What is a Dental Implant?

What is a dental implant?

Dental Implants are a great way to replace missing teeth. They look and feel just like the originals. Not only are they used to help people who wish to improve the appearance of their teeth they also help people who have problems with tooth functionality. Recently a man came to White for a free consultation. He had lost the majority of his teeth through gum disease. He rarely smiled but more importantly he could not eat every day foods without pain and some foods he could not eat at all. After having implants placed he is a changed man. He smiles with confidence and is now able to eat any food he chooses, even an apple.

So what are dental implants? An implant is a small titanium screw that is inserted into the jawbone to replace the root of missing tooth or teeth. A crown is put onto the implant. There are many advantages to having implants. Unlike dentures there is no slippage or movement plus there is no need to touch any of the surrounding teeth to secure the implant into the mouth unlike bridgework or partial dentures. Also dental implants will help to maintain the shape and structure of the jawbone because when teeth are missing the bone begins to shrink. They are durable, strong and look great.

February 1, 2011 at 5:50 pm | Confidence, Cosmetic, Cosmetic dentistry, Dental crowns, Dental implants, Gum Treatment, Smile, free consultation | No comment

Hello, it is 2011!

An extremely belated Happy New Year to all our patients and to those of you who are looking at our website for the first time. I am sorry for the lack of contact during the festive period only we had an ill household throughout Christmas and New Year. Anyway, everyone is now fit and healthy and ready to embrace the new year.

In 2011 we are really looking forward to giving our patients a continued high standard of patient care and treatment at White. We hope that you will still come to your appointments ten/fifteen mins early for the pre treatment coffee and catch up, although everything in moderation, as caffeine stains your teeth!

February 1, 2011 at 5:47 pm | Caring Environment, Friendly Team | No comment

Baby Bees is born

Little Madeline Bees was born before Christmas. What a wonderful Christmas present! Claire and Dave are absolutely besotted and we can all see why. Madeline is absolutely beautiful.

Billy (baby boy White) and I are off to visit The Bees Family next week and we cannot wait. Lots of cuddles with Madeline in between chasing a speedy toddler as he tries to grab and destroy everything in his reach.

January 21, 2011 at 5:03 pm | Dental Therapist | No comment

Claire Bees is off to have her baby!

With excitement and trepidation, Claire (our lovely therapist) went on Maternity leave at the beginning of December. Sooooo exciting! Baby Bees should be arriving on Claire and Dave’s wedding anniversary in Jan. When speaking to Claire at our Christmas Party she told me that she is having a fabulous time; lots of coffee mornings and lazy lunches. When asking about the nursery Claire admitted that there is still much to be done! Plenty of time……..

We have been joined by the lovely, Marie. She spent a few weeks shadowing Claire and is now up to speed with our systems and procedures. Our patients are beginning to get used to having a new therapist at White and have reported back to me that she is wonderful too, just like Claire. Lucky us.

December 16, 2010 at 3:18 pm | Dental Therapist | No comment

Introducing the “bone ring” technique to White

At White, we can now offer one of the latest procedures in bone grafting and dental implants. This technique, whilst not possessing the most inspired name, “bone ring technique”, is going to offer patients a much shorter treatment time and therefore they will have the smile that they have been waiting for much sooner. Definitely, something to smile about! Not only is the treatment time reduced significantly (by approximately five months), this procedure means that the patient will only undergo one surgical procedure. Another benefit to the the patient that surgery time is reduced, which means that they will only be sedated once and also reduces the treatment cost. Which is great!

This procedure has been carried out many times before. The founders of this technique have performed it over 900 times, with a success rate of 98%. Which are really positive statistics.

I you would like to find out more information about this technique then please arrange to have a free consultation with Dr Ben White and hopefully we will be able to answer your questions http://www.white.co.uk/implants.html.

November 30, 2010 at 10:14 am | Bone graft, Confidence, Cosmetic, Cosmetic dentistry, Smile, Uncategorized, free consultation | No comment

Check your mouth for signs of oral cancer

As someone who has admired Michael Douglas as an actor and enjoyed his films I felt sad to learn that this extremely famous Academy Award Winning actor has been diagnosed with oral cancer. This has prompted dental professionals to urge people to have their mouths screened and to pay more attention to the early warning signs and the key risk factors associated with the disease.

A family friend of mine died at an early age from the disease therefore I beg people to check their mouths regularly for signs. Mouth Cancer can appear in different forms and can affect all parts of the mouth, tongue and lips. It can appear as a painless mouth ulcer that does not heal normally. A white or red patch in the mouth can also develop into a cancer. It is important to visit your dentist if these areas do not heal within three weeks.

Tobacco is considered to be the main cause of mouth cancer, with three in four cases being linked to smoking, according to The British Dental Health Foundation. Drinking in excess is also a known factor, with those who both smoke and drink too much being up thirty times more likely to be at risk.

At White, we screen for mouth cancer at all check ups. One of our patients came in to see us a while ago for a routine examination. He had an ulcer which had not cleared up and we were concerned about it. He was immediately referred to an oral surgeon who diagnosed oral cancer. He is now fit and well. Survival rates can increase from just 50 percent to over 90 percent with early detection, yet over two thirds of cases are diagnosed at a late stage. So please check your mouth regularly for any of signs of mouth cancer.

November 8, 2010 at 7:14 pm | Uncategorized, mouth cancer, oral cancer, oral surgeon | No comment

CHILDREN ARE SO FABULOUS

A huge thank you to all of the children at White! We had our most successful “Open Wide” children’s day in October.

