Not sure how to manage your new Invisalign brace? Your top 5 FAQs answered by Aura Dental
When you are researching invisible braces online, it is easy to discover what they are used for, what they are made from and even the most affordable options.
But what is often overlooked is the day-to-day bits and pieces that many people, who are new to wearing braces, may be unfamiliar with.
While most adult orthodontic options are removable and offer more discretion than traditional metal braces, once they are in place, few people actually know how to care for them correctly. Traditional braces come with regular check-ups to assess straightening, hygienist appointments for cleaning, while offering the physical ability to see if there is an error with a bracket detaching. Not so with invisible braces!
So, when you choose Aura Dental to undertake your invisible braces, we will aim to provide you with as many day to day tips to make the transition into wearing the brace as comfortable as possible. Indeed, we are specialists when it comes to invisible braces like Invisalign in St John’s Wood and are happy and able to answer any questions that you may have about this brace.
But what are some of the day-to-day concerns that our patients have about Invisalign in St Johns Wood? Read on to find out.
Can I take them out whenever I want?
As tempting as it is to take this brace out, it is not advisable.
Of course, you can remove it to eat food, drink tea or brush your teeth but apart from that, you should aim to keep it in for 20-22 hours each day, or as often as our dentist recommends.
To fully see the benefits of Invisalign in St Johns Wood, it may be initially advisable to keep the brace in your mouth except for when it is absolutely necessary.
They look stained; how can I clean them?
These clear braces are quite easy to clean; simply run them under a lukewarm tap to remove any surface stains.
If that doesn’t work, use a soft-bristled toothbrush and a pea-sized amount of toothpaste to gently clean the area. Do not use hot water or mouthwash, as these can damage the plastic.
How long will I need to wear each aligner for?
This depends on how many aligners you have, the severity of your misalignment and how often our dentist recommends changing the aligners. You should expect to change the trays every 2 weeks but talk to our team for more personalised advice.
My tongue is sore- is it related to the brace?
If you are new to wearing this brace, you may develop some sore spots around your mouth.
Ask our team for some dental wax to soften the harsh edges of the aligner until they naturally soften.
When will I start to see results?
Again, this will vary. Many of our patients see a change in their dental alignment within the first 2 weeks of wearing invisible braces. If you have concerns about lack of movement, talk to our team.
How can a dentist prevent migraine headaches? A brief guide from Aura Dental
A condition that affects up to 1 million people per year in the UK, migraine headaches are anything but a minor health concern.
Characterised by visual auras, feelings of nausea followed by an intense headache, this neurological condition can be devastating to functioning adults. While there are many underlying causes associated with migraines such as low serotonin levels, mental health concerns and even genetic components, there are many environmental factors which can cause them to occur more frequently.
Why are migraines being discussed in a dental article? Because one of the leading causes of recurrent migraines is dental issues.
If you frequently suffer from migraine headaches with little to no relief from medication provided by your doctor, come and see our dentist in St Johns Wood for an assessment. We will examine whether your migraines are caused or exacerbated by your teeth and will offer you a solution, if we determine a link between the two. Perfect!
But what are some of the dental issues that can lead to migraines or even tension headaches? Read on to find out.
Grinding
Usually occurring at night, grinding typically occurs when there is a misalignment of the molars.
As you sleep, your jaw muscles relax and the lower jaw can fall back. If your teeth are not correctly aligned, this can cause you to grind your teeth together.
After a night of this, you may wake up with a stiff neck and shoulders which can cause a migraine to develop. If you regularly experience headaches in the morning, talk to our dentist in St Johns Wood about having a nightguard fitted in order to eliminate grinding.
Occlusion
Similar to grinding, occlusion occurs when your teeth do not ‘sit’ correctly when your mouth is closed.
This can lead to abnormal muscle movements when you are eating food or talking. Like grinding, this can cause your muscles to pull and become sore, putting you at a higher risk of developing a migraine. If you think you have an occlusion issue, contact our dentist in St Johns Wood to discuss potential orthodontic treatments.
