So why am I asking this?

Obviously because I have done root canal filling twice already despite my “young” age.  By the time the dentist told me that it can not be avoided, I just accepted her opinion and received root canal fillings. But now I hear more and more about avoiding the root canal procedure as long as it is possible. Maybe my root canal retreatment was not such a good idea after all?

Here are some facts:

• What is a root canal? A dental root canal is the space within the root of a tooth that consists of the pulp chamber.

• Why is this root canal surgery needed? In case you develop some kind of root canal symptoms such as great pain upon chewing, sensitivity to cold or warm, tenderness or swelling or pimple on the gum, you might need to undergo the root canal process as it can be a sign for a tooth root infection.

• What is root canal treatment? In case of root canal problems, the procedure involves removing inflamed or damaged tissue from inside a tooth and cleaning, filling and sealing the remaining space with a material that prevents bacteria from re-entering. At the next appointment, the temporary filling will be replaced with a permanent filling or crown. This “beautiful” tool is used for pulp removal:

• Does a root canal hurt? In case the dental root canal treatment is performed carefully, you’ll only suffer pain from local anesthetic injection before the procedure.

• How much is root canal therapy? The cost of root canal treatment is usually higher than an ordinary tooth filling because the dentist only uses a temporary filling after the tooth root removal, and after some weeks of a healing period, the tooth must be filled with some final composite material. In general we can say that the root canal treatment cost is approx. the double of what an ordinary filling would cost. A lot of people think that the root canal price is high like hell, but it is relieving to know that the “frightening” root canal costs less than we first would think at least.

They claim that this one is a neat picture of a human pulp, but I just find it nasty.

This is a discolored front tooth after the root canal.

You shouldn’t have any problem finding a good root canal specialist in London, as there are so many of them there, although the root canal prices may vary on a larger scale. Root canal dentistry is not a special department, it can be performed by any dentist really, you won’t need to look for a “root canal dentist” or a “root canal specialist”.

So here is what I think: A tooth without its pulp is like a tree without its roots that eventually darkens and dries out. Now I am even more confused and scared. What have I done? Am I exposed to all those root canal complications now? I am scared despite the dentists claim that although the pulp is removed, the tooth remains alive, nourished by surrounding bond and gum tissues. Well-well, we’ll see about that.

Have you ever had a root canal? Do you have any recommendations on where to have the root canal treatment procedure done in London?

Have you experienced any discoloration of the tooth? Did you ever needed to replace the tooth canal filling due to unexpected root canal pain?

Yeah, this is my big concern after everything I had recently found out about dental bonding.

Dental bonding procedure is used for restoration of broken, chipped or miss-shaped teeth, using a composite tooth-colored material, which can be stuck or bonded directly onto the tooth surface. This is often called composite bonding procedure because of the material that is used.

The dental bonding cost might vary depending on where you live, but generally it is from £30 to £400 per tooth in UK. I suggest you to check with your dental insurance company (if you have one) to find out if this procedure is covered or not.

Bonded teeth do not seem to require any special care. They say that you should simply follow good oral hygiene practices.

But still I wonder, is the bonding material strong enough to hold when I bite into a hard and juicy apple? How come that we do not hear so much about teeth bonding yet? Why are dentists not offering that solution more often?

When I first read about lumineers, my first thought was that it was some kind of a deep religious sect, or a bunch of wizards making all kind of tricks and magic with their wands. I read some of the lumineers reviews out there, and found out this:

A lumineer is an ultra-thin (approximately 0.2 mm) and highly translucent porcelain veneer that replicates the natural appearance of the enamel. They are so thin that little to no tooth reduction is necessary when installing them on your teeth.

It is surprisingly a pain-free way to reshape and permanently whiten your teeth, and there is usually no post placement discomfort or sensitivity occurring.

These dental lumineers cost quite a bit as most dental insurance providers will not cover the costs of such procedures.  I found places and prices using the “Lumineers UK”, “Lumineers cost UK” and “Lumineers London” search terms in Google, and realized that most of the prices are given as “On request”, but generally I found prices around € 1.000 for each lumineer. I guess this price can be much lower per tooth if you are buying a whole set of them.

