General Dentistry
Revitalise Dental Centre offers general dentistry services to customers looking for a private dentist offering a more personal and relaxed experience. We like to take the time to get to know our patients and discuss any concerns they may have. A very important part of our general dentistry service is to ensure patients of all ages feel comfortable and confident in their smiles.
Regular visits to your general dentist are important to ensure your teeth and gums are healthy and remain that way. We offer a range of services alongside routine examinations for all new and existing patients.
What will a routine examination cover?
A routine examination at Revitalise will provide a thorough examination of the tissues of your head and neck, jaw joints, mouth, teeth, and gums. This will allow us to check for any signs of disease, tooth decay, and any other irregularities. A routine examination can spot early signs of problems. Treating the disease early, before it progresses further, can stop it from developing into more complex issues.
During your check-up, we are likely to take a type of picture of the inside of your mouth using X-rays to further evaluate your oral health. X-rays allow us to see how your teeth line up when you bite, check for cavities between the teeth, check the positioning of all your teeth and jaw, and check for any abnormalities including bone loss.
The examination won’t help prevent anything. The examination assesses any issues and then we make a plan which should help tackle/resolve and ‘prevent’ any problems.
During your appointment, we will:
- Discuss your needs and concerns
- Assess the health of your head, neck, and mouth
- Take any x-rays, photos or 3-D scan depending on your needs
- Identify any issues, even ‘silent’ problems
- Check for any cavities or damage to the teeth
- Identify problems that could be damaging your oral health such as teeth grinding
After the thorough examination, we will be able to use all the information to formulate a bespoke general dentistry plan in order to:
- Help you feel comfortable and confident in your smile
- Ensure your teeth and gums are strong and healthy
- Help you maintain a good standard of oral health
Further Information
Tooth Extraction
Tooth extraction is the full removal of the tooth from the mouth. Although a common procedure, we prefer to only perform an extraction when no other treatment option will be effective. This is because a gap left in the mouth can lead to further problems later in life.
Occasions where a tooth might need to be removed include;
Impacted wisdom tooth
The wisdom teeth are located at the back of the mouth and are the last of the adult teeth to appear. When there is not enough room for the wisdom teeth to come through they will grow at an angle and get stuck against the neighboring teeth. This is what we refer to as ‘impacted’.
When a wisdom tooth is causing problems, or we have determined it will grow in an unnatural position which might cause problems later on, we will suggest removing it. This is a common procedure that will be carried out at our dental practice. In most cases when a wisdom tooth is removed normal functioning of the mouth will continue. Meaning there is no need to replace the lost tooth with a prosthetic.
Infected Tooth
Health issues can cause a tooth to become infected, particularly in people with weakened defences. When a tooth becomes heavily infected, where other treatments will not help, its best to remove the tooth to stop the infection spreading to neighboring teeth and other parts of the body.
Non-vital Tooth
A non-vital tooth is also known as a ‘dead tooth’. Meaning it no longer has any blood flow to supply the nerve which dies off as a result. Over time, a non-vital tooth is likely to cause toothache, discomfort and even an abscess, and waiting for this to happen can risk infection to the mouth and neighbouring teeth. If we suspect a tooth is dead or dying we may recommend it is extracted to avoid the risk of infection.
Baby teeth or extra teeth
Sometimes baby teeth don’t fall out or a person might have extra teeth, both of these can prevent the permanent teeth from coming in correctly.
Baby teeth that did not fall out during childhood, may become loose and need an extraction later in life.
What to expect during a tooth extraction
Having a tooth removed can be a daunting experience, however, we are proud to be able to offer quick and painless tooth extraction at our state of the art dental centre.
Before we begin we will apply a topical gel anesthetic to the area of the mouth where the extraction is taking place. We then use a local anesthetic to numb that area. This will ensure you experience no pain during the procedure. Once you are comfortable, and the local anesthetic is working, we widen the tooth socket and gently begin to ‘pull’ the tooth.
Although we aim to offer a quick extraction, you will never feel rushed. If at any time during the removal process you feel uncomfortable we can take a short break and begin again. We understand that many patients are nervous during tooth extractions, we aim to make you feel as comfortable and in control as possible.
