Author Archives: Dr. Anh-Thong Nguyen

Dental Bonding

Posted on by

Dental Bonding

Dental bonding is the process by which a broken or discoloured tooth is restored with a resin filling material that is bonded to the tooth. Dental bonding is relatively faster and cheaper than crowns or veneers. It is a quicker and less expensive option to make minor cosmetic improvements to your teeth. It only requires one visit, because the bonding can be done in the dentist office, without having to send anything to the laboratory for fabrication.

The dental bonding procedure usually takes 30 to 60 minutes for each tooth. The colour of the resin is first chosen to get the best match so that the restoration fits harmoniously with your smile. Then the surface of the tooth is roughened in order to ensure the best bond between the material and the tooth. Once the tooth is roughened it is then conditioned prior to application of adhesive. The adhesive is hardened with a special curing light, which is also used to harden the resin material that’s subsequently placed. The whole restoration is then trimmed and polished to make sure that there are no rough or sharp edges.

Dental Veneers

Posted on by

Dental Veneers

Dental veneers are thin covers placed over the front teeth to improve the colour and shape of the front teeth. They can be used to restore chipped or broken teeth as well as heavily stained teeth. Also, they can reshape teeth so that they have a more pleasing shape, and thereby improving the cosmetics of the smile.

There are two common types of veneers

  • Porcelain veneers

    • – This type of veneers is more durable. It helps prevent the development of stains better, and uses materials that match very closely with the colour of your original teeth.

  • Composite Resin Veneers

    • – This type of veneers is applied directly on the teeth to create the thin layers of shells, instead of being made in a laboratory.

Porcelain veneers require a minimum of two visits to the dentist. During your first visit, your dentist will prepare the teeth shaving a thin portion of the tooth away to make space for the veneers. How much needs to be removed depends on the shade and position of the teeth. After that, an impression of the teeth is taken, and this impression will then be sent to the dental laboratory to create the veneers. While waiting for the veneers to be fabricated, the dentist will make a temporary veneer to protect the prepared tooth, as well as to improve the appearance of the tooth before the next visit.

In your next visit, the temporary veneers are removed and replaced with the new veneers. The fit and aesthetics of the veneers are carefully checked prior to being cemented with a special adhesive.

Dental Bridges

Posted on by

Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are prostheses that consist of an artificial tooth placed in between teeth to fill in the gap of a missing tooth. A bridge is a useful way to replace a missing tooth and close a gap which could cause movement and “tipping” of the adjacent teeth over time.

There are three common design types for dental bridges:

  • Fixed Bridge

  • Cantilever Bridge

  • Resin-Bonded Bridge

Tooth Extractions

Posted on by

Tooth Extractions

A dental extraction is a procedure to completely remove damaged, unrestorable teeth from your mouth. This procedure is only required if your damaged tooth is beyond repair; leaving a damaged tooth in the mouth will likely cause more problems in the future.

Conditions that tooth extraction is considered under include:

  • Severely decayed tooth that is beyond repair
  • Advanced gum disease
  • Impaction of erupting teeth, including wisdom teeth where the impaction is causing problems
  • A painful tooth where other treatment would not be effective
  • Super-erupted tooth that is causing food impaction or bite problems

All dental extractions require a recent x-ray of the tooth to assess the roots of the tooth to determine how easily the tooth can be removed.

Anaesthetic is given to numb the area of the affected tooth before the extraction is done. During the extraction, you might feel the pressure of the tooth being removed but you will not feel any pain because of the anaesthetic. Most simple extractions only take a few minutes.

It is normal to see a small amount of blood immediately after the extraction. Your dentist will help to minimize the bleeding by placing gauze over it.

Root Canal Therapy

Posted on by

Root Canal Therapy

Root canal therapy is only performed on a patient who suffers from deep cavity infection or serious cracked tooth in order to repair or save the tooth from being completely removed.

There are several signs that you might need a root canal therapy.

  • Severe tooth pain when chewing
  • Sleepless night caused by toothache
  • Intense and lingering sensitivity on your teeth when reacting to hot or cold
  • Discoloration or darkening of the tooth
  • Swollen gums

Modern root canal therapy is painless. Anaesthetic is given to numb the tooth prior to commencing the treatment.

