Wearing the crown jewels may not be a possibility for most of us, but make no mistake wearing a porcelain crown will not only rejuvenate your smile but will make your feel like a queen! 

Crowns have always been used to restore teeth that have been severely damaged or weakened by trauma, root canal treatment or large fillings. They are also used to support bridges which are used to close gaps and can be attached to implants to rebuild and enhance your smile.  

Crowns are now often used to enhance protect and strengthen teeth and improve the looks of your smile.  

Dr Sunita Verma from Sparkle Dental Boutique, Hanwell says “Crowns have come a long way from the all metal restorations, which are often made of gold. They are strong, long lasting but unsightly at times. Porcelain fused metal crowns create a more natural look than all metal crowns and though the metal limits translucency, it adds strength, which is particularly useful at the back of the mouth.” 

“The all ceramic or all porcelain crowns look the closest to natural teeth enamel and do not have the tell tale dark metal margins at the gumline as sometimes occurs with porcelain fused to metal crowns. These crowns are strong, long lasting and youthful looking. In fact, we use all porcelain crowns for a lot of our smile design or smile transformation cases to give patients beautiful smiles.”  

Today, replacing outdated crowns is a way to take years off your appearance!

The use of lasers as part of dental treatment has grown over the years.  

At Sparkle Dental Boutique, Ealing we use lasers to provide comfortable preventive, minimally invasive treatment options.

 Before Image: `Gummy Smile’

Sunita Verma from Sparkle Dental Boutique, says `I use laser technology primarily for our cosmetic procedures, including our smile design cases or our smile transformations. Patients are sometimes concerned that a lot of gum is showing when they smile or that as a result of their `gummy smile’, their teeth appear to be short.”

“I use the laser to recontour the gums by focussing onto a tiny point. It allows very precise work and the procedure takes minutes to complete. Once the gums have healed which normally takes up to a week, the results are stunning.” 

This leading edge technology is just one more way in which Sparkle Dental Boutique is making your visit more comfortable.

It was reported in the Dental Tribune (14 – 21 July 2008) that children should brush their teeth no more than twice a day and not straight after meals.  

A survey by Sensodyne of dentists, parents and children revealed that 79 per cent of dentists are seeing the effects of acid erosion on children’s teeth at least once a week.  Fizzy drinks, chocolate, fruit and fruit drinks which are high in acid are the main culprits, as are foods covered in sauces or dressings.  

The situation is made worse by parents getting their children to clean their teeth after every meal. This is the worst time to clean teeth as the acid has softened the enamel.  

The survey found that: 

• 53% of five year olds have some form of erosion
• 9 out of 10 parents know about acid erosion but were unsure what types of food and drink contain acid
• 6 out of 10 parents said their children smothered their food in sauces and dressings

The greatest cause of acid erosion in children is through drinking carbonated drinks without a straw and the frequent drinking of soft drinks. 

What can be done about acid erosion? 

Parents should encourage children to drink acidic drinks with a straw placed towards the back of the mouth away from teeth. In addition, children should be encouraged to avoid brushing their teeth immediately after consuming acidic food or drinks as this is when the enamel is softest. Its best to brush before hand or wait as long as possible after an acidic meal.   

The countdown to the Beijing Olympics is on amongst much anticipation.The giant panda has been embraced as the national mascot.

The Giant Panda 

The panda is a mammal recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.

So what kind of teeth does a panda have? The simple answer is human teeth!

The panda’s round face is the result of powerful jaw muscles, which attach from the top of the head to the jaw. Large molar teeth, similar to that found in humans and strong jaw muscles, crush through tough bamboo.

Although a carnivore, the panda has a diet which is 99% bamboo. The cuddly creatures do eat other foods such as honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges and banana’s, when available!

On a recent trip to Sicily, Mount Etna had again erupted and lava was flowing with bellows of lava dust. Back at Sparkle Dental Boutique, Hanwell a patient came in with an erupted and impacted wisdom tooth.

Mount Etna!

Wisdom teeth actually begin forming before the age of 10 and if they erupt it is usually between the ages of 17 – 21, which coincides with passage into adulthood, hence the name `wisdom teeth’. Most people do not experience pain with their wisdom teeth, but sometimes problems are progressing slowly and often silent.  The most common problems are:

Pain

You may have soreness or pain in the back part of your jaw, ear ache, sore throat or pain in the side of the face. The pain may be caused by an impacted wisdom tooth or there may be an infection associated it. 

Gum disease

This generally happens because these partly erupted wisdom teeth are difficult to keep clean, and the accumulated food particles cause the gums around your tooth to get infected.  If left untreated, the infection may cause loss of bone surrounding the wisdom tooth. This may also affect the neighbouring tooth.

Bacteria

Sometimes the wisdom tooth becomes an incubation and re-inoculation source. This happens when bacteria surrounding the wisdom tooth spreads to other teeth. The resulting chronic infection is now recognized to have an impact beyond merely oral health, and also has an impact on our general health and organ systems.

Impacted

When there is not enough space in the mouth for wisdom teeth to erupt, they then erupt in an abnormal direction or may get locked into the jaw. 