Temporomandibular joint disorder
A disorder that impacts on the movement of muscles in your jaw, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) has been linked to recurrent migraines.
Our team at Aura Dental will assess the severity of TMJ by feeling the muscles in your jaw as you open and close your mouth. Depending on the severity, we may recommend exercises to relax the tense muscles or we may even suggest visiting a physical therapist.
Missing teeth
If you have recently had an extraction and are now experiencing migraines, this is once again caused by an issue with your bite alignment.
We can treat this by fitting a prosthetic such as a bridge, partial denture or dental implant.
Decay
Technically, this is known as referred pain.
If you have untreated tooth decay, this can cause pain to occur in your ears, head or neck. If you haven’t had a check-up in a while, contact our team for one today.
Does wearing braces have to be so obvious? A guide to our adult aligners at Aura Dental
Do you remember a time when having orthodontic treatment would equate to wearing metal aligners?
Not so any more! Surprisingly, in modern times, orthodontic treatments have changed so dramatically that even adults who have slightly misaligned teeth are seeking them out. As this field of dentistry has advanced, the need for metal aligners has reduced and it is now possible to get a straighter smile using either a clear or invisible aligner.
At Aura Dental, we have a myriad of different braces in St. Johns Wood for you to choose from. Specially selected by our orthodontists and cosmetic dental team, we will ensure that the aligner you wear is as discreet as possible and will be provided in the fastest timeframe possible, allowing you to get on with your day to day life without too many dental appointments. Perfect!
But what are some of the braces in St Johns Wood that we can offer you at Aura Dental?
Invisalign
As the most well-known of all the invisible aligners we offer, Invisalign is one of our most popular braces in St Johns Wood.
Custom-fitted to slot over your teeth, this set of clear trays gently applies pressure to your teeth without the need for tightening, giving you the smile you want in 6 months (on average).
Six Month Smiles
One of our pure cosmetic aligners, Six Month Smiles is attached to the front 6 teeth in your mouth and is designed to improve the aesthetics of your smile. This popular option is not suited for moving molars or more advanced orthodontic cases, but it can straighten minor misalignments in 6 months or less (it’s in the name!).
Inman Aligners
A clear aligner, the Inman aligner uses clear plastic and titanium coil springs to gently push your teeth into the desired alignment.
Ideal as a stand-alone treatment or as an option for straightening teeth before cosmetic options, this aligner is removable and offers a turnaround time of around 6 months, depending on the severity of the misalignment.
Lingual Aligners
Fixed to the inside of the teeth, Lingual aligners are a suitable option for those who have more severe cases of misalignment but don’t want to wear the regular orthodontic aligner.
By tightening and adjusting to create the sedated effect, this option is discreet and easy to use but offers treatment time of 24 months.
Damon Aligners
Damon aligners are a fitted brace which utilises clear, plastic brackets and a thin wire to gently push your teeth.
Suitable for more complex cases, this aligner will require tightening but is exceedingly fast, with an average treatment time of 12 to 18 months.
Retainers!
Once you have completed your orthodontic treatment with our team at Aura Dental, it is essential that you wear a retainer to prevent relapsing.
Our team can offer a standard, orthodontic retainer which is removable, or we can offer a Vivera retainer, which is 30% stronger than standard options, ensuring that your teeth don’t fall out of line.
Wisdom teeth erupting and causing discomfort? 5 reasons to see our dentist at Aura Dental
When you lost your baby teeth at 7-11 years of age, you may have thought it would be the last time you would have to go through the ordeal of having new teeth erupting.
Sadly, you may have been wrong!
A condition that affects almost everyone between the ages of 15-25 is the eruption of wisdom teeth. Also known as the third molars, these are the last set of teeth to come in and, understandably, can cause a bit of discomfort. If you are concerned that your wisdom teeth may be coming through at an odd angle or they are causing you issues when opening your mouth, contact our team at Aura Dental.
At Aura Dental, we know all about the complications that wisdom teeth can cause and our dentist in St Johns Wood will be able to assess the best way to treat your newly erupting teeth. If your mouth can happily accommodate them, we may choose to let them come through naturally and offer you pain relief for the discomfort. If there isn’t enough room or there are secondary issues, we may opt for extraction.