The installation process takes only 2 visits to your dentist, in which the lumineers are bonded to the facial (front) surface of the teeth, making the process totally reversible as the dentist is not grinding or filing down any tooth enamel. They seem to be durable too, they last over 20 years!!! This is what they say at least…

I am pretty skeptical by the way, how come that a 0.2 mm thin glued shell can take more than my own teeth? And what about the top part that goes right under the meat around the tooth? Would it not get irritated, or get inflammation eventually? What if my body won’t accept the material?

I know. I ask silly questions and I worry maybe a bit too much, but I need to know everything about everything. otherwise I don’t feel that I am in total control.

Do you have lumineers installed in your mouth? If yes, was it really painless when bonding them on? Did you feel discomfort or strange after the installation was ready? Did they feel like your teeth got bigger in your mouth?

People don’t talk about their sensitive teeth. What’s even worse, they do not do much about it. There are so many of us suffering from this, I never thought that sensitive teeth causes discomfort and pain for my close family members. Why are people suffer and not talk to someone about their problem?

I used to have quite a miserable life for a short period. My teeth became sensitive to food, cold or warm beverages and the meat around some of my teeth suffered from inflammation.  This basically happened after I got crowns for two of my teeth at the same time.

Having them filed for a week and living a normal life was such a pain for me. I hoped that after I receive my crowns, the pain would disappear instantly. I was wrong. having these very sensitive teeth, ruined my daily life. I could not eat or smile.

Then I decided to search the Internet (as I am addicted to all kind of dental news anyways), and learned a lot, facts and sensitive tooth remedies (even home remedies) that I couldn’t imagine before. In one of my previous posts you can read about some of my experiences about sensitive teeth treatment.

Having sensitive teeth after filling is not unusual either, usually the filling makes tooth sensitive to heat or cold, but normally the sensitivity disappears after some weeks.

As teeth whitening could lead to sensitive teeth too, I am not sure that I would let my teeth getting bleached ever.

This is what I do to cure and to avoid getting sensitive teeth again. I have spread this information across my family and friends, and some of them had already said that it worked for him/her. I give you the product names I use as well. (I am not sure if this counts as advertisement, but I am satisfied with them.)

• I floss after every meal.

• I use a toothpaste that contains both fluor and vitamine A.

•  I brush my teeth twice a day (morning and evening) using my ultra soft toothbrush. During the day I rely on dental floss.

• I rinse with a mouth water especially made for sensitive teeth.

I had wondered a lot about the causes of sensitive teeth, and came to a point to realize that any kind of dental intervention can make your teeth sensitive. Before the dentist fills your tooth, some drilling is necessary and with that your tooth is damaged, some nerves may get disclosed, and no matter that they fill it immediately, you find yourself worrying: - Why is my tooth sensitive to cold or heat?

But you should remember, most of the time, there is a cure for sensitive teeth, no matter how much you already given up hope. In case my advices don’t help, you should go and see a dentist, I am pretty sure that the causes of your condition is most likely treatable or at least manageable throughout your life.

Do you have experiences with sensitive teeth remedies? Please, share them!

Some years ago, after I got one of my teeth filled, still sitting in the dentist’s chair I happen to ask my dentist about teeth straightening possibilities in my age. I have crowded teeth that makes cleaning them difficult, and I have an overbite too . She told me immediately that it would be quite a big risk taking as she can not guarantee that the jawbones would harden again around the teeth roots, after making them soft with this treatment, and I risk to loose all of my teeth. Wow! This statement of hers scared me big time. So I kinda’ accepted my situation, I understood that I had to live with my crowded teeth for the rest of my life…

I wish that my parents took care of my teeth better when I was a kid, before my jaw bones hardened, and I wish they took me to the dentist for getting braces. I guess that teeth straightening cost too much for them at that time, or they did not even think about it. The other thing is that I still can remember, it was a shame having those braces when we were young, everyone laughed at kids who had those. This is probably the reason why adults in my age have such uneven and crowded teeth. I believe that it is a shame!

