| The Oral Health Clinic |

Tooth Whitening

What is it?

The colour of your teeth can be lightened with Hydrogen Peroxide (bleach), used either on the outside or the inside of your tooth or teeth.

Like hair and skin, teeth vary in colour. Some are yellower or darker than others, even when they are quite healthy.
Teeth sometimes darken if their roots have been diseased. A change in colour is caused by blood from the root canal.

Tooth bleaching is completely safe as long as the bleach does not touch your gums and burn them. Dentists use special jelly bleach.

Before
After

What will my dentist do?

For a tooth which is dark inside, the bleach is put in the root canal temporarily, before or after the tooth is root filled.

There are two ways of bleaching the outside of teeth.

The dentist may give you weak bleach jelly to use at home in a tray which fits closely round your teeth. The tray makes sure that the jelly does not burn your gums. You will need to use the tray for an hour or two a day, for up to six weeks.

A dental technician will make the tray you use for bleaching your teeth at home from an impression of your teeth that your dentist has made. Your dentist will check the tray fits and show you how to put the jelly in the tray at home.
Your dentist can use a stronger bleach jelly. Dentists use this method to bleach all the teeth at the same time in either your upper or lower jaw. The strong bleach will touch the teeth for less time than with home bleaching.

If your dentist uses a stronger bleach, they will protect your gums. They will paint the bleach onto the teeth and heat it with a light for a few minutes. They then wash it off with water.

Your dentist will make a note of your tooth colour using model teeth in different shades before they treat you. Look at the colour match yourself before the treatment so you can compare it with the colour after bleaching.
Your teeth may be sensitive to hot and cold food and drink for a few days after bleaching.

What are the benefits?

Bleaching improves the appearance of your teeth without removing any of the natural tooth surface. Bleaching is a better option than a crown or veneer if you want to lighten the colour of health teeth.

Fixed Bridges

What are they?

A bridge replaces a missing tooth (or teeth) by fixing the replacement to the natural teeth at each side of the gap. Some bridges have crowns at each end. Others are fixed to the surface of the teeth next to the gap. Sometimes a bridge is only fixed to the tooth on one side of the gap.

Bridges are made of metal and porcelain or sometimes just porcelain.

What will my dentist do?

There are several stages in making a bridge.

The dentist uses soft, mouldable material to take impressions of your mouth. A dental technician makes exact plaster models of your upper and lower teeth and gums, which shows how your teeth bite together;
The teeth which will support the bridge are prepared so that the bridge is not too bulky.
middot; Another impression is taken of the teeth and any gaps and the dental technician uses this to make the bridge. A plastic temporary bridge or temporary crown may be fitted in the meantime.
At your final visit, the dentist will check that the bridge fits, make any minor adjustments and then fix it permanently in place

Your dentist or hygienist will show you the best way of keeping your new bridge clean.

What are the benefits?

A bridge almost lets you forget that you have missing teeth.

It can improve the way you look, bite, chew and speak.
The teeth can be matched to the colour of your own teeth.
A bridge can last many years if you keep it clean and if there is no accidental damage.
Natural teeth are protected from wear and tear, and from moving or tilting out of line which could cause your teeth to bite together incorrectly.

If you do not want a bridge, you can have a removable partial denture. The dentist will explain how successful a bridge will be and if the supporting teeth are not strong enough, a denture might be better. If you have just had some teeth taken out, a denture might be made first, with a bridge fitted at a later date, when the gum has healed.

Crowns

What are they?

A crown completely covers a weak tooth above the gum line and protects it.

Crowns are made of metal or porcelain, or porcelain with metal inside for strength.

What will my dentist do?

They will normally give you a local anaesthetic to numb the area.
They will shape the tooth so that, with the crown, it will be the same size as a normal tooth.
Preparation time will depend on how damaged the tooth is and whether it needs to be built up with a filling first.
The tooth might have to be root filled first, this is sometimes called “removing the nerve”. The crown is sometimes held in place by a peg in the root canal if a lot of the tooth is missing.
Your dentist will use a soft mouldable material to make an exact “impression” of the tooth that is to be crowned and the nearby teeth. A dental technician uses an impression to make the crown the exact height and size needed.
A thin cord may be used to hold the gum away from the tooth so that the impression is accurate round the edges.
A temporary crown made of plastic or metal is put over the tooth until the crown is made. You can chew on a temporary crown but it won’t be as strong as the finished one.
When the crown is fitted, your dentist will make small adjustments to make sure you can bite comfortably. The crown is tried on first, and then glued into place.

What are the benefits?

A crown is strong and can look and feel exactly like a natural tooth. The colour and shape can be matched to your own teeth.
Depending on the strength of the tooth underneath, a crown can last for many years if you look after your mouth and teeth and the crown is not accidentally damaged.
Crowns can also improve the appearance of misshapen or discoloured teeth.

Veneers

What are they?

A veneer is a thin layer of tooth-coloured material that is put onto the front of the tooth to make it look better. The tooth might have been damaged by decay or an accident or be discoloured.

What will my dentist do?

Some veneers are built up on the tooth directly using white filling material, while you are with your dentist. Other are made out of porcelain by a dental technician, from an impression of the tooth. You will have to visit the dentist more than once for this type of veneer.

Your dentist will check any fillings in the teeth first.
Very little tooth preparation is needed, just enough to prevent the veneer making the tooth feel bulky, so it may not be necessary to numb the tooth.
For veneers made in the surgery, the surface of the tooth is roughened with a mild acid. Then white filling is applied in layers until the teeth look right.
For veneers made by a dental technician, the dentist will take an impression first. This shows how the teeth bite together as well as telling the technician the shape and size of veneer that is needed.
Your dentist will glue the veneer made by the technician to the tooth when you next visit.

Veneers sometimes come away from the tooth or break if the tooth is knocked. They can sometimes be glued back on but will have to be replaced if they are damaged.

What are the benefits?

Veneers can greatly improve your appearance. They hide imperfections and you lose very little natural tooth.

Veneers also protect teeth from any more damage. For example acid in food and drinks or from the stomach can cause your teeth to wear away. The teeth become thin and weak but veneers can protect them.