First, through the crown of the affected tooth, an opening is made into the pulp chamber. Then the soft tissue inside the tooth is then removed and the root canal is cleaned thoroughly and medication is placed into the canals. Usually, this procedure requires multiple visits as time is required to allow the medication to disinfect the root canals. The dentist will make sure that your tooth is protected with a temporary filling in between your visits. At the next visit, the dentist will remove the temporary filling, clean the root canal and pulp chamber and fill the root canal with a special filling material. All this is usually done under rubber dam to prevent saliva and bacteria from the mouth entering and re-infecting the tooth.

Finally the tooth will have a permanent filling or crown over the top. In most cases, root canal therapy has a high success rate and can last for a very long time.

Composite Fillings

Posted on by

Composite Fillings

Composite resin is a modern restorative material that is used to fill teeth where the cavity or space to be restored is small to medium. While there are multiple options for the material used in the filling procedure, most common and effective is composite resin. Composite resin has the advantage of being tooth coloured or “white” so that it matches the tooth perfectly.

With composite resin, less tooth structure needs to be removed in the preparation, as compared with amalgam fillings. This then allows more surface area to bond the filling to as well as providing a stronger overall tooth. Composite resin comes in many shades and colours that can be matched to the colour of your original teeth, allowing composite fillings to be used on your front or highly visible teeth.

The length of time needed depends on the size of the restoration. There are several steps in the procedure. First, the teeth are anaesthetised to prevent any pain or sensitivity, then the decayed portion of the tooth is cleaned. Next the tooth is prepared for bonding of the filling to the tooth. The adhesive is applied and hardened under a special light. The filling is then applied in thin layers to make sure that they are all hardened sufficiently. The final step to this procedure is to adjust and polish the filling so that it fits your bite and to make sure that you are comfortable.

Rubber dam is used wherever possible. Rubber dam is used to isolate the teeth from the rest of the mouth. It helps to keep the teeth dry when bonding composite resin and helps retract the tongue and lips. It will also help to prevent debris from falling into the mouth making the whole experience more comfortable for patients.

Dental Exams and X-Rays

Posted on by

Dental Exams and X-Rays

Routine dental examinations are very important to maintaining a healthy mouth. With frequent, regular checkups, we can prevent dental disease and avoid complicated treatment as well as save the expense of that treatment in the long-term. It is recommended that patients of all ages have a dental examination twice a year. X-rays should be taken every 1 to 2 years to help detect the presence of decay and other conditions that are not visible to the eye.

In a regular dental exam, we will firstly examine the patient’s mouth visually using mouth mirrors, dental explorers and high intensity lights to visually detect problems. Important things that we look for in every exam include the following:

  • Tooth Decay/ Tooth Wear
  • Oral Cancer Screening
  • Gum Disease
  • Quality of existing restorations.
  • Quality and Quantity of saliva
  • Bite problems

If during the initial exam we suspect any hidden problems that cannot be picked up with the naked eye, patients may require diagnostic x-rays to help with further assessment of the problem and deciding on appropriate treatment.

Photographs may be taken of the mouth to serve as a record but also to allow patients to better understand their own oral condition.

Dental Cleanings

Posted on by

Dental Cleanings

Regular dental cleaning is extremely important in order to maintain good oral health. Regular professional dental cleaning at the clinic can help you remove plaque and tartar that develops on and in between your teeth that is impossible to remove by daily brushing and flossing. It is highly recommended that you visit us and have a professional dental cleaning every six months.

Dental cleaning takes about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the condition of the teeth and the time since the last clean. Most of the time, this procedure is rather painless and causes very little sensitivity to the teeth.

Professional dental cleaning involves two core steps of scaling and polishing. Teeth are first scaled to remove tartar and plaque build-up. This is usually done with an ultrasonic scaler or manually with a hand instrument. Thorough scaling also involves scaling the in between teeth and near the gums to remove tartar that has built up there where it is hardest to reach. When the scaling is done, the teeth are then polished to remove any remaining plaque as well as stains on the teeth.

Finally, a Fluoride gel is applied to the teeth to help restore the mineral content in the enamel, thereby adding protection from decay as well as reducing sensitivity.

