Treatments

Cosmetic treatments to improve your smile

Crowns

Crowns (sometimes called ‘caps’) cover and strengthen a chipped or weakened tooth, and are custom-made in the laboratory to match the shade and shape of your other teeth. This normally requires careful shaping before an impression is taken. These can be made from porcelain or porcelain bonded to a precious metal frame. The most recent development is a crown computer milled from a block of zirconia, which gives an even better and natural appearance. Sometimes where a tooth has a root filling, a custom-made post may be required. These can now be made metal-free using glassfibre for a better appearance.

Bridges

A bridge is used to fill the space left by a missing tooth, restoring your smile. Traditionally a tooth either side of a gap may be crowned and joined together using a three unit bridge. A single tooth at the front of the mouth can sometimes be replaced by an adhesive bridge, which is often the treatment of choice as it involves little or no tooth preparation. As with crowns, bridges can be made from metal bonded to porcelain or the more recent zirconia developments.

Veneers

Veneers are used to improve the colour, shape and position of your teeth. They can instantly improve your smile by masking discolouration, close small gaps and repair chips, as seen on the cosmetic make over TV programmes. The veneer itself is a very thin layer of porcelain specially built-up by a dental technician and is often likened to a false fingernail. These are sometimes better than a crown as usually only a small amount of tooth preparation is required.

Gum recontouring

Sometimes the gum around a crown or veneer may be at a different level to its partner which often shows when the patient smiles. Some patients may have a high or “gummy smile”. Gum recontouring can alter the position of the gum margin by careful trimming, usually undertaken at the time of tooth preparation.