Fiction: Braces are only for kids

Fact: There is no upper age limit for orthodontics providing your teeth, bones and gums are healthy. In fact braces have become trendy with celebrities such as Tom Cruise wearing braces as an adult.  

Fiction: Braces are very noticeable and `everyone can see them’

Fact: They need not be. There are several styles of very discrete braces which are suitable for some circumstances and the conventional metal braces are much smaller and very much more attractive than they used to be.   

Fiction: You always need to have teeth extracted before braces

Fact: No. This may only be necessary if the teeth are very overcrowded. 

Fiction: Orthodontic treatment takes years

Fact: With new technological advancements, many dental corrections can be made in as little as 12 weeks, using new removable appliances like the Inman Aligner. On average treatment time varies from 6 – 24 months.   

Fiction: Any dentist can fit braces

Fact: The majority of orthodontic treatment is carried out by those with formal postgraduate orthodontic training. An orthodontist on the General Dental Council Specialist List has undergone between 3-5 years of specialist training after qualifying as a dentist. Sparkle Dental Boutique’s orthodontist, Dr Shahla Rahman, is a Specialist.  

Fiction: Braces make teeth weaker and more mobile

Fact: Quite the opposite. Successfully treated teeth are more effective at load bearing and are less likely to be ground down. Provided you take extra care of your teeth while the braces are on, your bite should be healthier after treatment.   

Fiction: After braces are removed, teeth just move back to their old position again

Fact: Minor tooth movements are normal throughout life, but if you wear retainers as instructed at the end of treatment, your teeth should remain aligned.   

When a patient asks about options for improving their overall smile, particularly when their teeth are crooked, they have two options: the option of porcelain veneers or the option of orthodontics (braces).      

Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique says, “Sometimes patients are reluctant to have orthodontic treatment assuming that they are too old for braces, or that orthodontics are only for children or that they will have to wear braces for a number of years. This is simply not true!”  

“We offer a new procedure offered at Sparkle Dental Boutique called short term orthodontics (STO). With STO, we can give our patients the smiles that they desire through simple orthodontic tooth movement. The simple treatment philosophy is that if teeth are in the wrong position, move them!”

Many types of tooth movement can be easily and safely accomplished in about six months, using orthodontic brackets and wires. 

STO overcomes the two main obstacles that prevent adults from accepting orthodontic treatment, that is treatment time (within the range of 4-9 months) and the appearance of the brackets and wires. STO also allow quick and more predictable tooth movements.  

Sunita says, “The case shown above was treated within 5 months using a functional brace and clear braces. Once we had corrected the tooth position, we then whitened the teeth and finally conservatively treated the tooth using a technique called cosmetic bonding, to give a very aesthetically pleasing result.”   

Source: Short Term Orthodontics: The Cosmetic Dilemma, Dr R Swain Dentistry 10 December 2009

Your phone is wireless. Your computer too. So why aren’t your braces?  

Many teens as they grow are conscious about not only looking good but also feeling good too. Invisalign Teen™ is the ideal solution offering a clear alternative to conventional braces. It’s clear, comfortable and best of all its invisible, so no one will know you have them on!  

Unlike fixed braces, Invisalign Teen™ allows you to remove the aligners which means you can continue to enjoy your normal life. You can continue regular daily activities whether that’s  playing sport, musical instruments or even eating and drinking while still being able to brush and floss with ease.  Invisalign Teen™ is particularly suited for continued brushing and flossing and is gentle on your teeth and mouth. 

How does it work? 

At your appointment, we take photographs, digital x-rays and impressions of your teeth and make a treatment plan.

The records that have been taken are sent to Align Technology where they are turned into a 3d digital representation of your teeth. This allows us to show you your projected end results before starting treatment!  A series of aligners will then be custom manufactured for you. The aligners fit around your teeth only and will be changed every two weeks for a new one. Each aligner is slightly different from the previous one moving your teeth gently into the desired position and giving you a smile to be proud of.  

The length of treatment depends on the severity of your case and on average takes between 9-18 months.

Most people have heard about dermabrasion, a cosmetic procedure in which the surface of the skin is sanded to remove any scars and pigmentation. In dentistry, we use dental air abrasion to remove superficial stains and discoloration from your teeth.

Sometimes teeth are discoloured as a result of trauma to a tooth, an infection around a tooth, medications which have discoloured a tooth and even flouride which has caused some white or brown discoloration of the teeth.  

Sunita Verma, Principal from Sparkle Dental Boutique says, `Some patients have staining or discoloration which is irreversible as a result of trauma, root canal therapy or medications such as tetracycline. These deep stains are not improved by air abrasion.’

‘For other types of stains however, we use air abrasion, an instrument that works like a mini sandblaster to spray away any stains and discoloration. During air abrasion, a fine stream of particles is aimed at the stains. These particles are made of aluminum oxide and are propelled towards the tooth surface by compressed air removing any staining and discoloration. Any tiny particles are then “suctioned” away.’

Sunita goes on to say `The success of abrasion does depend on a number of factors, especially the type and extent of the discoloration. Brown or dark stains are removed readily in most cases. White discolorations or speckles respond well to this treatment but at times some discolorations can be very persistent and not removable completely with air abrasion.’

`Air abrasion is a fantastic procedure, but if it is not suitable for a particular type of staining, we can recommend alternative treatments including composite bonding, porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns to give you a perfect bright smile.’

At Sparkle Dental Boutique, we are pleased to announce the arrival of the KODAK 8000C Digital Panoramic and Cephalometric System.

