Adults – General Dentistry.

Not everyone wants a dazzling Hollywood Smile. In fact a large proportion of our patients come to us for good quality General Dentistry. Their long term aim is to keep their teeth comfortably all their life. Feedback from our patients tells us that what they like about coming to Dorking Dental Centre is:

- Seeing the same dentist who knows your mouth, every visit.
- Getting an honest opinion about work that needs to be done now and work that might need to be done in the future, reducing    surprises along the line.
- Understanding how much it will cost now and in the future.

All our work at Dorking Dental Centre is guaranteed, providing you attend your six monthly check ups. Dr. Smith has a very strong philosophy that once a patient spends money on a tooth, that tooth should be there for a long time.
Dr. Smith works very hard with Karen, our hygienist, to put together treatment plans for all our patients, whether it’s a check up and a scale and polish or sorting out painful, uncomfortable teeth and gums. Their aim is to get you out of pain as quickly as possible, and through a combination of education and remedial treatment, they can, with your help, get your mouth fit and healthy for the long term.

Possible treatments you may need at some stage are listed below. Click here for a current price list

Fillings – These can be silver or white and tend to be used to fill a small cavity. Fillings need to be monitored regularly because as they age, they can shrink and leak germs into the surrounding tooth.

Inlays – A much longer term solution than a filling and tends to be used on a larger cavity. Dr. Smith uses his CEREC machine to make inlays in-house. That way he can make them in one visit, ensuring a perfect fit and no need for nasty temporaries! Once all decay is removed, bio compatible, white ceramic material is cut to fit the hole exactly. It is rather like fitting a jigsaw puzzle piece. The ceramic material contracts and wears at the same rate as a tooth enabling a perfect seal to be formed stopping any germs entering the tooth.

For more information about the CEREC and case studies click here.

Crowns – This is like a jacket that fits over a tooth that has broken or worn down. Using the same ceramic material as an inlay, Dr. Smith is able to prepare, make and fit a crown in one single visit. He uses the CEREC system, proven in-house CAD/CAM technology. The benefits include:

- Single visit crowns, reducing the need for more than one injection
- Identical matching of colour and translucency to your natural teeth
- No impressions, which some patients find uncomfortable
- No waiting 2 weeks for lab work, meaning a better crown fit is achieved
- No metal, thus removing the unsightly black mark often seen at the top of traditional crowns

One of the clear benefits that Dr. Smith has found since starting to use the CEREC method 3 years ago is that he doesn’t need to remove any healthy tooth, only decay. With traditional methods of preparing crowns and inlays the dentist often has to cut away large amounts of perfectly healthy tooth to ensure the old fashioned crowns have room to fit in the mouth. This in turn means that Dr. Smith has a far higher success rate in saving teeth and reducing the likelihood of root canal treatment.

For more information about the CEREC and case studies click here.

Root Canal Treatment – This is necessary when the nerve in a tooth has died and needs to be removed to avoid infection. Although it is often dreaded by patients, Dr. Smith has invested in the very latest technology to make it as quick and comfortable as possible. Root canal treated teeth will usually need to be subsequently strengthened with a crown.

Solutions for missing teeth.

It is important to replace or fill a gap left by a missing tooth if at all possible. It not only helps boost self confidence by creating a great looking smile, it also serves an important clinical need. This is because a gap weakens the whole jaw line, leaving the surrounding teeth vulnerable to drifting and breaking.

Bridge – Dental bridges quite literally “bridge” the gap created by one or more missing teeth. They are essentially false teeth, which are anchored between porcelain crowns to fill the space left by missing teeth. A bridge is usually used where there are fewer teeth to replace. Bridges can help correct bite issues and prevent remaining teeth from drifting out of position into the empty space.

Implant – This solution is growing in popularity. It is more expensive than a bridge, however it can produce aesthetically better results, particularly at the front of the mouth. An implant also leaves all surrounding teeth untouched. At Dorking Dental Centre we prefer to refer to specialists for this highly skilled advanced dentistry. Not all patients are suitable candidates for implants, for example, age, gum condition and your personal hygiene habits play an important role in whether implants will be successful. All of these issues Dr. Smith will be happy to advise you on.

Dentures – These come in many different forms and tend to be used nowadays as a last resort. If you do need dentures it is important they fit correctly so as to avoid sore spots. After a while you will find that your gums shrink and the dentures wear. It is important to attend regular check ups so that Dr. Smith can assess whether your dentures need re-lining or adjusting.

On-going care

Different treatments require different cleaning techniques to ensure that they look as good in years to come as they did the day you had them done. Karen our hygienist, can advise you as to the best way for you to care for your teeth before and after treatment.