But what are some of the secondary issues that wisdom teeth can cause? Our dentist in St Johns Wood provides the answer to that question below.
Impaction
Perhaps the most common complication that wisdom teeth can cause is an impaction.
Caused by the tooth erupting at a crooked angle, this can create pressure on any surrounding molars, leaving you with a feeling of pressure and soreness in your jaw bone.
If our dentist in St Johns Wood notices that you have an impacted wisdom tooth (usually following an X-Ray), we will opt to extract it to prevent further damage.
Infection
Another common condition associated with wisdom teeth is infection.
While some wisdom teeth develop infected roots, others become infected at the site where they have erupted. As there is often a gap between the newly cut wisdom tooth and the surrounding gum, this is the perfect place for bacteria to become trapped.
If your wisdom tooth is infected, our team will aim to remove it and treat the infection with antibiotics.
Secondary damage
A wisdom tooth can press against the roots of surrounding molars, causing them to crack and become damaged.
While this may not be visible on the surface, our team at Aura Dental will always perform an X-Ray when wisdom teeth are emerging, allowing us to assess whether they require extracting.
Periodontal issues
Swelling, gaps and bacteria can all cause gum or periodontal disease and when it comes to wisdom teeth, they are no exception to this general dental rule.
Periodontal issues often occur alongside the eruption of wisdom teeth and we will aim to resolve these issues before attempting to extract the offending tooth or teeth.
Discomfort
Tooth eruption is quite uncomfortable. As mentioned earlier, if we determine that you have sufficient space in your mouth for your wisdom teeth to erupt, we will offer you pain relief in the interim. Simple!
Fixing malocclusions with Invisalign in St.John’s Wood
At Aura Dental we know that looking your best will help you feel your best and give you the confidence to step out into the world with a smile that wins over hearts and minds. Orthodontics has been shown to transform a shy hidden smile into a confident glowing one. While many people know about the amazing effects and benefits of the Invisalign orthodontic treatment for discreetly straightening teeth, some of you may not know that we can use this therapy to treat malocclusions too. By correcting the bite, we not only fix the teeth but can also subtly change the facial structure with Invisalign in St. John’s Wood.
What are malocclusions?
To put it simply, malocclusions are problems with the bite of your mouth. Ideally, the top and bottom rows of teeth should sit neatly on top of one another without any gaps, but often this is not the case, there are many different types of bite issues that people have:
Overbite: This is when the front of the top row of teeth sit slightly over the bottom row, many people have a mild case of overbite which doesn’t really affect how the face looks, but in more rare cases this can be quite severe, with the bottom jaw receding much further back than it should, causing breathing issues and possibly elongated front teeth. It is important to note that while Invisalign in St. John’s Wood can help correct slight overbite issues, there more severe cases will need more intensive orthodontics.
Underbite: the opposite to overbite, an underbite is when the bottom row of teeth jut forward slightly and sit further out than the top row of teeth causing the tops teeth to fall behind the bottom. This causes a very awkward smile for those suffering from this malocclusion. People with severe underbites will have a forward jutting jaw which is very apparent both from the side profile and the front and may need more intensive orthodontic treatment for a while before Invisalign can be implemented.
Openbite: this occurs when someone bites down and there are still gaps between the top and bottom rows of teeth, this occurs when the rows of teeth slant outward slightly and require orthodontics to pull them back.
Cross bite: while the other issues we have explained are all vertical, a cross bite occurs when there are issues laterally with the teeth, when the molars especially slant either more towards the cheeks or the tongue instead of upwards as they should.
How can Invisalign treat malocclusions?
While shifting teeth into alignment is relatively straight forward, moving the bite takes a more advanced knowledge but with Invisalign in St. John’s Wood our experienced dentists can place small tooth-coloured buttons on your teeth that the aligners can interact with, thus applying more pressure to the teeth to push them into position and fixing more malocclusion cases than was ever before possible with this treatment. It may take a little more time to correct these issues but you will still be able to enjoy the benefit of an invisible treatment plan that Invisalign is so famous for and who knows, as technology advances, this may one day be the only thing people need to fix any orthodontic problem.