Having braces nowadays is socially more acceptable method for straightening teeth for teenagers, but some of them feel uncomfortable wearing them, but as I realize it, it became some kind of a status symbol or it is just cool wearing these very visible braces. So I guess it won’t be any problem getting my children braces.

A cool example for straightening teeth without braces is Invisalign aligners:

But I still wonder: do I still risk that I loose all of my teeth as this makes my teeth loose in my jawbones during the straightening procedure?

I knew that this day sooner or later I would end up here, having this huge decision to make. Shall I choose the wisdom tooth removal procedure or not?

I have had problems with my wisdom teeth for a long time now, generally I would say since I became 25 years old. I am not sure if this was the time I got wise (hehe), but by that time my wisdom teeth started to grow out of nothing, giving me huge wisdom tooth pain. I was in pain, my jaws hurt and I experienced sharp pain in the meat around the wisdom tooth that was in the growing process at that time.

By that time I was desperately seeking for some natural wisdom tooth pain relief, but I always ended up using mouth rinse water with some kind of local pain killer effect. Having wisdom teeth pain was ruining my days big time to be honest, I was unable to eat or even talk. I was desperate to find pain relief. I knew that these were typical wisdom tooth symptoms, but I was so afraid of going to the dentist!

I have read that poor alignment of wisdom teeth can crowd or damage adjacent teeth, the jawbone, or even the nerves! Partially erupted wisdom teeth can also lead to tooth decay and gum disease because their hard-to-reach location makes brushing and flossing difficult. This freaks me out totally! I Googled on some pictures to, I.AM.IN.SHOCK. LITERALLY!

The other thing that upsets me is the unwanted outcomes of the wisdom teeth removal. I am so stupid, I shouldn’t have searched on this topic at all. Swollen cheeks, broken wisdom teeth during surgery is very common and they lead to more complicated surgical procedures, but damages of the jaw bone, nerve and tissue damages can happen too.  What if I choose the wisdom tooth extraction and I suffer nerve damages, making me unable to chew or talk properly for the rest of my life????? Or if the wisdom teeth extraction gives me a hole in my cheek? Surprisingly I read about that too…. Oh, man.

A single wisdom tooth extraction cost more than a normal tooth extraction, because it needs special preparations and it is done in a surgical seat involving at least 2-3 persons (dentists, nurses) at a time in order to be able to prepare for some unwanted events, such as bleeding or any kind of extraction difficulties. So that is why the cost of wisdom teeth removal is higher and the operation must be planned carefully in advance.

A year ago the meat around my wisdom teeth became white and irritated. It seemed to be in the way every time I closed my mouth. SO that is why my dentist offered to remove them. But I am hesitating. And I so can tell you that it is not the wisdom teeth removal cost that is stopping me. It is the risks. Would you take these risks? Do you usually look for the risks of a medicine or a surgery?

I must say that I was amazed first when I read about hi-tech solutions in dentistry. I thought that I might actually a part of a science fiction movie. Inn addition to veneers I would like you to find out about CEREC Technology too!

The term CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetics Ceramics, and using the latest CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/ Computer Aided Machinery) technology, so dentists are able to create crowns and veneers with amazing precision thanks to the revolutionary 3D imaging that is used to make an optical impression of your teeth. OK. This sounds a bit scientific, right?

This is how it is done:

• For the best optical impression, your tooth is painted with a non-toxic titanium dioxide powder before the scan.

• Once the patient’s mouth is scanned, the CEREC milling machine is able to create the Cerec veneers within 20 minutes using high-speed diamond burs, instead of having to wait several days to have the work done by a technician outside of the doctor’s office.

Pretty impressive, huh?

The result is an amazing, properly fitting and colored dental restoration that looks like your natural teeth or just as you wished for. When the restoration is completed, it will be permanently bonded to your tooth. The CEREC made porcelain veneer will last as long as any other porcelain restoration.

Using this technology patients are in need of crown or veneer replacements can have the entire procedure done in just one visit at the dentist and the amount of injections and drilling is reduced too.

