Routine Checkups and Fillings
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- Routine Checkups and Fillings
At Mona Lisa Smiles, our main focus is to prevent our patients getting tooth decay and gum disease.
The best way to keep your teeth and gums in tip-top condition is to brush and floss regularly and see your dentist and hygienist at least once a year if you’re an adult, twice a year for children up to the age of 18.
Regular dental exams or checkups are essential to make sure your teeth and gums stay healthy. At each checkup we monitor your oral health so we can catch any problems early. We look for signs of tooth wear and erosion, we’ll check your gums, and even talk to you about how to avoid too much sugar in your diet. We keep X-ray records of all our patients’ teeth so we can track any changes and we have a team of hygienists to help with cleaning and flossing advice.
Importantly, we check for problems that you may not see or feel. Many dental problems don’t become visible or cause pain until they are in more advanced stages – including cavities, gum disease and oral cancer.
Remember: early detection, advice and treatment will help you avoid a lot of future dental work and fees
Fillings
With advances in dentistry we no longer need to rely on unsightly metals to fill teeth. Instead we use high density porcelain mixed into a plastic, or composite resin. These modern materials mimic the feel, look and function of natural teeth and with adhesive technology bond directly to the remaining tooth. In this way, more of the original tooth is preserved.
If want to replace some old metal fillings then Mona Lisa Smiles can help. If a very large or complex restoration is required we may suggest Inlays, Onlays or Crowns.
White fillings (or natural-coloured fillings)
We believe that white cosmetic fillings not only look good but are much healthier than the mercury-based amalgam fillings of the past. Many people don’t want silver fillings that show when they laugh or smile because they are more conscious about the way they look.
Our white fillings are sculptured and colour-matched so that they bond to your enamel, giving your teeth a natural look without decay!
White fillings usually consist of glass particles, porcelain,a synthetic resin, and a setting ingredient. New materials with properties comparable to silver amalgam are also proving to be very successful.
The life expectancy of a white filling can depend greatly on where it is in your mouth and how heavily your teeth come together when you bite. Fillings have their limitations, one way around this is to use inlays or onlays, or crowns for large cavities. See Cosmetic Fillings,Inlays or Onlays.
Today’s technology in adhesive dentistry offers great advantages to patients as the white filling is bonded to the tooth, which means less tooth has to be removed.