Your Dental Clinic Now Offers Amazing New Treatments

The role of the dental clinic has changed dramatically and, hopefully, forever, at least, among the more progressive practices. Its clinicians no longer devote their days to tugging out the remnants of decayed molars or filing up the cavities that were once so common among the dedicated chocoholics. Instead, the pliers and drills that were once in daily use for repairs are gradually taking a back seat to be replaced by treatments that take advantage of new and advanced technologies and focus, rather, on preventative and cosmetic measures.

The modern dental clinic of http://www.yourdentist.co.za offers a range of essential and elective procedures of which many that fall into the latter category are cosmetic but that, nonetheless, play an important role in a patient’s overall wellbeing.

Teeth Whitening Gaining Widespread Popularity

Who has not looked longingly at some pop diva or movie star and admired their sparkling white teeth and contrasting tan? The chances are very high that, rather than being the signs of natural beauty; both effects were produced in a clinic or salon.

A suitably equipped dental clinic can create dramatic improvements to the whiteness of almost anyone’s teeth within the space of under an hour. Formerly a simple chemical bleaching process with somewhat variable results, modern treatments now use a specially formulated gel in conjunction with a laser lamp that catalyses the bleaching effect in a process now referred to as laser teeth whitening.

Many things may give rise to discolouration, including excessive use of tobacco or consumption of tea and coffee while some teeth tend to be naturally more yellow. Your dental clinic can assess the current shade by comparison with a recognised scale of whiteness and a typical treatment should normally result in an improvement of up to 8 shades, based on a scale of 1 to 14.

It is quick, and being painless, requires no anaesthetic or recovery time. Furthermore, the low cost of this procedure means it is easily affordable to most.

Dental Implants Now Replacing Dentures

Removable false teeth are progressively becoming largely unnecessary. First bridgework made partial plates avoidable and now, the dental clinic of today is more likely to recommend an implant in preference to a bridge. The system allows a prosthetic tooth to be fixed firmly into the jawbone in a manner that mimics a natural tooth and results in a permanently anchored implant that performs and looks like the real thing.

The artificial ‘root’ that holds the implant in place is made of titanium which causes no rejection and is readily integrated into the natural bone tissue. Dental Implants require careful planning by dental clinic specialists to avoid any damage to nerves or sinuses and is likely to involve X-Rays and perhaps even a CT scan prior to the actual procedure. Sometimes, particularly if a full set of implants is required, template, known as a stent may need to be designed to locate, accurately the positions of each hole to be drilled prior to the insertions.

Time is required for the titanium roots to become rigidly bound to the bone and can delay the attachment of the prosthetics. The dental clinic will advise patients that healing can take between 2 and 6 months and that they should consider the implications fully before deciding on this type of procedure.

Other Popular Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures

As well as whitening and dental implants several other types of cosmetic dentistry are also gaining popularity. Although orthodontics is not a new concept, modern advances that have served to replace much of the unsightly scaffolding that typified these treatments in the past have resulted in greater acceptance, especially by adults.

A more innovative dental clinic may now offer tooth reshaping treatments as an alternative to braces for lesser misalignments or where only a few teeth may be affected. The process involves chipping away small quantities of enamel, much like a sculptor fashions a granite block, in an attempt to correct the shape.

In practice, a cosmetic dentistry procedure known as bonding may prove even better and involves coating a tooth with a composite material with properties similar to tooth enamel and then sculpting into shape before hardening and polishing it.

These and other advances in dentistry, particularly its cosmetic applications, have recently resulted in a new form of tourism in which overseas visitors, attracted by low prices, high standards and sunshine, now often choose to consult a dental clinic in South Africa in preference to using their home facilities.