Restoring Damaged Teeth

Time away from the dentist can mean more cases of decay and damage

It probably feels like a long time since you last saw the welcoming faces of the team at The Dental Centre Bedford? The good news is that we are now open again and are able to help you get your oral health back on course.

This is likely to be a gradual process as we catch up on lost time, but we are aware that some of you will be in more urgent need of an appointment than others. So we plan to do all that we can to accommodate those who have teeth that are causing them pain or other problems first, before progressing to more routine appointments.

Some of you may have had to put up with issues such as decay or a chipped or broken tooth that was not serious enough to be referred to an urgent dental centre. It is important that we treat these cases first and we politely ask for your patience whilst we do so.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, there will be some changes to the way that we operate and your appointments with us will be slightly different. Please read this latest information before making an appointment.

In today’s blog, we will take a quick look at some of the treatments we use to help restore any damaged or decaying teeth and return your mouth to good health.

Fillings

One of the most common treatments is the tooth filling. Hopefully, most of these will be relatively minor but this might depend on when the problem started and how well you managed to take care of it in the meantime. Traditionally, amalgam is used to fill dental cavities but increasingly this is being replaced by white fillings that can be produced to match the colour of the natural part of your teeth.

This is not the only advantage of white teeth fillings. They are not only strong but have excellent bonding qualities which means that the preparation of the remaining healthy tooth is often less than when amalgam is used.

Crowns

Where a tooth has suffered from advanced decay or has broken significantly, a filling may not be enough to provide the tooth with the strength needed for eating and other daily stresses. In cases like this, we may look to a dental crown to provide the strength required and aesthetics required.

Unlike many dental practices, your handy Bedford dentists are able to provide crowns that can be produced and fitted on the same day. Instead of taking a manual impression and sending this to a dental laboratory for the crown to be made, we can digitally scan your teeth and send this information to an on-site computerised system known as CEREC.  From this information, a crown is milled from a ceramic block in approximately one hour. Once this is completed, your new crown can be fitted during the same appointment.

Extractions

Hopefully we will be able to resolve any problems that you have had with your teeth, but where the damage is too severe or the prognosis very poor, the tooth may need to be extracted. This is far from ideal but we do offer a number of tooth replacement options including dentures, a bridge or dental implants. Please rest assured though that we will always opt to save a tooth wherever possible.

Oral hygiene

Those of you who have regular appointments with the dental hygienist at our practice will probably have noticed that your teeth feel less smooth than they usually do. They may also appear more stained as well. The extended time between professional cleanings means that tartar is likely to have built up on the teeth and the gum line. This creates a rough surface that encourages more potentially harmful bacteria to collect which could lead to gum disease. As the situation starts to return to something more like ‘normal’, we encourage both those who are regular clients of our hygienist and indeed those who aren’t, to book an appointment. This is a great way to restart the journey to restoring your mouth health.

We look forward to seeing you all again at The Dental Centre Bedford as soon as we possibly can. It might be a while before things fully return to what you are used to, but please be assured that we will do everything that we can to make sure that you have the opportunity to receive necessary dental care.

If you would like to make an appointment to see a dentist or hygienist at our Bedford practice, please call our reception team on 01234 819868.