Before and After Photos: Teeth Repair & Gap

This a relatively straightforward case of needing to replace old fillings as they were deteriorating. But there was also a gap that the patient wanted us to look at.

We managed to combine shaping of the filling to close the gap at the same time. And so the patient didn’t need any Teeth Straightening treatment or Veneers as they first thought.

And, quite importantly, we were finished within a couple of hours.

It’s useful to point out that whilst White Fillings do have the advantage of lasting longer, once they go, they do need attention more quickly than the old amalgam fillings.

White Fillings and Close Tooth Gap

Before and After Photos: Upper Dentures

This patient had grown very self conscious of their smile over time, and it ended up being quite a big case, involving new porcelain crowns for the front six teeth, and the replacement of some badly worn dentures at the back.

But there was the opportunity to solve some other, not so visual, problems for the patient at the same time.

If you look closely at the photo on the right, above, you’ll see the slight colour difference showing in the gum, which is the denture.

The new dentures are guaranteed to last a lot longer, both by us and the makers.

One of the things we were able to do was to increase the height of the teeth, which were smaller than the patient liked, and led to the smile ‘flattening out’ the lips a little.

Solving Jaw Joint Pain

So this was an opportunity to broaden and make the smile fuller,  but it also helped solve some pain in the jaw joints because the teeth weren’t closing properly.

We supply two different appliances to help with teeth grinding, the tanner and the michigan appliance.

A blog post about those is coming along!

Upper Dentures

Before and After Photos: After the Fall

One of our patients had the misfortune to fall over into a pond – and this was the result.

Luckily, the modern filling material we use is quite capable of helping repair such a dramatic mishap. The patient walked out of the surgery with a new tooth in one visit!

As well as being stronger, the material stays workable for longer, allowing us to craft much better joins and shaping before it hardens. And the adhesive is so good that these repairs are better than ever. They last.

The colour matching hasn’t changed, that just takes time and an experienced eye.

Tooth Repair and Filling

Before and After Photos: Overlapping Teeth

One of the issues this patient had was the overbite made more uncomfortable by the tooth being pushed a little backward.

So, the appearance of the teeth was the main concern, but it’s amazing how people manage to ignore a little discomfort when they’ve had it a while.

The lingual braces were placed behind the teeth, and moved things back into place within about 12-15 weeks. The whole process was very discrete and improved the quality of life in such a short space of time.

Now the patient can live with the improvement for a while, and consider whether she wants to do anything else. It doesn’t have to be ‘all or nothing’, or all at once.

Teeth Straightening

Before and After Photos: Teeth Repair

The first consideration with the teeth was to get them into a healthy maintainable position.

The white fillings were more than on their way out, the brown lines around the edges are a sign of decay and people should get them looked at when they see those signs to save further damage to the teeth.

We refilled, and hopefully you can’t see the joins! And to get a consistent colour across the teeth we also carried out Power Whitening. Quite a difference for a relatively simple procedure.

But of course, not all white fillings are created equal. It does take a little time to match the colour and blend the fillings in properly, but the difference is worth it when you get to have them for 10 years or so.  We hope you think so at least.

Teeth Repair Filling Replacement

Before and After Photos: Lingual Braces

In this case the results above were achieved in about 12 weeks, and it made a great deal of difference to the patient.

Straightening the front 6 teeth means being less self conscious, and most people are delighted to achieve what, to other people, can seem like a small thing. But when you look in the mirror and things get on your nerves, it can be quite a relief to solve the problem.

Teeth straightening isn’t all train track braces these days, the above was achieved with a discrete lingual appliance that fits inside the teeth.

It was a ‘straightforward’ decision.

On reflection, perhaps we should leave the jokes to someone else.

Straighten Front Teeth

Before and After Photos: Closing Gaps

As you can see the gap between these teeth was quite pronounced, and thinking through the options for the patient, there were a few ways of closing this distance between the teeth.

Braces would have been option 1, depending on whether the patient is ok wearing the appliance and happy with the appearance of the original tooth.

Then there is the Porcelain Veneer route, which would have allowed us to create a larger tooth than the original to close the gap, and porcelain can be beautiful.

In this instance the patient chose to go with the new teeth bonding material, which allowed us to build up the tooth, which we might say does take some skill and practice, to match the appearance of the whitened teeth.

This procedure is starting to be called Instant Veneers by some, and although not technically a veneer it performs the same task.

However, because the Instant Veneers  are quick, non destructive and generally less expensive, they are quite a popular option these days.

Straighten and Whiten Teeth

Before and After Photos: Restoring Teeth Colour

As teeth get older they naturally lose their colour.

This is an example of teeth whitening for a mature gentleman, and the results can be pretty good.  Photos never usually do Teeth Whitening justice, probably because of the flash rendering the lighting quite similar.

But with this case the difference is quite stark, so perhaps we have taken these photos at a different time of day – it’s definitely the same camera!

So actually, for a change, the photo is quite a reasonable representation of what can be achieved.

Teeth Whitening Aging

Before and After Photos: Missing Incisors

It is more common than you might think to be born without ‘lateral incisors’, which are the two teeth next to your two middle front ones. And in some cases those teeth have been extracted when younger to alleviate extreme over crowding.

There are many ways to approach a case like this, according to the wishes and age of the patient. And in this case, the patient above was still growing, and whilst we all know what we want when we’re in our teens, that can quite often change in our early twenties.

So, the main request here was to close the gaps between the teeth at the front, and help reduce the wear you might see on the right hand tooth. Because the patient was young, we decided that bonding material would provide a way of fixing the appearance of the teeth without making any long term decisions.

This ‘temporary’ approach is totally reversible and will last at least a few years, and in fact the above case was done 4 years ago and is still working fine for the patient.

Lastly of course, this is great value because as young mouths are still growing, any treatment might change over the course of a young persons life and have to be repeated at a later date. This is a relatively quick and therefore inexpensive way to provide a patient with immediate improvement in the way they feel about their smile.

Shape Teeth and Close Gaps

Before and After Photos: Fillings and Whitening

This patient had a number of older white fillings that needed replacing, as the material had started to discolour a little.

We whitened the teeth a little, and replaced the old fillings with some brand new material which should last around 9 to 10 years. New white fillings do last a lot longer than the older ones, and longer still than the old amalgam types. But when they start to go and become discoloured like that, then please have them seen to quickly, as the decay will be quicker than the with silver varieties.

Once they start to go, they go quickly.

The white fillings were then polished and should see longer wear than the last set, with new white filling material being much more suitable for a wide range of treatment.

Replacement Fillings and Whitening