Mr S came to Elmsleigh House Dental Clinic because he did not like the colour or appearance of his teeth. He saw Kit Spears for a cosmetic dental consultation to determine how he could improve his smile.
Kit listened to Mr S’ concerns and performed a thorough dental examination to determine the best treatment plan to improve his teeth. Although some teeth overlapped, this was not a major concern to Mr S
so he did not want to pursue orthodontic treatment.
Kit found his four front upper teeth had brown markings near the gum line. This was caused by demineralization, which is a precursor to tooth decay caused by plaque bacteria eroding the mineral content of the teeth. Mr S also had white fillings that were were rough around the margins and had attracted brown stains, and some wear and chipping on the biting tips of his upper front teeth.
Kit formulated a treatment plan to brighten and restore Mr S’ teeth so he could be confident in his smile.
The first step was to whiten Mr S’ teeth to get an overall improvement in their colour, although this wouldn’t improve the colour of his visible fillings. Kit took impressions of Mr S’ teeth, and whitening trays were made to fit his teeth precisely. He was shown how to apply whitening gel to the trays and fit them in place. He took home the trays and sufficient whitening gel to wear the trays for 2–3 hours a day (or overnight) until he achieved the brighter shade desired (in around 2–3 weeks).
Mr S returned to see Kit after whitening, which was very successful overall. Kit then performed ICON treatment to remove the brown markings near Mr S’ gum line. This is a minimally invasive approach, where ICON gel is applied to the affected areas to open up pores and enable penetration of the resin. This is then rinsed off and dried, and the ICON infiltrant resin applied and light-cured to remove markings from within the teeth and help to preserve teeth from additional decay. Excess resin is removed and the lightening results are instantaneous.
Kit replaced a couple of the visible stained fillings with tooth-coloured fillings matched to the colour of Mr S’ whiter teeth. He then performed edge bonding to the worn tips of his upper front teeth using tooth-coloured composite material to improve their shape and appearance.
This is an example of minimally invasive dentistry using different techniques: whitening is better than crowns or veneers; ICON is better than drilling out the marks and filling them; and edge bonding improves shape without crowns or veneers.
Mr S was very happy with the results, and continues to see Kit for regular dental check-ups and maintenance.
