Smile of the Week - Jim

This is Jim, he's a successful Scottish businessman, aged mid 50s . Jim was embarrassed by his smile with crooked front teeth and missing teeth at the back. He was also very nervous of dentists.

We restored Jim's front 4 teeth with dental veneers and dental implants to replace some missing side teeth. This was 6 years ago and he’s not stopped smiling since.

He now says how much more confident he feels both socially and in business.

Before treatment

After veneers and implants

We often find that people who are nervous of the dentist need to have a great deal of work done to restore their teeth after years of neglect, if you feel this could be you, why not take my "Overcome your dental fear in 7 days" eCourse?

Jim's investment for his new smile was less than £10,000 which he feels was well worth it, but to keep your dental costs in the future down, it's best to visit the dentist now and keep your own teeth healthy.

What to do about teeth wearing out...

This is Norman, a successful South African businessman who has been wearing out both his teeth and his dentistry. He’s in his late 60s. If you look at the line of his teeth they are all totally straight with very sharp corners.

Before treatment

This is where Norman has been grinding his teeth together and, over the years, worn them away. This grinding can happen for a variety of reasons, it could be:

1. Happening over night when you are not aware if it
2. Happening during the day when you are stresses or anxious
3. Happening all the time as it is the natural way that your teeth meet

The technical term for this is bruxism and it can lead to sensitive teeth (where the protective enamel is worn away) and possibly headaches as the jaws move closer together sue to the loss of teeth - this puts pressure on the muscles of the face which can lead to headaches.

There are a number of treatments available for this, and the most suitable one for Norman was to have his front teeth veneered and some new crowns and bridges for his side and back teeth.

He had this all done about 8 years ago and has needed no dentistry since, other than regular maintenance

After treatment

Compare the photo above to the one at the beginning, notice now that hos teeth look younger as the edges are not as sharp and they are much smoother and lighter.

This change can also be seen in the full face photographs.

Before - notice that not much tooth is showing creating an aged look

After - more tooth is now showing which creates a more youthful look

Considering that this was done 8 years ago and Norman has had no further dental treatment (other than routine cleaning) the £16k he spent has been very worth while and has helped to not only keep him young, but healthy too.

Not all treatment options fall within this price bracket, so if you suffer from the same worn teeth as Norman, please do give me a call and book an appointment for an assessment where we can discuss your options.

Balancing cosmetic dentistry with conservative dentistry

This is Clive, he’s had a lifetime of dentistry and has kept all his teeth but he knows that don’t look good and his old, huge fillings have pretty much outlived their usefulness. Hi front teeth have a few tooth coloured fillings which have now discoloured (you can see the brown demarcation line on the second tooth on the left of the photo).

Whilst these teeth are basically sound and healthy, they don't look great and were bothering Clive.

He therefore decided to have a combination of crowns and veneers, but where we felt his old fillings were sound, we decided to leave them alone - you can still see them in the after photo below. You see cosmetics are not everything, and where ever possible it's good to find a dentists that will restore the teeth that need restoring - and advice on what can be left alone.

Clive's teeth now look great and he can chew anything - this case cost about £12,000 but Clive says it’s the best money he ever spent - and if you think that often a new car will cost this yet we'll only use it for a few hours each day and may only last 5 years - Clive's new teeth will be used 24 hours a day (yes your teeth ARE used while you are asleep) and could last a lifetime!

Before

After

Crooked teeth and healthy teeth

Did you know that straight teeth are healthy teeth?

This is Elaine, a 59 year old grandmother. She really didn’t like the way her lower front teeth looked, and felt that they were getting worse.

Not only do teeth like this cause embarrassment to some people, but the fact that they are crooked can also mean they may be difficult to clean - if teeth are difficult to clean this can lead to plaque build up which then can lead on to disease.

So straightening out Elaine's teeth helped her feel better about her appearance, as well as be dentally healthy.

I made her an Inman aligner which she wore for 4 months. The Inman Aligner is a removable device that uses modern technology to move your teeth with a unique sprig system. You can see what a dramatic transformation occurred. She loves her new smile, and was so pleased to have it done so quickly and without any drilling. Typical treatment time is around 12-16 weeks with an Inman Aligner, which is very fast compared to conventional orthodontics.

A great result don't you think?

If you too have crooked teeth and would like to have a chat about your options, then please give me a call on 01923 231861 to request an initial assessment.

