aspect to your smile - your gums! Dental professionals have always realized that healthy pink gums are an integral part of a healthy smile. It's only recently that we recognize that each tooth is framed by gum and how important it is to have symmetrical, straight tissue stretching across the breadth of the smile to give it that full and pleasing look. If not, the tissue can be easily altered by using painless laser treatment that often has little or no discomfort afterwards. We often use this technique to insure that our results with veneers and crowns are even better.
Tooth coloured fillings (composite resin) offer a number of advantages over the older silver amalgam fillings that have been in use for around 200 years. In our experience, they are not only more cosmetic but can allow the dentist to bond the material to thinned out weak tooth structure and help prevent the tooth from further breakage. As well, we find that we tend to get less post operative sensitivity with our technique. In certain cases, porcelain inlays or onlays - or even gold - may be recommended instead of this resin for further strength and wear resistance.
The technique is as follows; decay is removed from the tooth, a lining material is placed to protect the deepest part of the cavity preparation, a bonding agent (or adhesive) is placed in the tooth and then the soft filling material is placed in and shaped to replicate the missing tooth. All this is hardened using a blue spectrum light and then the tooth and filling are further shaped and polished.
At Dentistry on Wilson we only use composite resin fillings. Despite this, our philosophy towards silver amalgam filling is straight forward; it is a good, strong and long lasting material that has served people well over the years but may have questionable health effects on very a small segment of the population. We do not offer this material to our patients when placing new fillings and we will not remove them from teeth unless they have been structurally damaged or have decay under them. If you have any concerns about our philosophy, we welcome any discussion on this topic before we begin your treatment.
Have you noticed that as you've aged, your smile no longer looks quite as youthful as it used to? Or perhaps you've always noticed that your teeth had a yellowish tinge to them that you always wanted to remove. Sometimes the simplest and inexpensive way of rejuvenating your smile is to whiten or "bleach" your teeth.
The most effective whitening medicaments that are used are peroxide based and do not harm or ruin the surface of your teeth. Custom trays are made that allow you to apply a drop of this material to each tooth once per day for either 1 to 2 one hour sessions per day depending on how quickly you would like them to whiten them. Some teeth colours do whiten better and/or quicker than others so the results can certainly vary. The usual initial course of treatment is about 2 weeks.
For those who want quicker results or feel that they don't want to get involved with the continuous application of this material, we can do the majority of this whitening in one in-office seating using our "Zoom" system that can give spectacular results immediately. Feel free to come in for an assessment to see which system is best suited for you.