Your biggest concerns laid to rest at a dentist in St. John’s Wood
When it comes to general dentistry there are three things that many people could be worried about; Extractions, fillings and root canal therapy. Many dentists don’t understand why people are so afraid as they never perform surgery without completely numbing a patient’s mouth first. At Aura Dental we know that part of the problem is not knowing what to expect and not knowing what happens after because, of course, we cannot see what the dentist in St. John’s Wood is doing in our mouths. In this article, we hope to provide some explanation for these common procedures so that you can go into your appointment with knowledge instead of fear.
Fillings
Holes in the teeth are often caused by poor diet or poor oral care Sugary and acidic foods degrade the state of the protective enamel on the teeth and eventually cause small holes in or between the teeth. Not flossing regularly can also leave food particles between the teeth which then begin to create holes in the tooth. This is where fillings come in, before that hole exposes the tooth to a big infection, we need to fill it for you.
This is a procedure we do just about every day at the dentist in St. John’s Wood. First we numb the side of the face that needs work by blocking the nerve that feeds that particular area. Once the local anaesthetic has taken effect we will drill into the hole in order to make sure the cavity is free from infection and shape the hole in order to properly fill it. Once this area is clean, we insert a composite bonding material (this is a tooth coloured synthetic substance as metal amalgam fillings are no longer used). Once the area is full of bonding material, we shape it in order to fill and construct the area of the tooth we drilled away and then use a light to harden the material.
Root canal
Root canal therapy is needed when there is an infection in the pulp of the tooth. This infection will be causing you an extreme amount of pain and getting the treatment means taking your pain away, not giving you more. We need to clean out the infected pulp before it rots the whole tooth, in order to do this we will have to drill away the top middle section of the tooth to gain access. Once the pulp is exposed we wash it all out and fill the tooth once more with a synthetic substance and cap the tooth off with a crown. It really is as simple as that, but if you don’t get it done, we will eventually need to pull that tooth out.
Tooth extractions
If a tooth does become rotten or severely injured, it will need to come out before infection has spread to the surrounding teeth. Like with all surgical treatments we will block the nerve going to your mouth so that the dentist in St. John’s Wood can work on you pain-free. The tooth in question is likely to be quite degraded and will probably break under pressure so we may take it out in sections and then clean the gum and socket properly before stitching you up. An option to replace the tooth will likely be discussed with you before the extraction.
A note on wisdom teeth – this surgery is often done under sedation or general anaesthetic and you will not feel or remember anything. Wisdom teeth do not need to be replaced as they are not necessary and cannot be seen as they grow right in the back of your mouth.
Choosing the right braces in St. John’s wood
With orthodontics at Aura Dental, you are spoiled for choice when it comes to picking out the right kind of braces in St. John’s Wood. We have so many different kinds to treat different problems and budgets that it really is your one-stop practice for this kind of treatment. From teens to working professionals, there is a brace out there that’s right for you and in-depth consultation for orthodontics with our highly trained dentists can set you on the right path to a straighter and more beautiful smile. We have traditional braces, clear aligners and many other kinds of devices that you might not even know exist, which is what we hope to explain in this article. Technology has come such a long way in recent years so there has never been a better time to seek orthodontic care.
Types of Braces in St. John’s Wood
Whether you are in school, a student or even an adult with an office job or thriving business, it’s never too early or too late to fix crooked teeth and malocclusions. Straighter teeth have proven to be easier to clean and therefore you can look forward to having a healthier mouth, not to mention a more beautiful smile which holds the secrets to the laws of attraction. Well at least it will certainly help, just like these types of braces can help fix your teeth:
Lingual Braces – a different take on traditional braces, lingual braces use brackets that are fixed to the back of the teeth instead of the front of the teeth like traditional braces. A wire is then threaded through these brackets and different tensions are applied in order to pull the teeth into position. Like with traditional braces, lingual braces can be used to pull a stray tooth into place in a way that clear aligners might not manage, but by being set on the back of the teeth, lingual braces in St. John’s Wood still offers a reasonable amount of discretion.
