Dentists rightly have a reputation for looking after the health of our teeth. This is because at your teeth six months check ups in the surgery, they will mainly be talking about the amount of plaque or tartar that is on your teeth or the state of your gums. But dentists are not only concerned with your oral hygiene, they are also able to offer a wide variety of procedures and treatments such as cosmetic dentures, smile makeovers and whitening which are specially designed to improve the aesthetics of your smile.

Cosmetic dentistry covers a range of different treatments, many of which can be found at your local South East London dentist’s surgery. There are various tooth whitening treatments which can restore even the most stained teeth to the whitest possible shade of tooth tone by using various gels and curing lights.

Teeth straightening is carried out for the health of the mouth as well as to improve the aesthetics so one could classify it as cosmetic dentistry. The traditional metal brace is only one option these days and there are a number of other methods of getting an aligned smile.

Porcelain dental crowns and porcelain dental veneers are fitted over teeth which are cracked, chipped, broken down or fundamentally stained. Demonstrating how swift some of these cosmetic dentistry procedures are, veneers and crowns can be fitted in no time at all thanks to advances in the digitization of technology in dental surgeries.

With many dentists offering interest free repayment plans, it is within the financial reach of an increasing number of people to have cosmetic dentistry work done and improve the look of your smile.

Aside from how unsightly traditional metal braces look, many people are put off from tooth straightening treatment because of the great length of the time that one has to wear the device for. Two years is a very long time to wear anything in your mouth that is not removable and even though the results will be most satisfactory, people have often wondered if it might be possible to straighten teeth in a shorter space of time than two years.

The new treatment called Six Months Smile can do just that. As the name suggests, it often only needs to be worn for six months in order to correct minor alignment issues with the teeth. This is far more preferable to many people who want to have their smiles straightened but don’t want to have to wear a brace for two years.

Six Months Smile works on the same principles as a traditional metal brace in that there are brackets attached to the teeth which have wires threaded through them. At regular appointments with your dentist, adjustments will be made so that your teeth are gently moved into more desirable positions that will create, as a whole, a straightened out smile.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Six Months Smile is that the brackets and wires are the same colour as teeth. This means that it is far more discreet than a traditional brace. During the treatment time you need not worry so much about the appearance of your mouth because Six Months Smile is that bit more subtle than its traditional relative.

If all of this interests you then you should ask your London SE1 dentist if they are able to offer the Six Months Smile treatment to you.

Having a crooked smile not only doesn’t look that good, it can also cause problems of its own. Those with misaligned teeth are more likely to grind their teeth when they sleep (dentists call this bruxism) and teeth which are bunched up and crowded can be more likely to develop cavities because it can be difficult to clean in between them.

Thankfully dentists have been effectively straightening out teeth for many, many decades now. With the flourishing of new technologies and increased investment in dental research, there are also a number of different ways in which you can get your teeth straightened.

The old faithful that has been a stalwart of dentistry for a long time, is the traditional metal brace. These devices amount to a series of brackets secured to your teeth, through which metal wires are threaded. These wires can be tightened and loosened as needed so that your teeth are slowly moved into more desirable positions.

Many people were frustrated though with how unsightly these braces could look, not to mention how messy they became and how long the period of treatment could be. In response to this, a number of new methods for straightening teeth have come onto the market which seek to alleviate these problems.

There is Invisalign which dispenses with wires and brackets all together and adjusts teeth with a series of clear plastic plates which are totally removable and replaced once they have achieved all their teeth movement. Six Months Smile uses brackets and wires but cleverly colours them the same tone as teeth so they are vastly more discreet.

Your London SE1 dentist will tell you that traditional metal braces are still the most effective way to solve all teeth alignment problems as some of the other methods cannot rotate teeth.

If you got to the stage in life where you need your teeth straightened but are afraid of the implications that come with wearing a brace, then you may well like to take a look at America’s latest export- Invisalign. It fly’s in the face of against any conception you may have of having to wear a brace and the benefits far outweigh the cost of the treatment. Once you’ve been measured up and you’re eligible for the course, you are fitted with the first of a series of aligners that get to work on your teeth straight away. But because of its design, it’s removable, meaning that throughout your treatment, you can take it out for eating, brushing your teeth and for the odd ‘intimate’ social occasion- now that’s got to be good for your oral health and your love-life! But this aligner gets even better. It’s made from a completely transparent material which means it’s almost impossible to see when it sits in the mouth. Now any teenager will tell you the amount of ‘ribbing’ you are going to avoid with one of those in your mouth; not that you’ll have it there for long, for this little device take a third of the time to correct your teeth than more conventional, ‘ugly’, fixed braces. OK, so the whole program starts from around £1800, more than other treatments, but there are so many advantages attached to this aligner and you don’t have to go far to find it; Invisalign is available now and it’s available here, in south east London.

It’s a minefield of choice in south east London when it comes to braces and aligners and braces. Generally, the condition of your teeth, will dictate the the type of treatment that is suitable for you. But people who have to wear them, prefer them to be comfortable and discreet- the fixed Damon brace offers just that and more, making it a viable contender- whatever your age. A thin ‘memory’ wire connects a number of clear, ceramic plates through tiny ‘sliding doors’, that are placed on each tooth, but what sets this treatment apart from others is that it is self litigating, that is, it adjusts the pressure on your teeth automatically, throughout the time it is in your mouth, meaning, it also cuts out the number of visits you have to pay to the dentist. It’s because the wire causes very little friction to the teeth, they respond very quickly to movement- this reflects on it’s costs too; depending on the level of correction you require, the Damon Brace starts from around £2500, which can be spread over the course of the treatment with a payment plan. There is very minimal mechanics in the mouth, which makes it very easy to clean, important considering that this brace is ‘fixed’ in the mouth throughout the treatment. The Damon is a very attractive choice, offering great results and available to people of all ages.

