Periodontal (Gum) Treatment

The basis for a healthy mouth is healthy gums.

The absence of gum disease and tooth decay will help you maintain your teeth for life.The hygienist works with the dentist to establish and maintain a programme tailored to meet your specific needs.

Good home-care is important if gum disease and tooth decay are not to progress to more serious problems. Remember more teeth are lost due to gum disease than tooth decay.

Our Hygienists are trained to help prevent dental disease by helping you care for your teeth and gums and advising on diet.

Periodontal diseases are usually slow in progressing and it can take a number of years for enough bone loss to occur for the teeth to become loose.

Treatment becomes more difficult as it progresses but it can be very successfully treated in the earlier stages. The initial treatment is carried out by the hygienist but the day to day care of your gums is up to you. The visits to our hygienists and their advice will help you maintain your teeth.

These are also known as 'caps' and are artificial covers which fit over a specially prepared tooth to restore it to normal function and appearance.

They are used to restore decayed or damaged teeth and also to improve aesthetics. They are made of porcelain bonded to metal or totally in porcelain. The latter generally has slightly better aesthetics and is therefor used on anterior teeth. A badly broken tooth may need a post fitted into the root of the tooth to give better support to the crown.

When a tooth or teeth are missing, they can be restored by placing the crowns on the teeth next to the gap onto which false teeth are fixed. A bridge is cemented in place and cannot be removed by the patient. It should be looked after like natural teeth and the hygienist will demonstrate the use of floss to enable you to look after it correctly.

This is the treatment of the root to prevent or treat infection caused by the entry of bacteria into the pulp of the tooth. Root canal therapy needs time, patience and skill to perform but it saves teeth with infected pulps which would otherwise be lost. It does, therefore, avoid complication and the greater expense of replacing lost teeth.

These are artificial titanium roots used to replace missing teeth.They can be used either on their own or in combination with natural teeth to provide fixed teeth.

They are placed in the jaw and after a healing period of 1 to 6 months, are then used to support crowns or fixed bridgework.

In certain cases no healing period is necessary. In edentulous patients they can be used to support a special type of denture or fixed bridgework.

These can be used in many situations to offer less conspicuous and more retentive dentures. The dentures are usually more comfortable, smaller and well tolerated. They secured into a crown using a small 'press stud' type of fastening.