Invisalign – the favourite child of the orthodontic world, Invisalign offers state of the art technology for straighter teeth sooner than with traditional braces and with far more discretion. In fact, these clear aligners are just about invisible when worn and can even make your teeth look shiner while wearing them because of the bright clear plastic. The technology used to custom create this system for you is like none other, with painless scans that allow a computer to 3D print your aligners so you can get an exact and snug fit each time. Depending on how complicated your teeth are to begin with will determine how long you need to use the aligners for, people with mildly crooked teeth can see results in just a few weeks while the more complicated cases may take 6-9 months.
Inman Aligners – this is probably the quickest way to fix the front ‘social’ teeth. In just a matter of weeks the unique Inman aligner both pushes and pulls the teeth into position at the same time by wedging them between two thin wires which are placed under tension in order to close any gaps, fix forward protruding teeth and correct crookedness.
These are the 3 main solutions we offer patients for their orthodontic issues however, there are at least 4 more options for you to discuss with our dentists before choosing what’s best for you, we also offer a range of retainers which will help you keep the shape of your newly fixed teeth for years to come.
Taking care of the littlest members of the family at a dentist in St. Johns Wood
Adults are often the target of oral care advertising. Whether it’s a new whitening toothpaste or discreet orthodontics, there are thousands of articles and ads out there to get you to buy into one treatment or another. This makes sense seeing as small children are not likely to be the target audience of a blog article, however, this does not mean that there isn’t a wide variety of treatment options available for your little ones that will benefit their oral care now and in the future. At Aura Dental, your dentist in St. John’s Wood, we want to give your kids premium treatment, whether they just come for a ride in the chair and a little inspection or they are at the stage where we can do fissure sealant on their teeth, they are never too young to see the dentist.
The importance of early visits
Creating good habits early in childhood can help ensure that these habits are continued into adulthood, from correct tooth cleaning to regular dental visits, you can teach your children that oral health is a vital part of their existence and this mindset can be instilled at a very young age. Children as young as 2 years old can come for a ride in the chair in order to help them feel that a trip to the dentist is fun rather than scary, we create an environment for kids that they feel comfortable with and start to build a relationship from them when they’re young that we hope can continue well into their adolescence and adulthood.
Removing stigma and fear before it has a chance to set in is another part of raising kids to feel comfortable with the dentist in St. John’s Wood. By ensuring that their early appointments are positive ones, we can guarantee that when they are faced with someone that tells them the dentist is scary, they will be able to respond for themselves that it simply isn’t true.
Treatments for kids
While bringing children up to love the dentist in St. John’s Wood is important, so is the actual care of their teeth, which is why there are treatments available just for kids to ensure the health and strength of their teeth as they grow up.
Fluoride treatments – unfortunately, children can get cavities too, especially if they are regularly consuming sugary foods and drinks. Their soft young teeth are vulnerable to cavities and that pain isn’t pleasant. But we can paint a fluoride varnish onto teeth as soon as they have grown (yes, this includes baby teeth) in order to protect them from harmful foods. This treatment can be done with each regular bi-annual or quarterly trip to the dentist.
Fissure sealants – further protection to children’s teeth come in the form of a fissure sealant. This is like a glue that we insert onto the tops of the back teeth which seals them off as they are growing in order to stop food from collecting inside the back teeth.
Orthodontic monitoring – did you know that children as young as 6 or 7 can get orthodontic appliances to help guide the growth of the teeth into the correct position, bu monitoring the growth of your kid’s teeth over the years and through the use of X-rays we are able to predict any orthodontic issues that may present themselves and fix them earlier rather than later.
Crowded teeth and Invisalign in St. John’s Wood
Invisalign has transformed tens of thousands of smiles around the world and can treat just about any orthodontic problem effectively, however, those with crowded teeth may need a little extra dental work in order for the treatment to have the effect you are hoping for. This is why Invisalign in St. John’s Wood should be your go-to for a clear aligner system rather than the systems you may see online that can be created simply from an impression you take of your teeth at home. At Aura Dental we can ensure that your teeth are correctly prepared for the best possible results that can be expected from clear aligners, in fact, we will even be able to show you a simulation of those predicted results at your first consultation with us so that you know what to expect before treatment even begins.
