Category: Church St Dental

Maybe you have heard the phrase CEREC crown? Maybe not. If you have you might be wondering what the difference is between a traditional crown and a CEREC crown.

If you have a tooth that is deteriorating or a cavity that is too big to fill, you may be given the option of a crown to seal and fix the tooth. Traditional crowns differ to the option of a CEREC crown. This new technology makes it easier for you to get the treatment you need. While traditional crowns still have value, CEREC or same day crown’s are focused on saving you time and stress.

TRADITIONAL CROWNS

Once it was determined that you needed a crown, the dentist would take an impression of the tooth to be sent off to a lab to have the crown made. To protect the tooth, a temporary crown would be placed while the permanent one was being made. This process generally takes 2-3 appointments over 2-3 weeks and requires the patient to spend a large amount of time not only in surgery but numbed using local anaesthesia.

CEREC CROWNS

CEREC crowns or same day sounds are exactly what they sound like, crowns that are completed in one day. Once your tooth is prepared to be fitted for a crown, the dentist uses the CEREC machine to take a digital image of your tooth. The dentist then uses the image and the CEREC machine to create the crown right there in front of you. Rather than dealing with an uncomfortable impression and being numbed up over multiple appointments, a picture is used to create a crown that perfectly fits your tooth on the same day.

Just got braces?

Here are some foods you should avoid and foods that you can eat easily when you have braces on.

The first time you have your brackets and wire put on will be the most painful. During this time is it a good idea to stick to soft foods such as:

• Smoothies
• Eggs
• Banana’s
• Yoghurt
• Soup
• Mashed potato

Once the pain has subsided you can add some more to your diet:

• Steamed vegetables
• Soft fruits (grapes, melons)
• Non tough meats (ham, chicken)
• Soft cheese
• Spaghetti or mac and cheese
• Soft breads

Some key foods to avoid are:

• Popcorn
• Nuts
• Hard or sticky lollies
• Corn chips/hard taco shells
• Pretzels
• Ice
• Tough meats (steak)

At Church St Dental, we are a team dedicated to help our patients in maintaining a healthy smile for life. This team is made up of our lovely dental assistants, and our Oral health therapist who works alongside our Dentists to provide you with the best care for your mouth.

WHAT IS A DENTAL HYGIENIEST/ORAL HEALTH THERAPIST?
Our Therapist specialises in educating both adults and children on how to best care for their teeth, she also specialises in working with children. We want to ensure you are maintaining optimal oral health and prevent the need for more intensive dental treatment in the future. Our Therapist is trained to do the following:

• routine dental examinations – where your gum and teeth health are thoroughly assessed
• scale and clean
• x-rays
• oral health instructions
• further gum therapy if required
• preventative treatments – fissure sealants and fluoride
• our therapist is also able to provide further treatments for children such as fillings.

She works together with our Dentists to ensure each of our patients is receiving the best dental care for their individual needs.

WHAT IS THE DENTISTS ROLE?
The dentists are the head of our team. If our patients require further treatment, it is their role to look after these concerns how they best see fit. Our Therapist is trained specifically to maintain the health of your mouth, teeth and gums. It is then the Dentist role to provide further specialised care including restorative treatments, orthodontics and cosmetic care.

After careful study and planning, it was time for my braces to go on! How exciting 🙂

My teeth were thoroughly cleaned and then Dr Charles bonded my braces on. There are plenty of elastic colours to choose from, I chose clear elastics but I might go for some colours next time! It takes a bit of time to get everything on but after that everything is fairly smooth sailing. Over the next week my teeth were a bit sore and I had to have soft food but I expected that. I am looking forward to seeing my teeth straighten on this exciting journey.

Watch this space for more updates!

Coming into winter where most sports are typically contact sports, the risk of trauma increases and so does the number of “accidents”. Any trauma to the teeth should be assessed by a dentist as soon as possible, however in the meantime in the event of a tooth being knocked out:

1. Find the tooth and rinse it to remove any dirt
2. Place the tooth either in saliva or milk or keep it in your mouth between your cheek and gum or under your tongue
3. Get to the dentist as the tooth has a better chance of being placed back successfully if done as soon as possible

At Church St Dental, we welcome emergency patients. If you have an incident of dental trauma, give us a call on 4351 1642 and we will fit you in ASAP.

Church St Dental’s receptionist Ash has recently begun her orthodontic treatment and we will be sharing with you her experience through blogs and Facebook to give you an inside view on the process of braces and what it involves!

