General Dentistry
Dental Hygiene/Teeth Cleaning/Scaling
We are an independent dental practice in Eltham with a strong focus on preventative dentistry.
At SE9 Dental Care, we explain the importance of good oral hygiene and maintenance to all patients.
We provide scaling in a painless way. Regular follow up appointments are encouraged till such time that oral hygiene is satisfactory.
Written estimates/treatment plans would be provided and informed consent obtained before commencing any treatment. Information leaflets and samples would be provided to help patient understand the problem/solution.
Please see Fee-Guide for our current indicative fees.
Dental Fillings
What is a dental filling/restoration?
A dental restoration or dental filling is a treatment to restore the function, integrity, and morphology of missing tooth structure resulting from caries or external trauma.
How a tooth filling is done?
To fill a tooth, the dentist will:
- Numb your tooth and surrounding area
- Sometimes use a small sheet of rubber on a metal frame (rubber dam) to target the decayed tooth and to stop liquid and tooth chips from entering your mouth and throat.
- Drill out all the decay and replace it with a filling.
What filling materials do we use?
SE9 Dental Care is a mercury and amalgam free practice. We only use tooth coloured filling materials of a superior quality and strength. The most common materials are composite and porcelain (for inlays).
Is this treatment painful?
No. As with all treatments, we aim to provide durable fillings in a painless way.
The dentist will numb your tooth and surrounding area so that you don’t feel any pain or discomfort.
Highlights
- Mercury Free Practice
- Durable tooth coloured fillings in a painless way.
Dentures, Crowns and Bridges
Dentures
A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. Two types of dentures are available — complete and partial dentures. Complete dentures are used when all the teeth are missing, while partial dentures are used when some natural teeth remain. Dentures can be made of hard acrylic, metal or flexible acrylic. Contact us to look at different designs and samples.
Crowns
A crown is a type of dental restoration which completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant. Crowns are often needed when a large cavity threatens the ongoing health of a tooth. They are typically bonded to the tooth using a dental cement. Crowns can be made from many materials, which are usually fabricated using indirect methods. Crowns are often used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth. Most commonly used materials are porcelain, precious or non precious metals and composite.
Bridges
A bridge is a fixed dental restoration (a fixed dental prosthesis) used to replace a missing tooth (or several teeth) by joining an artificial tooth permanently to adjacent teeth or dental implants.
Please see Fee-Guide for our current indicative fees.
Extractions and Root Canal Treatments
Tooth Extractions
If a tooth has been broken or damaged by decay, we will try to fix it with a filling, crown or other restorative dental treatment. But when there’s too much damage for the tooth to be repaired, the tooth may need to be extracted — or removed — from its socket in the bone.
In the event that a tooth has poor prognosis and/or has failed, it would need to be extracted.
At our dental practice in Eltham we aim to perform all extractions in a painless manner.
Root Canal Treatment
To treat the infection in the root canal, the bacteria need to be removed. This can be done by either:
- removing the bacteria from the root canal system (root canal treatment)
- removing the tooth (extraction)
However, removing the tooth isn’t usually recommended as it’s better to keep as many of your natural teeth as possible.
After the bacteria have been removed, the root canal will be filled and the tooth sealed with a filling or crown. In most cases the inflamed tissue near the tooth will heal naturally.
Root canal treatment is usually successful. In about 9 out of 10 cases a tooth can survive for up to 10 years after root canal treatment.
Dental Implants
What are dental implants?
Dental implants are an artificial replacement for a tooth’s root. They fit directly into your jawbone and hold crowns or false teeth in place, in the same way that roots support natural teeth.
A dental implant is used to support one or more false teeth. It is a titanium screw that can replace the root of a tooth when it fails.
Are implants safe and how long will they last?
Dental Implants are a safe, well-established treatment. Dental Implants will probably last many years if cared for well.
If implants are not looked after, they will develop a coating similar to what you get on neglected natural teeth. If this is left untreated , it can lead to gum infection, bleeding, soreness and general discomfort.
If your implants are well looked after, and if the bone they are fitted to is strong and healthy, you can expect them to last for many years.
Can implants always be used to replace missing teeth?
No. It depends on the condition of the bone in your jaw.
How much will it cost?
In many cases, the cost of the treatment is only a little more than the cost of treatment with crowns and bridges. Implants are usually a more cost-effective and satisfactory option in the long run.
There are other advantages to implants, too. If you have an implant to replace a single tooth, there is no need to cut down the teeth either side of it. If you had a bridge, your dentist would need to do this and fit crowns to these teeth to support the bridge.
Normal dentures often mean that your eating and drinking is affected because the dentures may move about. But teeth attached to an implant don’t cause this problem, because they are anchored to the bone more firmly than natural teeth.