The Invisalign system
All treatments for Invisalign in St. John’s Wood begin the same way; with a professional consultation with one of our dentists who will be able to determine if you are a good candidate for treatment. If they give the go-ahead then a painless 3D scan will be taken of your teeth and the information uploaded to a computer which then creates a 3D image of your mouth. A very clever algorithm will calculate and simulate how your teeth will be expected to shift over time and give the dentist the information they need to progress with your personal treatment plan.
Those with overcrowded teeth will require one extra step in their treatment plan in order for it to be as effective as the simulation suggests and this is Interproximal Reduction (IPR)
What is IPR?
This is a technique used to prepare crowded teeth and make a tiny space between them so that they are able to shift accordingly. The technique involves gently filing away bits of tooth enamel between certain overcrowded teeth in order to to create more space. A very thin flexible strip of material similar to sandpaper is used to do this and it takes away very small amounts of outer enamel in order to help shift the teeth. This may sound scary but healthy teeth have about 2.5mm of enamel surrounding them and we will only remove about 0.2mm – 0.3 mmm of that, so the dentin of your teeth will still remain safely encased in a layer of enamel.
Business as usual
Once this extra step for overcrowded teeth is complete it’s business as usual with Invisalign in St. John’s Wood, the information we collect on your newly filed and scanned teeth will be sent to a lab where your clear aligners will be custom created. Once those aligners have been made and sent to us you will be able to collect them with instructions from your dentist on how and when to wear them (usually no less than 22hrs per day), how often to change them and how to clean them in order to prevent any plaque buildup.
Replacing missing or broken teeth at a dentist in St. John’s Wood
If you have broken or missing teeth it can chip away at your confidence over time, particularly if there is a gap in your smile. There are also some physical implications from having missing teeth, eating and chewing may well become difficult but did you know that a missing tooth will directly lead to bone loss in the jaw? At Aura Dental we understand all the implications of having broken or missing teeth and our dentist in St.John’s Wood would like to restore them to their former glory so that you can get your oral health and self-esteem back on top form.
Chipped teeth
Composite bonding – a chipped tooth can easily be fixed in a single and affordable appointment with a composite bonding treatment. The dentist in St. John’s Wood will carefully select a bonding material that exactly matched your other teeth and then place it over the chipped area of the tooth then shape and sculpt it until it resembles a restored tooth. Once you are happy with the final result, we will then use a special light to harden the material and your tooth will be fully restored.
Veneers – for a bigger chip or a tooth that has broken off but still remains structurally sound at the root, we can use a porcelain veneer to cover up the whole tooth. This veneer will be created in house to look exactly like your other teeth in size, shape, colour and transparency and will be permanently bonded to the broken tooth which may be filed down to size.
Broken or cracked teeth
Crowns – A tooth that has been broken or cracked down the middle but is still strongly connected to the root which is still firmly in place, may be held together with a special porcelain crown. A crown is sort of like a cap that is placed over the tooth and this is commonly used for molars which have been cracked. Once a dentist has ensured that no infection has got into the crack, they will seal it up and place a tooth coloured porcelain crown over top to hold it all in place.
Missing teeth
Bridges – if a tooth has completely come out due to injury or decay and can not be replaced, a dentist in St. John’s Wood may be able to close the gap with a tooth bridge, this is a set of false teeth which are custom created to fit in your gap. On each side of these teeth are crowns which are secured onto the teeth that exist on each side of the gap, these teeth will need to be filed down slightly in order to snugly fit into the crowns but once the bridge is fixed in place the dental arch will be restored once more.
Dental Implants – this requires some major surgery but is the best option for a single or multiple missing teeth as the titanium used in the implant will continue to support the bone structure for the rest of your life. A false tooth or bridge of false teeth will be fixed to an abutment which is set into the implant thus restoring your smile.