It was an extremely busy, if not at times chaotic, day which was filled with lots of happy children enjoying a visit to the dentist. We have been running our special days that are completely child orientated for over two years now. The reason that we decided to give two days a year to face painting, balloons, games, looking at bugs under a microscope, tooth brushing………… is because it is so important to our children’s health to ensure that they have regular check ups and know how to look after their teeth. Not to perceive a visit to the dentist as something to fear.

The feedback that we had was amazing. Yes, we will continue to run these special days and hopefully we will continue to make more and more enjoyable to our young patients.

Thank you from us.

October 26, 2010 at 7:11 pm | Children's dental check ups, Confidence, Educational dental visits for children, Friendly Team, Nervous Patient's, Open Wide Day, Uncategorized | No comment

“Open Wide” Children’s Day

I remember my visits to the dentist when I was younger……… My mother would round us all up (mother to four) and drag us to the local dentist for a routine check up. I remember sitting on plastic chairs, or indeed standing (because the place was full of people) in the waiting room which was covered with various leaflets about teeth and hygiene etc. It was dark and unwelcoming. I remember waiting for what seemed like forever, then being rushed into the dental chair, a brief examination and “Yes, your daughter needs a filling”. I remember crying because I was, and am still, so conscientious about brushing my teeth (unlike my brother who has teeth like tombstones and was very erratic with his brushing). It was not a positive experience. I HATED going to see the dentist. Then, I married one!

So, today do I enjoy going to the dentist? Yes.

When we decided to run our own dental business we were determined to ensure that our patients’ experience at White is a positive one. Therefore, we launched our “Open Wide” Children’s Day which has been devised with our lovely little ones in mind. It is a day where we can examine their teeth and gums, provide oral health education, in a fun environment. In the past we have had a face painter, games about nutrition and oral hygiene, studied “naughty bugs” (bacteria) under the microscope, and used our intra oral cameras for the kids to look inside their mouths. They always leave with smile on their faces and little goodie bag under their arms.

Our hope that is they grow up with a positive experience of dentists and lovely healthy teeth and gums that enable them to smile with confidence throughout their lives

October 10, 2010 at 8:39 pm | Children's dental check ups, Confidence, Educational dental visits for children, Open Wide Day, Uncategorized | No comment

Groom to be needs a new tooth.

Congratulations to my lovely sister in law (named “Auntie Ju Ju” by our gorgeous children) who has recently been proposed to by her equally lovely boyfriend, Craig (”Caig”). We have been waiting such a long time for these two to get engaged and now they are set to marry in April. Yippee! A fabulous spring wedding, except there is one slight problem (most of the concern coming from the bride!). Her dashing fiance is missing a front tooth. Ahhhhhh…….. Luckily, for both the bride and groom they are surrounded by DENTISTS, one of which specialises cosmetic dentistry and dental implants. Before they can say “i do” Craig will have a dental implant fitted which looks and feels just like the tooth that he lost and all will be well in the Parsons/White household.

At White we have lots of people who make cosmetic enquiries (Invisalign, tooth whitening, veneers, implants) just before a special occasion, such as getting married. If you are getting married, or simply would like to change your smile, my advice to you is don’t leave it too late. There are lots of things that we can do to help you but there are many more treatments available if we have more time in which to transform a smile.

I will keep you posted on Craig’s treatment as the wedding comes nearer. For now, we need to put a temporary tooth in place for all those engagement photos.

September 17, 2010 at 12:15 pm | Cosmetic, Cosmetic dentistry, Dental crowns, Dental implants, Dental veneers, Invisalign, Smile, Tooth whitening | No comment

Something to smile about……..

I went into the practice today and was told that a lady had come in for a free consultation. She wanted some cosmetic dentistry as she really did not like the appearance of her teeth. After a long chat, over a cup of tea, in the consultation room she was given a treatment plan which comprised of a number of options, Invisalign, implants, veneers, crowns and tooth whitening. She recognised that this was what she needs to have to achieve the look that she is after but other obstacles were preventing this from happening. So she decided to think about the treatment plan given to her as she needed to mull over the options.

The interesting thing is that she decided to have treatment elsewhere even though she said that “she will have to compromise on the treatment” and go to a practice within her budget and closer proximity to home. Obviously, we felt disappointed as we really wanted to give her a smile that she was proud of but we could not compromise on her treatment. It would have been great to say “don’t worry, we can forget about this, and use a cheaper lab and cheaper materials” to make it within her budget, but sadly we cannot. The reason being is that we are extremely proud of the high level of dental work that we do. Invariably, if you cut corners, use cheaper laboratories and materials…… then the end result will not be the same. We use an excellent laboratory that hand-crafts porcelain crowns, we use the best materials, plus we have a highly skilled dentist who has vast experience in placing implants and performs complex procedures such a sinus and bone grafts. After three years of additional training, on top of two previous intensive implant courses, he has almost completed an MSC in implantology. We could not compromise on our integrity.

Although, we did not get to see this lady smile with confidence she gave us something to smile about and we are very grateful to her. The thing that touched us was that she said that having been in our practice she had “seen the best” and knows what it looks like. After worrying that we had done wrong in some way just a few kind words from this lady reassured us that she could not find fault with the service and treatment that we offer to potential patients. That we are providing a service to be proud of, it just was not right for her at this moment in her life.

So, if our kind of dentistry is the kind that you are interested in, feel free to come and meet us. Come and have a cup of tea and a chat to see if White is right for you as we would like to give you something to smile about.

September 3, 2010 at 5:52 pm | Confidence, Cosmetic dentistry, Dental crowns, Dental implants, Invisalign, Smile, Tooth whitening, Uncategorized, budget, free consultation | No comment

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