Snoring may be cause for alarm

HOUSTON -- (April 8, 2011) -- Is snoring keeping you or your significant other from getting a good night’s sleep? It could be a serious issue that needs your attention, according to a sleep expert at Baylor College of Medicine.

"Loud snoring, daytime sleepiness and waking up with a sore throat in the morning are all symptoms of sleep apnea," said Dr. Mary Rose, assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at BCM.

Categories of sleep disorders

Sleep apnea is a respiratory sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, generally speaking there are either complete pauses in breathing (apneas) or partial pauses causing disrupted breathing (hypopneas). A person is deemed to have sleep apnea when they have 5 or more of these pauses during the night.

This can result in feelings of depression and a reduction in concentration.

Common causes of sleep apnea

This condition gets worse as we get older and is more common in men than women, and if left untreated can result in high blood pressure, strokes or other heart problems. The night episodes can also result in a reduction in concentration levels with headaches being a common complaint.

These effects of sleep apnea can then result in reduced function during the day, especially bad for people at work.


Treatments

For bad cases of sleep apnea one of the most effective treatments is to use a positive pressure air machine, this pushes air in to the patients airway and prevents it from becoming obstructed during the night.

For more moderate to mild cases an oral device which ensures the airway stays open can work well. These devices work by gently pulling the lower jaw forwards; due to the connectivity of the muscles this in turn keeps the airway open. Our recommendation for this device is the Sleepwell Anti Snoring Device.

Why do you snore?

Here are a few tests you can easily do at home to find out why you might be snoring.

Nose Test

Close off one nostril with your finger, then looking in the mirror, and with your mouth closed, breathe in and try to get you open nostril to close with the inflow of air. If it does your nostrils may be collapsing at night and some nasal drops may help.

Now try this. Close your mouth and breathe in deeply through your nose. if you find it hard to do this you may be suffering from nasal stuffiness. This could be caused by an allergy at night, so try using feather pillows and deep cleaning the bed to remove pet hair and/or dust mites.


Mouth Breathing Test

With your mouth open try to make the snoring noise, now try it again with your mouth closed. If you only findit possible to snore with your mouth open then you could be a mouth breather

Your could try Snore Calm Chin-Up Strips which will keep your mouth closed, or a Somni Snore Guard which will encourage you to breathe correctly through your nose


Tongue Test

Try sticking your tongue out and as far as you can and grab it with your fingers, now try to make a snoring noise. If you find the snoring noise is reduced then you might be a tongue based snorer and a device which holds your lower jaw forwards at night could help.

A SleepWell anti snoring device could work well.

You may also find help on this snoring discussion forum

How to Stop Snoring Tonight...

The papers have been flooded this week with interesting articles all about sleep.

According to a survey published by the Etap hotel group, a quarter of married couples now sleep apart. Not all together surprisingly, the main cause for this is sleep being disturbed by a partner’s loud snoring, making nodding off at night near to impossible.

Here’s what one lady said:

‘I couldn’t stand Mike’s snoring, and would have to wake him to stop it — which meant that neither of us was getting a decent night’s sleep. 

“The solution was obvious. I now sleep in the marital bed, as I like to sit up and read, and Mike has moved to the single bed in the spare room.”

Indeed, this is the advice that’s become very popular at the moment, and is backed by some of the well-respected sleeping disorder websites.

I have to say this; it doesn’t sound like much of a solution to me.

So why I am I telling you this?

Having studied both snoring and a related condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, I know that men snore a lot more than women. I know that it’s not usually the snorer that suffers, but rather the unfortunate sleeping partner.

I also know that attempts to stop snoring up until now have seen little success.

There are a plethora of cures for snoring, from sewing tennis balls into the back of your pyjamas to tapes across the bridge of your nose. I even heard last weekend of a friend whose wife insisted on surgery to remove his uvula (the dangly bit at the back of your mouth.) It’s very painful and not very effective.

The “gold standard for anti-snoring treatment is a device called a C Pap which involves sleeping with a special mask over your mouth and nose. However, there is now a very successful dental cure.

A dental appliance called a Mandibular Advancement Splint (Sleepwell™). It’s a very simple concept and brings with it really tremendous results. All it involves is positioning the lower jaw slightly forward, together with the tongue, and so increasing the airway and stopping snoring. It’s very effective, simple and relatively inexpensive.

So there’s now no need to have your sleep interrupted by your partner and certainly no need to find the extra bed. Everyone deserves the benefits of a good night’s sleep, including you.