Teeth Whitening

The most gentle way to achieve effective and affordable whitening is via a custom made take home bleaching kit. After a thorough dental examination, the ideal time to begin whitening is after a professional clean. Two custom made trays are vacuum formed from moulds of your upper and lower teeth. In the kit, syringes of POLA whitening gel are also included. Should you run out of gel in the future, simply purchase refill syringes without having to make any more new trays!

Often patients report some initial sensitivities during whitening, however, be reassured that all sensitivities are temporary. There has never been any case around the world of persistent teeth sensitivity associated with whitening.

GUM DISEASE (Periodontal Disease)

Gum disease describes a spectrum of conditions ranging from bleeding gums to severe bone loss around teeth. It not only affects the gum but also all the supporting ligaments as well as the jaw bone. It is a major cause of tooth loss in our community. Worst of all, most of us are not aware of gum disease until painful symptoms begin to show.

It begins with the build up of soft creamy plaque. Once plaque mixes with components of our own saliva, it begins to mineralise and form tartar. This is the hard rock like deposits which sit around your teeth and under the gum line. Once tartar forms, it is impossible to remove without the help of a dentist. These deposits encourage further build up, all the while continuing to irritate your gums.

As build up increases, the gums recede and shorten. If left long enough, the underlying bone sockets recede too. Eventually teeth will begin to move as there is no longer enough support for them.

Simple steps you can take to protect your gums include brushing and flossing. We will help by professionally cleaning your teeth to remove all the tartar, especially in hard to reach spots, every 6 months. Together we can work together to treat and prevent gum disease.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers are thin, tooth coloured ceramic shells carefully crafted to bond and cover the front of your teeth (the aesthetic zone).

Porcelain Veneers are more conservative that conventional crowns and are placed in order to enhance chipped, discoloured, slightly misaligned or misshapen teeth.

This will achieve a new smile profile within two or three visits, made to fit over your original teeth. An accurate mould is taken of your teeth at the first visit, after the teeth are lightly prepared. This is to allow room for the veneer to be guided into place later.

When the veneers are ready, they are cemented with a clear or tooth coloured cement after the teeth have been cleaned. A few final adjustments later, a brand new smile is created.

Crowns

A crown is a cap (made from porcelain +/- metal) which covers the entire visible surface of the tooth. It acts to strengthen and reinforce weakened and broken teeth. Often they are placed on teeth where a large portion has broken away or on those which have undergone extensive procedures, including Root Canal Treatment.

Crowns can also be used to enhance the appearance of smile teeth in a way similar to porcelain veneers. They can alter the shape and colour of teeth, or some patients simply want it to match and blend in with their remaining teeth.

A thin layer of tooth structure is removed from the surface before an impression is taken. The tooth is then protected by a temporary crown, which is removed on the following appointment where your porcelain crown is inserted.

DENTAL IMPLANTS

What is the best way of replacing a missing tooth or teeth?

At PCAT Dental, we get this question all the time. Whether you are missing all your teeth, a few teeth or simply just one tooth, most of the time, the answer is dental implants.

A dental implant consists of two parts – a titanium part and a porcelain part. The titanium portion is buried under the gum line, within the jaw, so it is not visible. Its’ function is to provide strength and support for the porcelain crown above. The porcelain portion is the crown. It is custom shade matched to ensure maximum aesthetics and carved to meet the specificities of your bite.

Dental implants are not only beautiful cosmetically but also provide excellent form and function. Regardless of whether you are embarrassed by missing gaps in your smile or if you have been dealing with the irritation and inconvenience of loose dentures, it is worth discussing with one of our dentists regarding the possibility of an implant solution customised for you.

BRUXISM/TMD (TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER)

Ever wonder why you wake up in the morning feeling tightness or tension in the jaw joints and muscles or why your pristine teeth chip and break? It may be you suffer from Bruxism, more commonly known as grinding or clenching of the teeth.

Often bruxism is nocturnal, ie it occurs during sleep, so many of us may not even be aware we are doing it! It can lead to tender and sensitive teeth, noises and/or pain in the jaw joint, heavy wear on the teeth, shortening of teeth and breaking of otherwise healthy teeth.

Like many habits, bruxism is a habit that’s hard to break! But we can certainly help in relieving and minimising the damage it causes. This is done through a device called an Occlusal Splint. Our dentists would be happy to guide you through the process of making one, custom for you.

Fissure Sealants

Have you ever looked in the mirror at your molar or back teeth? Go on, take a look now. Depending on your dental history, you’ll either see fine grooves running across the biting surface of your lower molars, or if you have been unlucky enough, you will have fillings in these areas already.

Often adults will see silver or black amalgam fillings on the grooves of their molars. The grooves are an area particularly prone to decay simply due to their shape. When today’s adults were children, once decay was spotted in these areas, the tooth was cut and restored. Prevention was not an option.

Nowadays however, prevention is available. Rather than waiting for the onset of decay, whilst the molars are still healthy, the grooves are sealed with a tooth coloured material to prevent bacterial infection of these areas. These are called Fissure Sealants. We recommend them on the 6 year old molars and 12 year old molars in children.

They are pain free, drill free and needle free. At PCAT Dental, we believe prevention is better than cure!