Patients who have had their teeth covered with cerec veneers are usually very satisfied with the results and the price of Cerec veneers is usually lower than the price of porcelain veneers as the production process is usually both faster and easier. Cerec veneers cost can vary from as little as £300 up to £700+ per tooth. The time required for making the preparations, manufacturing and installing a CEREC veneer is approximately 4 hours.

All I can tell, I would go for these! Pretty amazing! Have you ever seen this machine in real life?

Wow! Is this possible? YES! With something that is called composite veneers!

I have already mentioned veneers in general, so you probably already know that when a thin shell is applied to a tooth after a layer of enamel has been removed, the new layer that is put in place by the dentist is called an instant veneer. These shells can be made of made of porcelain- and composite materials as well. Composite veneers are fabricated inside the mouth by the cosmetic dentist, while porcelain veneers are produced at a dental laboratory by a technician and then put in place by the dentist.

This is the view I hate .

Composite veneers often are called “composite resin veneers”, where resin is nothing more than a filling material that resembles the color of your teeth, or a bit brighter in order to hiding present stains on teeth. This plastic like material can be used to hide fillings as well, and can be further manipulated to cover over a tooth, creating veneers and giving your teeth a whole new look.

Composite veneer installation is often completed in one dental visit, where the “in chair” time is around 3 hours, depending on the amount of work required mostly for the preparation.

On the other hand, composite veneers are approx. 20 % cheaper than their porcelain variants, and are often covered by insurance with a patient paying up to 80% off the total cost.

Composite veneers are generally used for smaller problems, like minor gaps or tooth chips, and they are not suitable for entire smile makeovers as they lack the translucent properties of porcelain which provides a natural look. Composite veneers tend to last for only a couple of years, where after they will have to be removed and a new set of veneers has to be installed for further costs.

Unlike porcelain veneers, composite veneers are not stain resistant and they need frequent maintenance. So choose carefully, composite veneers are only the next best thing to porcelain veneers.

Knowing all these facts, which one would you choose?

YEAH. Strange, huh? Maybe not so much after reading my post about dental veneers.

Porcelain veneers are meant to cover and hide worn down, chipped, broken, discolored, stained teeth, hollowed teeth thanks to root canal procedure, irregularly spaced teeth, and teeth with gaps in between.

You would think that porcelain items such as plates are very fragile and you may have some concerns regarding the durability of the porcelain veneers. But the fact is that once they are bonded to your teeth, these porcelain veneers are actually very strong and durable. Their high stain resistance is another benefit and you can still enjoy stain causing beverages such as coffee or red wine.

As a matter of fact they look like real tooth enamel and they seem natural since they are translucent and reflect light. Your natural teeth color is going to be taken into consideration and used as a reference when producing your porcelain veneers. Moreover, this glass-like porcelain quality makes them resistant to staining and they never become dull or stained with time.

It is a good habit to bush your teeth after every meal in order to keep the veneers free from food particles. Use a soft toothbrush and do circular movements on your teeth and gums.

Porcelain veneers need flossing as much as your natural teeth. Don’t forget to floss after every meal or at least once a day, preferably in the evening, before going to bed. This will not only help you to keep your veneered teeth free from plaque and food particles, but will also maintain your gum health.

Before the dental veneer is permanently cemented to your tooth, your tooth will be cleaned, polished. After this, a special cement (bonding material) is applied to the veneer and it is then placed on your tooth. A special light beam is applied to the dental veneer in order to activate the chemicals in the cement, so it hardens very quickly. As final steps, removing excess cement and making final adjustments to your bite are necessary. Your may be asked for a follow-up visit to check how your gums are responding to this new condition.

You can even use porcelain veneers in combination with other dental procedures. Remember to trust only a reliable cosmetic dentist, and the result will please you.

You probably have questions now like: How much are porcelain veneers? Or How much should I pay for veneers at all? Well, prices for porcelain dental veneers in the UK vary between £300.00-£800.00 per tooth. Porcelain veneers cost might be a bit higher than composite veneers, but they last longer and are usually better at improving a person’s teeth and smile. Before you make a decision, discuss some alternatives that you can explore with your dentist.

