IS YOUR SMILE LETTING YOU DOWN?

In our modern competitive society, a pleasing appearance often means the difference between success and failure in both our personal and professional lives.

Because the mouth is one of the focal points of the face, it should come as no surprise that the smile plays a major role in how we perceive ourselves, as well as in the impressions we make on the people around us.

If you feel good about your smile, you are much more likely to flash it on others in a pleasing and perhaps even disarming manner. A charming smile can open doors and knock down barriers that stand between you and a fuller, richer life. It's not just about whiter, straighter teeth, it's about a brighter outlook. You feel better because you look better.

If, on the other hand, you are dissatisfied with your smile, you may suffer from low self-esteem that causes you to hold back when you should be embracing life. Even if your teeth are practically textbook perfect if, in your mind's eye a slightly chipped or crooked front tooth is a facial deformity, that perception will influence both your self-image and the way you interact with others.

Malformed teeth or gums can suggest that you are different in a negative way. If you are a hermit or a confirmed social eccentric, this may not be a problem, but for most people unflattering smiles cause undue embarrasment and distress. No two mouths are exactly alike: yours is unique and so is the way you feel about it.

Are you ready for a new smile? The fact that you are reading this suggests that you are at least interested in what cosmetic dentistry has to offer. Perhaps you've wondered whether straighter, more even teeth might help you feel more confident in your professional life, or if a whiter, brighter smile might boost a flagging social life.

If you are not completely happy with your smile, perhaps it's time to get a new one! The following self-analysis will help you make that determination.

ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR COSMETIC DENTISTRY?

Why change your smile? If you're happy with it, don't! But ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you self-confident about smiling?
2. Do you ever put your hand over your mouth when you smile?
3. Do you photograph better from one side of your face?
4. Is there someone you believe has a better smile than you?
5. Do you look at magazines and wish you had a smile as pretty as the models'?
6. When you read a fashion magazine, are your eyes drawn to the model's smile?
7. When you look at your smile in the mirror, do you see any defects in your teeth or gums?
8. Do you wish your teeth were whiter?
9. Are you satisfied with the way your gums look?
10. Do you show too many or too few teeth when you smile?
11. Do you show too much or too little gum when you smile?
12. Are your teeth too long or too short?
13. Are your teeth too wide or too narrow?
14. Are your teeth too square or too round?
15. Do you like the way your teeth are shaped?

If you answered "no" to every question except 1, 9 and 15, you are content with your smile.

everybody has an opinion about their smile - their likes and dislikes as well as their wish list of wants. The concept of your smile is very much the same as the concept of your body, it is personal to yourself. Many of us have an idea or mental picture as to how we would like our smile to look.

Fortunately mordern dentistry not only provides us with better materials and technology, but ensures that today's procedures are performed with minimal discomfort and maximum safety.

Helping you to determine how to improve your smile, and how to look and feel better about yourself, are the goals of our clinic.

WHITENING/ BLEACHING

Everyday life takes its toll on our teeth. Drinking too much tea or coffee, smoking or even eating strongly coloured foods can stain and discolour them. There are toothpastes available which will help remove these stains, but they can't change the actual colour of the tooth underneath. The colour of your teeth is determined by your DNA, just like the colour of your hair or your eyes. As we get older, the dentine - the soft, pulpy substance below the enamel that protects the nerves and the blood supply to the tooth - changes colour, becoming more yellow. This is something which a stain-removing toothpaste alone cannot help.

Dentists can, though. By applying a bleaching agent to the teeth, they can whiten the teeth, giving you a sparkly white smile. This procedure is simple, harmless and practically painless.

It is important, though, to do it under your dentist's supervision. Don't be tempted to buy kits over the counter or on the Internet. Not only are they not made to fit your mouth exactly, it may be that bleaching isn't suitable for you, especially if you have gum disease or crowns.

How do we whiten teeth at Highview Dental & Facial Aesthetics Clinic?

Firstly, we ask you to attend for a consultation so that we can check that your teeth are suitable for the whitening process and that your gums are nice and healthy.

At the consultation, Dr Acheampong will confirm with you the colour that your teeth are now and will discuss with you the colour that we can achieve. If you are happy with this, he will take impressions of your upper and lower teeth to make whitening trays, which you will take home with you after the in-surgery whitening process.

At the whitening appointment, whitening gel is carefully applied to your teeth. The gel is then activated by our gentle light system: this process is repeated up to twice more before you go home with a naturally brilliant new smile.

Dr Acheampong will then give you the whitening trays that he has custom-prepared for you and some further syringes of whitening gel, which you may then continue to use at home if you wish to whiten your teeth still further.

This process achieves the longest-lasting results, gives you the most naturally brilliant and uniform look and is clinically proven to be safe and effective.

STRAIGHT TEETH FOR ADULTS & CHILDREN

Orthodontic work is possible at any age, and with braces,you can have the beautiful smile you've always wanted. Modern dentistry has made it possible to have your teeth straightened without showing a mouth full of metal.

Come and talk to us about - INVISIBLE BRACES:

Invisalign: The Invisible way to straighten your teeth without wires or brackets.

Straightening teeth in 1 or 2 surgery visits.

VENEERS

Not all of us are happy with the way our teeth look. Maybe one of them is discoloured or chipped or perhaps it's slightly crooked. Although the tooth may well be healthy, the way it looks can make us really self-conscious. Your dentist can help by applying something called a veneer.

A dental veneer is a thin layer of tooth-coloured material - usually porcelain - which the dentist attaches to the damaged or discoloured tooth. Once it's been attached, it will look just as natural as your other teeth.

Applying the veneer is a relatively simple procedure and can be done in a couple of visits to the dentist. The dentist will remove a tiny amount of the tooth's surface so that when the veneer is applied it doesn't feel bulky and a mould of your mouth so that a technician can make a veneer comfortable. They will then take an impression that will match the size and shape of the rest of your teeth. On your second visit, the newly-made veneer will be stuck on with special glue.

Veneers can also be made out of the same material that makes white fillings. Your dentist will simply apply a small amount of acid to your tooth to make it a rougher surface and then gradually add layers of filling material to get the right look for you.