The 8000c enables us to take panoramic x-rays that will show the whole mouth, including all the teeth and the bone structure that support the teeth. The 8000C System delivers clear, properly exposed panoramic and cephalometric images in the blink of an eye.

Sunita Verma, Principal at Sparkle Dental Boutique says “The 8000C System makes fast, accurate diagnoses and helps improve communication with patients. Until now, digital systems had to scan a patient’s head for up to 8 to 18 seconds. But Kodak’s innovative one shot technology captures the image in just over a second, drastically reducing the risk of blurred images and significantly improving comfort levels for patients”.

Sunita goes on to say “The panoramic x-rays are fantastic and are particularly useful for our orthodontist when treating children with orthodontic problems. These x-rays are used to view all of the teeth on one film as well as the upper and lower jaws and the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) as well as the sinuses above your upper teeth. Panorex x-rays do not require a film to be put in the child’s mouth and therefore this is particularly helpful for children who gag easily or who have small mouths.”

“This machine also shows the head from the side and is used to evaluate growth of the jaws and the relationship of bones in the skull. It really helps us make an accurate diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.”

Dr Who may have finally exterminated the Darleks but have you ever wondered about decontamination in your dental surgery?

At Sparkle Dental Boutique we use advanced decontamination procedures to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our patients at all times.  After using any instrument, the instrument goes through a 6 stage process to ensure total disinfection and sterilisation.

Following treatment all contaminated instruments are taken directly from the treatment room to our Central Sterilisation Room for processing.

Stage 1 All instruments are visually inspected to ensure that no debris remains on the instruments prior to the sterilisation process. We remove any organic material or dental materials left on instruments by hand.

Stage 2 The instruments are completely immersed for 10 minutes in a cold sterilisation bath which contains enzyme disinfectant which dissolves any blood and saliva.  

Stage 3 The instruments are then removed and rinsed thoroughly again in clean water.   

Stage 4 The instruments are placed in a bench top steriliser for processing.

Stage 5 The washer disinfector is the final stage of our advanced decontamination. Very much like a washing machine the instruments go through a cycle of pre wash, main wash (at 93° with a detergent), rinse and drying, to ensure that all the instruments are totally sterile.

Stage 6 The sterilised instruments are then placed in sterilisation pouches ready for use.

From beginning to end the whole process takes about an hour. ..be rest assured you are in safe hands

• Scientific research has linked gum disease to heart disease, strokes, diabetes and premature and low birth weight babies

• Eating sugar free foods isn’t just good for your waistline – it’s also much better for your teeth

• Whilst fruit smoothies can help in providing some of your 5 a day fruit portion – they an be really bad for your teeth as it coats them in sugar – the tooth enemy

• One third of people in Britain admit to brushing their teeth once a day or less

• One out of every five people questioned couldn’t even remember when they last changed their toothbrush* (it is recommended to change it every 3 months)

• People have admitted picking between their teeth with everything from pierced earrings to business cards and paperclips to screwdrivers – instead of cleaning with the recommended floss or an interdental brush

• Fluoride is added to many toothpastes to help prevent decay – yet one in every three people thought it was either a mint flavour or a marketing gimmick

• Fluoride is scientifically proven to be a “magic – bullet’ that helps prevent tooth decay – yet surprisingly its only added to less than 12% of UK water.

• British is best in the eyes of the public. A resounding 8 out of 10 people would not consider travelling abroad for dental treatment – 6 out of every 10 still said that they would call their UK Dentist if things go wrong when they got home.

Source: Brush for Health, British Dental Health Foundation

The Vita EasyShade Compact 

Have you ever wondered how at Sparkle Dental Boutique, we manage to get the shade of your new crown, veneer or bridge just right?

Dr Sunita Verma, Principal of Sparkle Dental Boutique says “In order to get a perfect result, we do go as far as sending some of our patients to the laboratory to see our Master Ceramist so that the shade of their crown, veneer or bridge can exactly match the colour of the rest of their teeth. This matching ensures the most natural result!“ 

“Within the practice however, we now use a new piece of equipment called a Vita Easyshade Compact, which provides accurate and reliable results time and time again, at a click of a button. It even measures shades that are usually difficult to place.”

“The tooth shade is displayed in just a few seconds ensuring perfect results each time. This gadget certainly resolves issues that we face in the treatment rooms of variations in illumination and daylight which sometimes sees the shade of a tooth change within one appointment!” 

“With the introduction of the Easyshade colour matching instrument, shade matching is simple, predictable and quick and my patients love it!”

You’ve probably heard about High School Musical, the most successful film that the Disney Channel have ever produced.  With 7.7 million viewers in the USA following the first broadcast and 1.2 million in the UK, high school musical fever was bound to follow.  

With a tale based on Romeo and Juliet, High School Musical is a story about two high school juniors from rival cliques – Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), captain of the basketball team and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), a beautiful but shy girl who excels in her studies. In true Hollywood style they both try for lead parts in the high school musical and the rest they say is history.

The question on everyone’s lips however, is what work has Zac Efron had to his teeth to get this perfect Hollywood smile!  Two years ago Zac had a space between his upper two front teeth and now he has a picture perfect Hollywood smile!

After: Zac Efron now with the ultimate smile!

Before: Zac Efron with a gap between his upper teeth 

Dr Sunita Verma from Sparkle Dental Boutique says, `Whilst its been widely reported that Zac has had braces to correct his teeth (that he wore for only three weeks!), I believe that Zac has had porcelain veneers placed on his upper teeth. The porcelain veneers have been used to close the gap between his two upper front teeth giving him that picture perfect Hollywood smile. He most probably would have had some sort of teeth whitening before his veneers were placed.’