Aftercare is essential to ensure the procedure is effective and healing is not hindered. This will be discussed with you in detail during your general dentistry appointment.
Root Canal Treatment
When a tooth is badly infected or a nerve is diagnosed to be dead (necrotic), a procedure known as a Root Canal Treatment (Endodontics) may be recommended to treat the problem.
However, this will only be required when the infection has reached the soft tissues at the centre of the tooth, known as the pulp. The pulp might become infected due to tooth decay or injury, allowing bacteria to enter and build up in the tooths centre.
Symptoms of an infected pulp
If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms its best to come in for a check-up as part of our general dentistry service:
- Sensitivity or pain when you eat and drink
- A tooth that is loose or wobbly
- Inflammation in the mouth
- Pain when biting or chewing
As the pulp dies, the initial symptoms go away. However, this does not mean the problem has cleared. We call this the ‘calm before the storm’. Our bodies do
not like necrotic (dead) tissues and our immune system gathers the troops to fight any dead tissue. This is translated into an abscess or into a cyst that leaks in the mouth. Eventually, these symptoms will return and you may experience additional symptoms such as;
- Bad breath that does not go away even after brushing your teeth
- Sickness and fever
- A bad or unusual tastes in your mouth
- Swelling
- Pain
What to expect during root canal treatment
The treatment saves a tooth that would need to otherwise be extracted by clearing up any infection and debris. This usually involves removing the pulp completely. To achieve this, an opening will be made on the outer structure of the tooth to allow access to the pulp and for the debris to be cleaned from inside the tooth. Once the tooth is clear of infection, it can be restored using either a composite filling or a crown. We use a painless local anaesthetic technique to numb the affected tooth and ensure you experience no pain and are comfortable during the procedure.
Fillings and Crowns
When you have a cavity, a hole in the tooth, it will need to be treated with a filling. When a tooth has a cavity, or caries, it means it has a hole. Cavitated teeth tend to be treated with fillings.
More specifically, a tooth with a cavity is a bit like an apple with a bruise that’s going bad. At this point, not the whole apple is affected and you can remove the bad part and still enjoy your apple. Cavitated teeth have an area where bacteria are starting to invade and if this is not addressed early, it might cause complications. Untreated cavities will get bigger the longer they are left, which could result in further complications such as infection and tooth loss.
Cavities will usually go unnoticed until they become much larger, that’s why it is important to have regular check-ups with your general dentist.
What to expect when receiving a filling
Fillings are an extremely common procedure carried out under local anaesthesia, offering a pain-free experience. The aim of this treatment is to remove the decayed part of the tooth and restore it to it’s original shape, once we have ensured the area is completely anaesthetised, The process begins by removing any part of the tooth which has suffered decay. We will then clean the tooth and shape it ready for the hole to be filled. Once we have restored the cavity with a filling we will check that your bite is correct and comfortable and make any adjustments where necessary. The whole process will take around half an hour.
Common fillings are made from either an Amalgam or Composite. Amalgams are often referred to as ‘silver fillings’ and are made from a combination of multiple metals, typically mercury and silver. Composite fillings offer a more aesthetic approach as they are tooth coloured and will not be visible when you open your mouth.
Here at Revitalise, we use state of the art composite materials to restore the tooth to the desired shape and appearance. We choose our materials very carefully to ensure they look and behave like a real tooth. The techniques that we use to restore teeth are the latest scientific techniques to ensure the longevity and performance of the filling and also to minimise any post-op risks such as tooth sensitivity.
What is a crown and when would I need one?
Unlike a filling which is designed to fill a hole in the tooth, a crown is designed to sit over the affected tooth, preventing it from further damage. Whilst fillings are great at restoring small areas of tooth decay, badly decayed and damaged teeth will need to be treated with a crown. This is because a filling will not provide enough stability to support the tooth long term.
A crown may also be used in the following situations:
- A broken or chipped tooth which needs restoring
- After root canal treatment, to ensure what is left of the tooth is protected