WHY ASH CHOSE BRACES

First we would like to share with you why Ash decided to get braces. When Ash was growing up her teeth came through fairly straight, but as she got older and her wisdom teeth started to erupt they put pressure on her upper and lower front teeth causing them to start crowding and rotating. Even though she had her wisdom teeth removed the damage was done and over the years those lower front teeth slowly became more and more crowded making them difficult to clean and floss. Her upper front teeth also continued to rotate changing the look of her smile.

When she started working here at Church St Dental Ash became more self conscious of her changing teeth and decided to have a chat with Dr Charles about using orthodontic treatment to straighten them.

ASH’S FIRST APPOINTMENT

During her first appointment, Ash and Dr Charles discussed the issues with her teeth and the different options for going ahead with treatment. After deciding on a plan of action Ash had photos and mouth moulds taken, then was sent of for x-rays.

If you would like to ask Dr Charles any questions about braces and orthodontic treatment feel free to send us an email at info@churchstdental.com.au.

We look forward to sharing the rest of Ash’s story with you over the coming months.

DID YOU KNOW … DENTISTS RECOMMEND ADULTS TO SPIT TOOTHPASTE OUT AFTER BRUSHING BUT AVOID RINSING WITH WATER AFTER WARD??

By spitting toothpaste out then not rinsing with water it ensures that the fluoride found in the majority of toothpastes will remain on the teeth and continue to be effective.

Coconut oil pulling or activated charcoal for your mouth?

These are the latest trends that keeps popping up all over our social media feeds. We being asked on a regular basis by many of our patients and friends if it really works?!

These alternative oral hygiene products claim many things from tooth whitening to internal health benefits, even their ability to eliminate decay and gum disease. We wanted to discuss our thoughts with you from the perspective of a dental professional.

oil pulling 
Oil pulling is a technique that involves swishing oil around your mouth for around 20 minutes and is said to reduce decay and gum disease and improve dental health. Oil-pulling works through the mechanical action of the swishing removing bacteria from teeth, rather than the chemical nature of the oil itself. Whilst oil pulling is harmless and fine as a complement to an oral care routine, the oil on its own can’t stop decay and gum disease and should never replace tooth brushing, flossing and routine dental visits.

activated charcoal
In theory the activated charcoal toothpaste binds to everything in its path including tartar and bacteria, as it removes this from your teeth they will initially seem whiter and often the added perfumed oils such as peppermint can freshen your breath. In reality the course crushed charcoal can damage your tooth’s natural enamel and is potentially dangerous to your body. If you would like to whiten your smile the safest way to do so is by using a well-tested product as directed by your dentist. With over 20 years of research it has been determined that whitening with dental peroxide is completely safe. Bleaching your teeth with a dental peroxide creates an oxidation reaction making the by-product of that reaction oxygen and water.

our recommendations
We suggest that if you have any concerns or are considering trying any of these methods to discuss it with your dentist first. They are able to suggest the best products to suit your individual needs..

Here at Church St Dental we are all about Prevention! Attending regular visits to the dentist prevents toothaches and wallet aches. Lets put it into perspective, lets say you skip your 6 monthly check up and by the time you get around to coming back it has been 2 or 3 years since your last visit and you come in with a nasty toothache which can then result in paying upwards of $5000 to save that tooth. With regular preventative check-ups potential problems can be detected early and treated straight away. This approach represents the best value for money and prevention is better than a cure.

It doesn’t take very long for plaque and calculus to develop into decay, gum disease and other oral health problems. People must be aware that daily at home brushing is not sufficient enough to maintain adequate oral hygiene. It must be supplemented by professional cleaning at the dentist. Regular check ups are also essential for early warning signs that you may be unaware of including: Tooth decay, changes in the gums, underlying problems, damage or breakdown of previous dental work.

At Church St Dental we take a pro-active approach to address all potential problems before they have a chance to develop into serious conditions.

Everybody knows that brushing is important, BUT toothbrushes alone cannot get into all the gaps between your teeth where sneaky plaque can hide.

That’s where inter dental brushes also known as ‘Piksters’ come in.

Pikster’s are small rounded brushes designed to slide in and clean the spaces between teeth. It has tiny bristles on all sides that reach out and help to remove plaque in the small crevices between teeth. They have a wire core which can be bent to get to those hard to reach places right up the back! These small handy brushes can be carried in your wallet or pocket to be used in between brushing.

We recommend Pikster’s to many of our patients that would like a quicker, more convenient alternative to flossing.

There is a range of sizes available for purchase at our practice or in your local pharmacy.