Decay

The same types of bacteria that are responsible for infections can also cause tooth decay or cavities in the impacted wisdom tooth and/or the root of the adjacent tooth.  A wisdom tooth may decay unnoticed, as they are the most difficult teeth to keep clean, being so far back into the mouth.

Crowding

An impacted or erupting wisdom tooth can push on adjacent teeth, causing them to become more crooked. 

The dream of healthy teeth and a perfect smile is becoming a reality to more and more people every day.  As time goes by, your teeth tend to shift, sometimes causing your front top and bottom teeth to become crooked, overlapping or rotated.

The Inman Aligner `squeezes’ teeth into alignment

 At Sparkle Dental Boutique, Hanwell we can now straighten your upper and lower front teeth in a matter of weeks!  As certified Inman Aligner dentists (see www.inmanaligner.com), we can now improve your dental health and give your self esteem a boost through Inman Aligners.

Dr Sunita Verma, Principal says “The Inman Aligner is a versatile removable appliance that works by applying gentle pressure to the teeth that need to be moved to an ideal position. This gentle process is provided by the spring action of the appliance which `squeeze’ the teeth together, pushing and pulling them into alignment. Once your teeth are corrected, the aligner works like a retainer and holds them in place.” Advantages over other orthodontic systems:

• Allows you to achieve great results using just one appliance.
• Can give you a wonderful smile with less hassle and expense in a shorter period of time.
• Can be removed and inserted as easily as a retainer.
• Its very thin (0.3mm) and invisible.

Dr Sunita Verma from Sparkle Dental Boutique, Ealing says `For many years dentists have been using mercury amalgams as fillings for cavities. Now there is much more concern about the health issues surrounding the use of mercury.’

Mercury is a poison and it is widely reported that mercury can cause brain damage, kidney malfunction, memory loss and depression. The amount of mercury released from fillings and the cumulative effect of this over time on the body is not fully known.

Sunita goes on to say `New technological advancements in dentistry allow us to do white, tooth coloured fillings. White fillings integrate with the tooth, making it more natural looking and we use these fillings to restore decay, to replace unsightly old amalgam fillings as well to make cosmetic improvements to a smile’.

Before Image of Old Discoloured Fillings:

After Image of Teeth Restored with White Fillings (Smile Transformations by Dr Sunita Verma) 

Superman possessed x-ray vision, allowing him to see through objects, even the smallest things.

At Sparkle Dental Boutique, Ealing our patients can benefit from `superman vision’ through our digital x-rays which allow a whole new level of comfort. 

 We can see through anything!

The digital radiograph makes it easier and less expensive to detect, diagnose and plan treatment long before problems become visible to the naked eye. Each x-ray image is instantly and automatically transmitted to our computers via radio waves requiring up to 80% less radiation than traditional x-ray film. The electronic image is captured instantaneously, giving a clear, high resolution view of teeth, bones, root and tissue.

Dr Sunita Verma, Principal at Sparkle Dental Boutique says `This new cutting edge technology is one more tool that we can use to provide our patients with the best and safest dental care possible. We recommend digital radiographs periodically, as our patients need them. Its the best and safest way to guard your smile against unexpected problems.’

Did you know that animals’ teeth are different depending upon what foods they eat?

Meat-eaters (carnivores) have sharp teeth.

Plant-eaters (herbivores) have flat teeth.

Animals that eat both plants and meat, like humans, have sharp teeth in front and flat teeth at the back.

Animal facts:

Sharks lose teeth each week. They get new teeth when they lose the old ones. They may have over 20,000 teeth in a lifetime.

Crocodiles have 60 teeth in their mouth at any one time and can grow up to 2-3,000 teeth during their lifetime.

Poisonous snakes have hollow fangs which eject poison.

Giraffes have 32 teeth, just like humans.

Elephants have four sets of teeth in their lifetime. Their tusks are the longest teeth in the world.  

Dolphins have more teeth than any other animal. Some dolphins have over 200 teeth. Scientists can tell the age of a dolphin by the rings on their teeth.

Snowshoe rabbits fight with their teeth. Adult males, called bucks, fight one another with their teeth when they court the females or does.

Baleen whales don’t have teeth. Instead they have stiff, fringed plates, made of the same stuff as human hair and fingernails. They hang down from the upper jaw and trap small fish and other food.  

The Smile Lift

The smile lift or the smile makeover as it is sometimes known is a new procedure that has revolutionized cosmetic dentistry. It has even been called “the scalpel free face lift” as it is a non invasive alternative to cosmetic surgery.

The procedure is simple. By altering the tooth width and size with porcelain veneers, at Sparkle Dental Boutique, Hanwell, we can create the effect of lifting the lips and widening the smile.  The result is a more sensual mouth with diminished wrinkles, laughter lines and smokers lines!

 As well as a sexy new smile, the results of a smile lift or makeover are life changing. Most patients report a huge surge in confidence and self esteem and many go on to do things that they were previously unable to like having photographs taken, finding a new job, starting a new relationship, getting married, public speaking but most importantly smiling!