"Thank you for looking after me...I'm delighted with my new dentures"
At HQ dental we believe that everyone can have a perfect smile.
Modern dentistry means that almost anything is possible.
Most cosmetic treatments usually involve a combination of straightening whitening and reshaping.
For most smile makeovers we use the ABC system which stands for Align-Brighten-Contour
Align-we can use adult orthodontics to straighten and reposition your natural teeth-if possible we prefer to use the clear Invisalign system.
Brighten-we can use professional tooth whitening systems and bespoke whitening trays to make your teeth whiter and more youthful.
Contour-we can enhance your smile with porcelain veneers and composite bonding to mask imperfections, straighten edges and replace old metal fillings.
We can replace old crowns and bridges (which usually contain metal) with the latest super strong metal free options which look much more natural.
The main benefit of coming to us for this type of treatment is that everything is produced ‘in house’.
Our Cad/Cam department can produce any type of modern crown or bridge and when colour matching is difficult our skilful technicians are happy to get involved.
Crowns, bridges and veneers are made out of several different layers of porcelain which allows us to incorporate internal characterisation and mimic natural tooth structure
In really difficult cases we will construct the restoration to the ‘almost finished stage’ and invite our patient to be present for the finish so that we can customise it to match perfectly.
This direct line of communication always guarantees the best results..
When our technicians meet our patients it really can make all the difference and sometimes it’s amazing what we can do.
Porcelain veneers
Porcelain veneers are very thin slithers of porcelain which are bonded onto the front of teeth to improve the colour or shape of the tooth.
We like veneers because they don’t usually involve much reduction of healthy tooth structure. In some cases, no tooth preparation is required.
Because veneers are thin and translucent, they are influenced by the underlying tooth colour so we sometimes choose to whiten the teeth first. Sometimes we use special coloured cements for a perfect colour match.
Latest ‘metal free’ crowns and bridges
Crowns and bridges fill gaps and restore damaged and worn teeth.
Conventional crowns have a metal core to give them strength but the latest ‘metal free’ versions have a super strong and super accurate zirconia core. This is Cad/Cam designed and then milled for much greater accuracy which means that the crowns will last longer (most crowns fail due to a poor fit around the margins).
Because they are tooth coloured all the way through, they look completely natural.
How we make crowns and bridges look like real teeth…
To look completely natural and totally convincing, every crown or bridge needs to be as individual as you are.
At HQ dental, everything is custom made in-house by our skilled technicians and this direct line of communication always guarantees the best possible results.
All our crown and bridges involve technician shade taking.
To survive the enormous forces of biting and chewing, all crowns and bridges need to be incredibly strong which means they need to have a high strength core material. Conventional crowns have a cast metal core but the very latest high tech crowns and bridges have a Cad/Cam designed zirconia core. These fit more accurately and because they are tooth coloured all the way through, they look more natural too.
On top of the core material, we build the crown up in different layers of porcelain. This means that we can incorporate different colours and other internal characterisation.
These can include areas of opacity or translucency and even fluorescence. This porcelain is baked onto the core material.
Finally, we finish the crown or bridge by ‘glazing’ it with a layer of translucent porcelain. At this point we can also add surface staining for an even better result. When a complex colour match is required we sometimes do this with our patient present for the best result possible.
For more information on any of the cosmetic treatments above, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us today.