Princess Elizabeth Dental

The cost of your Invisalign clear aligner treatment will depend on your specific case and the duration of your treatment. The more severe the issue, the more aligners you would require and the more your treatment will cost.

No, your Invisalign aligners are removable, meaning you can easily remove them whilst you eat. You can continue to eat all the foods you love during treatment. To avoid staining your clear aligners, we recommend removing them when you drink beverages such as wine, coffee, or dark soda drinks.

Yes, anyone with healthy teeth and gums could be suitable for Invisalign treatment. Age is not necessarily a barrier. In fact, many adults are deciding to move forward with straightening treatment because there are discreet options like Invisalign available.

The implants themselves are tiny artificial titanium or titanium/zirconia roots that are placed into the site(s) where teeth are missing. The bone bonds with the titanium oxide surface, creating a strong foundation for artificial teeth. Not surprisingly, implants are about the same size as natural tooth roots.

In order to place an implant, we usually have to freeze the gums and make a small pilot hole to place the implant into. In general, the placement of an implant is faster and easier than removing the tooth we are replacing with it. In some cases, we can remove the failing tooth and place the implant replacing it at the same visit. After placing the implant, we often have to wait twelve to sixteen weeks for the bone to fuse to the implant before we make the final crown.

In some cases, especially if it has been a while since the tooth was lost, some of the natural bone has shrunk away. In these cases we sometimes have to do a minor graft to help your body grow back the missing tissue. Again, this is usually not a complex procedure, but requires patience while your body heals for several weeks or even months, depending on what we have to do.

Just as we like to see teeth last for your entire life, the goal with implants is to see them last for the rest of your life. Just like teeth, implants can develop gum disease if we don’t look after them, so good homecare remains as important as ever. Crowns, whether they are on teeth or implants, can wear out over the years but are straightforward to replace. Most implants are for the long term, provided that you look after them with regular homecare and professional dental care.

Most professional grade whitening products contain some variant of carbamide or hydrogen peroxide. These chemicals oxidise staining organic materials on and in the teeth.

Professionally supervised whitening is very safe. This is because we choose the proper whitening system for each client, we manufacture precise custom whitening trays, and we make sure that the teeth and gums are healthy prior to whitening treatment. The largest risk with whitening is making the teeth sensitive, primarily to cold. These effects tend to be temporary when they occur.

Unsupervised use of these products involves some risks, but mainly the results tend to be less profound or permanent as compared to our professional materials. In general, they may reduce some of the “extrinsic” stain on the outside of the teeth, but will not change the “intrinsic” pigmentation. In summary: probably not harmful, but more effective at lightening your pocketbook than your teeth.

We have the Sapphire plasma-arc lamp, and will use this occasionally, especially to spot-bleach specific teeth as an adjunct to treating the rest of the teeth. These systems won’t make your teeth any whiter, but can get them there faster than a home-only system.

It depends on the type of stain and your natural pigmentation and racial background. Ask us to show you with the porcelain colour selection guide. One rule of thumb is that your teeth will not get whiter than the sclera of your eyes.

The newer products are proving to be quite permanent. Some clients, especially smokers, are finding they like to “touch-up” with one night of whitening tray wear about every six months.

Most commonly, the tooth is inflamed inside, a condition we call a pulpitis. Usually the patient has severe cold sensitivity or a toothache. This can be caused by a cavity, a deep filling or crown, or by trauma. If we test the tooth and determine that it will not get better by itself, we have to take the damaged tissue out. We also see cases where the tissue inside has died and started to rot, leading to an infection or abscess. Again, we have to remove the dead tissue so your body can heal.

No, again it’s like having a filling done. We, as dentists, hear lots of horror stories about root canal treatment. Perhaps people remember the pain before they had root canal treatment, if they left things too long before getting it done. If the area underneath the tooth was infected or inflamed, the tooth may be sensitive to pressure or biting for a few days after treatment; this is natural and part of your body healing.