Smile City Services
Gentle Care
I’m going to be honest here, we all know that going to the Dentist can be uncomfortable, even at the best of times.
Dr Mary has made it her top priority to create a clinic that provides the gentlest and pain free care she possibly can.
Our dENTISTRY
Gentle Care
We have searched for the best and most technologically advanced equipment we can find, to make your experience comfortable. You can read about this below;
- Soft and comfortable dental chairs, with blankets and cushions as requested.
- TVs on the ceiling in all treatment rooms for patient entertainment/distraction.
- Digital scanner technology instead of old-fashioned impressions – no more gagging!
- Happy gas available for children or adults who are anxious.
- STA Wand technology to replace injections wherever we can.
- EMS airflow teeth cleaning system – the ultimate in pain free dental cleaning with tough stain removal for tea and coffee lovers.
- And most importantly….. GENTLE HANDS!
Gentle Care
Frequently Asked Questions
- Brush your teeth morning and night
- Floss at least 3-4 times per week
- Avoid fizzy and sugary drinks, sticky and acidic foods and very hard crunchy foods
- Protect your teeth from clenching or grinding
- Have regular dental check ups
The outside surface of teeth is like hair or fingernails – it has no nerve endings. If you have a hole in your tooth that is still small, it will be entirely painless. In actual fact, it is only after a cavity has gone quite far through your tooth that you will even start to feel anything different!
Once a cavity has broken through your enamel, is it not curable, and will just keep getting deeper and deeper. It can sometimes take years for a cavity to reach all the way inside your tooth, so it can be tempting to leave it and not get it fixed early.
However, when a cavity is small, it is typically easy and fast to fix and much less expensive than a larger hole to fill. Usually if your cavity is small you will not need to be numb to get it filled (no needle!) and the price will be under $200. For these reasons you should avoid waiting too long.
Almost all dental treatment, both elective and routine, is safe in pregnancy. There are very few exceptions, one example is teeth whitening.
During pregnancy, hormones may cause swelling and bleeding of the gums. Frequent vomiting and food cravings can increase plaque bacteria and acidity levels in the mouth, leading to tooth sensitivity and cavities.
Ideally elective procedures – filling small cavities and extractions in the absence of infection – should be done in the second trimester. If you have a toothache or pain in your mouth, treatment including dental x-rays are safe to be done with very minimal risk to your unborn baby. We will usually postpone regular x-rays until after your delivery.
If you are expecting, we encourage you to come for your regular check up and clean. Most of them common dental issues that arise during pregnancy can be addressed by a thorough scale and clean, as well as practicing good oral hygiene routines at home.
Once your teeth have been checked by the dentist, there are two whitening treatment options from which you can choose:
- “In Chair” whitening – performed at the clinic (usually approximately a 90 minute session)
- “Take Home” whitening – whitening treatment performed daily for 1-2 hours at home, for approximately a 2 week duration.
In Chair whitening works by having a whitening gel placed on your teeth at intervals. This is a strong whitening solution that provides an “instant” result. We will also provide you with a take home whitening kit to do top up whitening sessions at home.
Take Home whitening involves wearing the teeth whitening gel in custom fit mouthguard-like trays for about 1-2 hours per day for approximately 2 weeks. We will discuss with you in detail the instructions for how to use the gels and trays, as well as dos and don’ts for completing your teeth whitening treatments.
Both treatment options provide excellent results, In Chair treatment just provides a more immediate result – perfect for those who have left their teeth whitening to the last minute, and require whiter teeth for an event – eg a wedding. Because In Chair whitening uses a stronger solution, it needs to be used under dentists supervision, and it usually leaves your teeth feeling a little sensitive temporarily. We give you a slightly lesser strength solution for the Take Home kit, which is why this process takes a bit longer.
Full dentures for when you have no teeth and partial dentures are for when you have some teeth and some gaps.
It usually takes 4 – 6 weeks to make dentures, and over this time you will have at least 4 visits for fittings along the way. After your dentures are finished you will also come back for several visits as they often need adjustments after you start wearing them as you break them in.
Partial dentures are anywhere from $1000-$1800 per denture (top or bottom) depending on the material chosen. Full dentures are usually 1200 per side (top or bottom).
If you need to modify or add a tooth to your denture, this can be done in 1-2 weeks, for around $300-500.
Eating blocks of ice can be VERY dangerous to our teeth. Ice cools down the tooth enamel, making it more brittle. This means that when you CRUNCH down on a hard block of ice, your tooth is more likely to CRACK!
Crunching on ice can be very addictive for some people, and it’s a hard habit to break. It should be avoided, especially as you get older and your teeth naturally become more worn from years of chewing.
