Minmally Invasive, Oral Health conscious, High Tech Cosmetic Dentistry
As seen in ‘The Times Raconteur Supplement‘ Monday 20th Feb
I’m excited.
For years I’ve been banging on, extolling the virtues of a philosophical approach that puts Cosmetic Dentistry and Healthy Dentistry in bed together – often in the face of a seemingly increasingly agressive approach being driven by our Atlantic cousins.
I’ll explain.
If you were to have followed my musings over the years you will know that I am inclined to be kind to both patients and their teeth. Our emphasis at Winning Smiles is pain free dentistry (eg use of the wand) and tending to try and enhance the natural tooth (eg Alignment, Bleaching and Bonding or ‘ABB’ rather than wall to wall enamel destruction and shed-loads of porcelain veneers).
These treatments are not only better for the teeth, they are better for the patient experience, better for their pocket! More ‘Gentle’ in every way!
So for me to read in the National Press that they have dedicated a whole supplement to Gentle, Healthy Cosmetic dentistry, well it’s music to my ears [grist to your mill? – ed].
As the title page of ‘Raconteur’ (linked above) says: previously ‘Cosmetic Dentistry’ was all about grinding miles of enamel off teeth to make room for great big ultra-white porcelain veneers – and this aggressive approach continues today. But clearly the New Wave is on the ascendent and the old way of doing things is being replaced by a more health conscious, gentle approach.
Sadly there are still well known clinics in well known parts of London encouraging patients to spend ‘A grand a tooth’ on that ‘Perfect Smile’:
A 2nd Opinion
Only last week a young lady of 20 came to me for a 2nd opinion. She smiled broadly at me to reveal a perfect set of straight teeth albeit for one upper central incisor which was grey…’I’ve been told I need 10 veneers’ she confided. On further investigation it was revealed that she had had an ‘E-consult’with a West London Clinic who had advised her that to get a perfect smile she needed 10 veneers at a grand each.
Needless to say, she is coming to us to have a single EMAX crown fitted to the grey front tooth after we have internally bleached it. The colour matching will take a while and will probably involve re-shading that crown a couple of times to get it to blend seamlessly with the natural teeth.
Matching a single front tooth to its natural neighbours is one of the hardest things to do.
I wonder how many times people have been recommended to fit 6, 8 or 10 veneers because the dentist finds it easier than the alternative. At best, a lazy approach, and it does all make you wonder sometimes.
But veeners will always match each other, won’t they?! (it’s hard to do sarcasm written down)
Shaping and restoring teeth to their former glory:
- Better for teeth – tick
- Better for patient – tick
- Less expensive – tick
- More challenging (and therefore more rewarding) for the dentist – tick
That’s our kind of dentistry!