We have a lot to thank the U.S for, when it comes to teeth re-alignment. Their obsession with the achieving the perfect smile has lead to some pretty amazing aligners hitting the UK market- so you won’t be surprised to discover that the 6 Months Smile is another invention from the boys across the pond and it’s available now in London’s SE1. Like most boasts that come with American aligners, they do what they say on the packet too. If you suffer from overcrowding teeth that stick out in all directions, this may be the treatment for you and because of the speed with which it works, it means that you can plan your year around having it done. It all starts with getting measured up at the dentists. Photographs and x-rays will assess your suitability and then sent away to the U.S so that your aligner can be made. It’s fairly unobtrusive in the mouth, once it’s fitted; a small wire threads through a series of small, tooth coloured, ceramic plates that are positioned on each of the offending teeth- generally the teeth that show when you smile. As the treatment starts to work, you will need to make regular visits to the dentist to have constant adjustments. Cleaning of the teeth requires extra vigilance, which your dentist will be able to give you advice on. Most dentists will be able to set up a payment to suit your pocket, so come on! Whatever your age, you don’t have to suffer for all eternity, get your teeth straightened today!

For some of us living in south east London, we may reach a time in our lives when we consider having certain dental treatments, such as teeth alignment, to late to have in our lives. If you are happy with this, so be it. But it’s never too late. An Inman aligner is one such device aimed at the older person. Once it is in position, it stays where it is and allows a bar to place pressure on the outside of the teeth, whilst a coiled, titanium spring, that maintains a constant pressure on the teeth, also reverses the pressure on the inside. These constant, opposing forces, get the teeth used to movement and then squeezes them into place- extremely quickly. The Inman aligner has been known to complete the treatment in as little as 6 weeks- now that’s not a lot of time out of your life, however old you are. Another bonus to the treatment is that the aligner can be taken out when desired, making it great for cleaning your teeth and eating. Having very similar advantages to that of invisible aligners, the Inman is starting to take over in the popularity stakes due to its results speed and its price.

As we get older in south-east London, the idea of having a brace fitted seems rather ridiculous. It’s something we associate with our teenage years and most of us would consider such ‘lengthy’ treatments rather alien at such a late time in our lives. But having our teeth corrected should be seen as an ongoing process not only for oral health, but for cosmetic reasons too. So thanks to advances in dental technology, help is on hand for those of us with crooked or buck teeth. The 6 months smile can correct such problems. It’s fairly unobtrusive and quick method of closing those gaps and giving you back the confidence to smile again. It’s a very simple and painless treatment- once decided upon, a series of small, tooth coloured plates will be attached to the ‘guilty’ teeth by a wire that will be altered every month to ensure the correct pressure on the teeth is maintained until the treatment is finished. It works incredibly efficiently and it’s all over in 6 months and following this, a retainer will be worn, for a short period at leisure to prevent the teeth falling back into their original position. Depending on the level of treatment required, it’s a snip at around £1800. But consider this for a vanity moment. Half a year is not a long time in your life and it can be pre-planned to fit in around big social occasions such as a wedding or a holiday in the future.

A South East London dentist has spoken out about the wonders of a six month smile. The system takes six months to accomplish, rather than having a life span of six months. Many of us are embarrassed about our teeth, nobody`s teeth grow straight and we all need some help during our lifetime to make them as perfect as we can get them. The six month smile consists of a series of clear braces that are fitted every two weeks, over that period they move the teeth and can straighten overlapped, crooked and misaligned teeth; they also close gaps in between our molars to give us an almost perfect smile to be proud of. The braces are all self contained and come in the form of what looks like a sports gum shield, with lots of wires and tiny pulleys embedded within the inner side of the device. You can remove them yourself when you want to eat and clean your teeth, then you simply place them back in position. They can be removed for up to around 4 hours a day, so when you`re socialising you can take them out and no one will know you are having the treatment. They are very tight fitting when they are first put in, but as they do their job they loosen up and by the time the fortnight is up they are very loose. This indicates that they have done their job well for that stage of the process, and the next stage brace can be fitted.

It`s almost invisible as it isn`t fixed to the teeth like a conventional brace, says a South East London dentist. They come in the form of a sporting shield that has very cleverly hidden pressure points and pulleys built into the inside, this part sits in the inner part of the mouth and isn`t visible to the eye. They are a unique device and the program involved is quite scientific. Starting with digital pictures which are scanned into a computer program, the program then produces all the calculations needed to make the series of braces involved. These are all made beforehand and contained within them are all workings that will eventually straighten the teeth. It looks like a clear sporting gum shield, and is good for straightening the back as well as the front teeth. They are changed every two weeks and a course can run from 4-8 months typically, the patient and dentist can keep an eye on the progress by watching the 3D CGI film which the computer also produces in the process. The patient can even see the end result before the process even starts. One good advantage is the mobility of the brace, you can take it out for up to 4 hours a day, which is handy for when you`re eating, and cleaning your teeth. It is extremely popular amongst adults who didn’t want the cumbersome NHS brace system when they were younger, but then suffered in later life with misaligned teeth and a crooked smile which can be embarrassing at the best of times.