White fillings allow us to restore decayed or broken parts of the teeth to a natural looking finish, with the use of a coloured plastic mixture which is blended to create a colour almost identical to the natural tooth. It is also used to reshape disfigured teeth.

A denture is an appliance which is worn to replace lost or missing teeth to enable you to enjoy a healthy diet and smile with confidence. A complete or full denture is one which replaces all of the natural teeth in either the upper or lower jaws. A partial denture fills in the spaces created by lost or missing teeth and is attached to your natural teeth with metal clasps or devices called precision attachments.

The base of a denture is called a plate and can be made of either acrylic (plastic) or metal. The teeth are normally made of acrylic and can be made to match your natural teeth. This is especially important in the case of partial dentures.

The denture process takes about one month and five appointments: the initial diagnosis is made; an impression and a wax bite are made to determine vertical dimensions and proper jaw position; a "try-in" is placed to assure proper colour, shape and fit; and the patient's final denture is placed, following any minor adjustments.

A crown is a restoration that covers, or "caps," a tooth to restore it to its normal shape and size, strengthening and improving the appearance of a tooth. Crowns are necessary when a tooth is generally broken down and fillings won't solve the problem.

To prepare the tooth for a crown, it is reduced so the crown can fit over it. An impression of teeth and gums is made and sent to the lab for the crown fabrication. A temporary crown is fitted over the tooth until the permanent crown is made. On the next visit, the dentist removes the tempo­rary crown and cements the permanent crown onto the tooth.

The crown will be made to match your other teeth exactly. The shade of the neighbouring teeth will be recorded, to make sure that the colour looks natural and matches the surrounding teeth

    See www.impressdental.co.uk for further information

A Smile Creates Confidence
You may choose to create a whiter smile by combining tooth whitening with your new veneers. Investing in your smile makes sense in today's world we want and need to look our best at all times.

Veneers create the perfect smile
Veneers are custom-made tooth coloured porcelain or a resin based material designed to cover the front portion of your tooth similar to a false fingernail. They look extremely lifelike with the modern materials available today. Your dentist may suggest veneers if you have:

• Spaces between front teeth

• Cracked or chipped teeth

• Slightly crooked or poorly shaped teeth

• Permanently stained teeth

• Worn teeth

A bright, healthy smile says so much
You need not live with a smile that is less than perfect. With advances in cosmetic dentistry, you can have a perfect smile in just a few weeks. Cosmetic dentistry provides new choices that will improve your dental health and help retain a youthful , natural looking smile. So, whether your teeth are misshapen, badly, stained or out of alignment, a veneer may be the perfect solution for you.

Smile!... It shows
Veneers require more than one appointment. The tooth is carefully prepared and contoured and an impression of the prepared tooth is taken to create your veneer.
The venner is custom-made by a highly-skilled dental technician in a laboratory using the shades and shapes decided by you and your dentist. A return visit is required to bond your veneer to the front of your tooth. Once completed, your veneers will fell like your own teeth - only better looking!

Wisdom teeth often cause no problems. They are described as impacted when there is not enough space for them at the back of the mouth. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain, swelling, infection or damage to the teeth next to them. If the gum around the wisdom tooth is swollen the jaw may become stiff and sore.

Partially erupted wisdom teeth are breeding grounds for bacteria and germs and may lead to infection. Antibiotics only sooth infected wisdom teeth for a short time.

A bridge is a dental appliance that replaces one or more natural missing teeth, thereby "bridging" the space between two teeth.

You will see a schematic of a cross section through a fixed bridge and the teeth that it sits on (called abutments). As you can see, the abutment teeth are prepared by "shaving" them down so that they are smaller and their sides are slightly tapered and reasonably parallel to each other. This makes it possible to create a casting which will fit over the prepared abutment teeth. Usually the casting is a metal substructure which will eventually be covered with tooth-coloured porcelain.

If you are missing any teeth and are committed to maintaining good oral hygiene practices, you may be a good candidate for a bridge. A bridge is the most natural choice to fill the space in your mouth left by missing teeth. If left unfilled, this space can cause the surrounding teeth to drift out of position and can cause teeth and gums to become more susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease that can cause further tooth loss.

    See www.impressdental.co.uk for further information