Custom Made Sports Mouth Guard

Posted on by

Custom Made Sports Mouth Guard

Anyone that participates in a contact sport should use a mouth guard. In many competitive sports it is compulsory to have one. Both adults and children can have mouth guards custom made. The difference is that young children tend to need a new one more often as their teeth and jaws are growing and therefore the mouth guard will stop fitting sooner. Also, the force of impact experienced in adult competition tends to be greater and therefore adults will often require thicker more protective materials.

Generic one size fits all mouth guards can be purchased from a local chemist but these tend to be poorly fitting even after heating and moulding to the teeth. They tend to “drop out” of the mouth easily and can be very annoying and actually hinder sporting activity.

Custom made and fitted mouth guards are far superior to generic mouth guards. They afford much greater protection against damage to teeth as they are made from a mould of the person’s teeth and fit perfectly. In addition, they tend to be much more comfortable and they will stay in the mouth during sports activities.

Two appointments are needed to have a mouth guard custom fitted. The first to take the mould of the teeth and the second, typically about one week later, to make sure that the fit is perfect.

Total Oral Health

Posted on by

Total Oral Health

The concept of Total Oral Health involves understanding of three key ideas.

1.Oral health is a critical part of overall health and general well-being.

2.Prevention of disease is far preferable to treatment of disease and is essential to maintaining good oral health.

3.Every part of the oral cavity is important for maintaining good oral health.

These three ideas form the basis of our treatment philosophy. We see the health of the whole mouth as vital to whole body health. Therefore we encourage our patients to maintain healthy mouths – not just shiny teeth.

A careful medical history screening is done to make sure that we recognize any general medical condition that may affect the oral cavity or any possible treatment that may be required.

Our initial assessment of a mouth always involves a screening to check the mucosa (or skin in the mouth) for any sign of pathology. Many oral cancers have a far better prognosis if detected early. Other more common conditions can also be detected on oral examination. The mucosa is often overlooked as dentists are often too focused on teeth to worry about the rest of the mouth.

Periodontal health (health of the gums) is vital to maintaining good oral health. Maintaining this vital structure is crucial to keeping teeth and periodontal disease is a leading cause of tooth loss in adults as well as being a major cause of bad breath. A screening of your gums will be done at every check-up appointment to ensure ongoing healthy gums. Treatment of gum disease and on-going maintenance of periodontal health forms an important part of maintaining health and well-being.

The bite is carefully assessed to make sure that there is a stable correct bite. Many patients have TMJ and muscular pain or are unable to chew foods which can have a major impact on their quality of life. Children with bite problems are assessed and treatment recommended to prevent problems in adult life.

Saliva is a component of the mouth that people often overlook. Low quantity or poor quality saliva can result in several problems including decayed teeth, bad breath, altered taste and poor mastication (chewing). The fit of prostheses (dentures) is often affected by dry mouth. Many patients are unaware that there are ways to reduce the symptoms of dry mouth. At Smilessence we are able to test for saliva dysfunction using a specifically designed test kit.

Teeth are of course essential to oral health. At the initial appointment Careful assessment of teeth to diagnose any problems that can be corrected to help patients keep their teeth longer. Decayed teeth are restored, missing teeth may be replaced, fillings may need replacement and weak teeth reinforced.

If problems are detected we will always try and find the root cause to help prevent the problem from recurring after treatment. Prevention of decay, for example, involves discussing with individual patients about their particular habits. Diet and saliva can be investigated and oral hygiene assessed. Modern dental products such as GC Tooth Mousse can be used to help prevent decay. Dental decay like most dental problems is preventable!

The cosmetic aspect of teeth is often misunderstood as this is often seen by some as elective treatments done for the sake of vanity. Whilst a lot of cosmetic treatments are often purely to improve the cosmetics of the smile, we often see that if a person’s teeth look healthy they will often feel better about their teeth and as a result take better care of their teeth. The psychological benefits of improving the way your teeth look should not be overlooked. We are happy to replace stained and darkly coloured restorations if they will improve the aesthetics without causing other problems. Most commonly old amalgam fillings are being replaced with “white” fillings for cosmetic reasons. We feel that there is an important place for cosmetic treatments in a health focused approach to dental treatment.

We believe strongly in the Total Oral Health philosophy and believe that this is far superior to the old “drill, fill and bill” approach. Please contact us if you have any questions for us or feel that you or someone you know would benefit from visiting our practice.