I love doing my nails, giving them a whole new look, when I feel that they look worn-out.

And guess what? The same thing can be done with your teeth too. The solution is called: tooth veneers.

Are you one of those people who wonder why and how dental veneers should be used and what are veneers for? Do you find yourself reading an article and thinking: what is a veneer? Well, I was the same, but you don’t need to wonder any longer. Here, you are going to tell you what I know.

These so called instant veneers are extremely thin shells that are placed over the teeth and used to cover imperfect teeth either to enhance their aesthetics or to protect them from further damages. These dental care structures have been invented many years ago, in the year of 1982 in Hollywood. However, today they are popular all over the world because of the great qualities that they hold. They are simple inserted on top of the tooth and they will remove any kind of problems that is currently observed there. They cover the cracks, improve the overall appearance and the strength of your teeth significantly. Often chipped, worn down, uneven, stained or crooked teeth are unsightly and affect your appearance. But with the help of modern developments in cosmetic dentistry you can improve the appearance of your teeth and feel confident about them. What else could you want from tiny little pieces of porcelain? I really think this is great!

Instead of having expensive dental implants installed in your mouth, you can get rid of tooth problem faster, you could have these teeth veneers instead without spending too much money. The fact that the veneers for teeth could be used in case you have a cracked tooth too as they would cover the defect - in case it is not badly broken of course-! This is cool because nobody will tell that your tooth had been broken. Moreover, the tooth will regain its natural outlook and you will be in an excellent position to walk down the street and have that “Hollywood-smile”. The overall strength of the teeth is greatly improved, bacause the veneers act like shields against any external damage.

These instant or temporary veneers could be used in this way simply because they’ll  cover anything such as dark spots, discolored teeth thanks to smoking and coffee/tee drinking habits. This makes them practically universal.

There is one very common reason why the tooth veneer is used, and that is a huge gap between the patient’s teeth. This is actually not rare, just think a little bit and you’ ll realize that at least 3 of your friends have this nasty gap issue.

So the veneers are dental care structures, which may be constructed from different materials. There is some differences in how veneers looked before and after. There have been two kinds of dental veneer applications, one is Composite Veneers that are made of composite resins, which can be directly built up in the mouth or indirectly fabricated over your teeth, and the other one is Porcelain Veneers that are indirectly fabricated and mounted onto your teeth and the usage of a porcelain veneer is a rather common practice today.However Cerec technology and the usage of cerec veneers that are installed in one sitting at the dentist is getting more and more popular. I have written some more about Composite Veneers, Porcelain Veneers, and Cerec Veneers too.

There are so called Emax veneers and “Lumineers” too, I’ll talk about them later.

As a matter of fact, if you happen to grind your teeth, bite your fingernails, or chew on any hard objects, you are not recommended to have these cosmetic veneers as they can be damaged and it is not worthy to pay all the cost of porcelain veneers.

You might wonder as well; how long do veneers last and how much teeth veneers cost? It is estimated that once installed the teeth veneers could stay there up to 30 years. It sounds nice isn’t it? Well, too nice to be true. I really hope that it is like that.

However, you shouldn’t forget about one thing: these dental care structures/veneers cost a bit -even if the costs of veneers are relatively low compared to other traditional methods- and that is why you should have some money before you actually go for it, especially if you are after some cheap veneers. You might wonder now; how much do veneers cost or how much are veneers worthy to pay for?

Dental veneers are not something that you want to bargain for (hehe), dental veneers cost a bit more than you would expect. The veneers price can be rather high. Most likely your doctor would want to rip you off and suggest you to pay a high price of veneers. However, you should check all your options. Don’t be afraid to look and shop around, it is well worth your time to find a good price and a reputable clinic to have it done. Never buy the cheapest veneers, these teeth veneer prices can vary a lot and the cheapest ones might be a risk-taking as they don’t carry high quality at all!

SO that is all for now folks. Tell me what you think.