Ms W had an accident as a child, which damaged her upper front two teeth. Over time her upper right tooth became loose and needed to be replaced. Ms W also wanted to improve the alignment of her lower teeth.
Ms W first saw Hugh Cowley, one of the dental implant dentists at Elmsleigh House, for a thorough assessment and consultation. Hugh put together a bespoke treatment plan, to replace her loose front tooth with a dental implant, fit a temporary false tooth during healing, refer her to dentist Cathleen Perrin for a consultation regarding Cfast® cosmetic braces to align her lower teeth, whitening, cosmetic bonding and then fitting her implant crown and a replacement crown on her other front tooth to match her brightened teeth.
Hugh extracted the loose upper front tooth and placed a titanium dental implant. This is essentially a ‘bionic root’, where a small titanium screw is placed and integrates with the jawbone, actively preventing bone loss.
It provides a stable anchor for an implant-retained crown when healed; a temporary denture was fitted to avoid a gap during healing.
Ms W then saw Cathleen Perrin for a free faster orthodontic consultation to discuss her options to align her lower teeth. Cathleen determined that faster teeth straightening using the anterior alignment system Cfast® would be suitable to move her lower front teeth into position.
Cathleen took impressions of Ms W’s lower teeth, which were sent to the Cfast laboratory. She then returned to see Cathleen, who fitted her Cfast clear orthodontic brackets onto Ms W’s lower teeth, which were connected with a nickel-titanium wire. This exerts gentle pressure to move the front teeth into position, usually in around 4–9 months.
Ms W saw Cathleen for monthly reviews and tightening adjustments, and after just 5 months her teeth had moved into their realigned position. Her brackets were removed and a fixed retainer fitted behind her lower teeth and a removable retainer made to hold her teeth in place.
Cathleen then made bespoke whitening trays to fit Ms W’s teeth precisely. Ms W was shown how to apply whitening gel to the trays and fit them in place, and took them home to apply the gel and wear for 2–4 hours a day (or overnight) until she achieved the brighter shade desired, in around 2–3 weeks.
Hugh checked healing of the dental implant during and after Cfast treatment, and determined this had integrated and healed. Cathleen placed a dental implant crown onto the implant and a replacement crown on her other damaged upper front tooth, which were made to match the colour of her newly whitened teeth as well as the translucency and shape of her other teeth. As Ms W was delighted with how these looked, they were securely attached in place.
Cathleen then performed some minor cosmetic edge bonding and recontouring to improve the final look and symmetry of Ms W’s smile, and Ms W is “delighted with the result”.
This is an example of an implant to restore a damaged tooth and an ABC approach to treatment: Align the teeth first; Brighten them if desired; Contour them for symmetry if needed.
Ms W continues to see Cathleen Perrin and our hygiene team to maintain her oral health.
