Dental implants are fast becoming one of the most popular ways to deal with the problem of missing teeth, as they offer a secure, permanent solution without any of the hassle associated with false teeth.

As their popularity rises however, so many people are seeking to cut costs by travelling abroad for the surgery. With low prices and tempting websites promising dental ‘holidays’, many of these clinics seem very attractive, but what is the real price of going overseas for dental implant surgery?

Communication breakdown

It may not sound like much, but the ability to converse freely with your dental surgeon, and to understand everything the team is saying to each other, can be vital to your comfort during dental implant surgery.

Here at CK Dental in Bristol, we aim to make patients feel as comfortable as possible throughout any dental procedure, by talking you through what is happening and answering any questions you may have. Whilst of course any well-respected dentist will do the same, if there is a language barrier you may find your dentist is unable to answer your questions immediately, or that there are conversations going on around – and possibly about – you that you do not understand

Return visits

Aftercare is an important part of any surgical procedure, and it is vital to be able to contact your dental team easily for several weeks post operatively and to be able to go back into the clinic if necessary.

If your operation was performed abroad, this may not be so easy. Time differences and different working hours can make it difficult even to speak on the phone, and a return visit to the clinic could be a very lengthy and costly process. Often this means going to see a different dentist locally to you, who is not fully abreast of your situation.

Talk it through

Whilst traveling abroad might be the right option for you, it is a good idea to talk it through with your own dentist first, to find out what the options are. Here at Bristol dentist practice CK Dental, we are very happy to talk to patients about all the options available when you start to lose your teeth.

The current Rugby World Cup has got a generation of young players excited about playing the great game, but it has also shed light on how important it is to protect them. The British Dental Health Foundation has issued a recommendation that all school-age rugby players should wear mouthguards on the playing field, after a survey revealed that a third of children don’t protect their teeth while playing rugby.

According to Rugby Football Union rules, it is compulsory that all players aged 18+ wear mouth protection, and here at Bristol dentist practice CK Dental we agree with the Dental Health Foundation that children should do the same, to avoid cracking or even losing teeth on the rugby pitch.

Performance mouthwear

At CK Dental in Bristol, we stock the Under Armour range of mouthguards, which have been designed to protect teeth during the most physical of sports. They are custom fitted to ensure your teeth receive the protection they need, and the latest range is microwaveable and remouldable, so that your mouthguard fits perfectly, everyday.

Learn from others

In New Zealand, since it became compulsory for rugby players of all ages to wear mouthguards on the pitch, the nation has seen a 43% reduction in all dental injuries, which just shows the sort of negative impact contact sports like rugby can have on teeth.

Let the professionals be their role model

One complaint that Bristol dentist Cornelius Krause of CK Dental hears a lot from parents is that they don’t believe their child will agree to wear a mouthguard.

If she or he is a big enough rubgy fan, however, this shouldn’t pose an issue – just as they love to wear the same rugby shirt as their favourite player, just show them that player’s mouth and they will see that he too wears a mouthguard every time he plays.

Until this advice is made law, it is up to parents to ensure that their children’s teeth are protected on the rugby pitch. For more advice on this, which could help you avoid expensive dental treatment in future, please contact us to make an appointment.

Here at Bristol dentist practice CK Dental, tooth whitening is one of our most popular cosmetic dentistry treatments. In fact, these days tooth whitening is so popular that many people don’t even view it as a cosmetic procedure, but as a necessary part of their oral health plan, alongside regular trips to the hygienist.

Teeth whitening nowadays is very safe, but it is always important to be aware of all the risks and benefits associated with any procedure, so here’s a list of things you need to think about before going ahead and having your teeth whitened:

  1. Do your homework
    There are a hundred different teeth whitening methods out there – from toothpastes that promise to give you whiter teeth within a month, to home-use whitening kits to professional procedures carried out by a dentist. It’s a good idea to speak to your dentist about which method would be most suitable for you.
  2. Manage your expectations
    If you’re expecting bright, white, Hollywood-style teeth at the end of treatment, you might be disappointed. Your dentist will be able to tell you fairly accurately what sort of final colour you can expect, but you can only lighten the existing colour of your teeth. If you really must have the full white effect, then veneers or crowns might be a better option for you.
  3. Be prepared to put in some work yourself
    Whichever teeth whitening method you choose, and however effective it is, you may need to make changes to your diet and lifestyle if you want the whiteness to last. Red wine, tea, coffee and cigarettes are all major culprits for staining teeth, and they will continue to do so even after your teeth have been whitened.

If you are looking for tooth whitening in Bristol, why not give our office a call and book an appointment with Bristol dentist Cornelius Krause to see what sort of result you can expect.

Your teeth! A recent study showed that as many as one in four Britons were so ashamed of their teeth that they refused to smile in photographs. Now, we Brits are famed the world over for having bad teeth, but in this day and age does that really still need to be the case?

A wonky smile

Whether or not it is true, the perception in other countries is that British people have wonky, stained, overcrowded teeth. This might not be the case for all of us, but if the survey results are to be believed, at least a quarter of us could do with some improvement.

Most of us have an in-built fear of braces, remembering the train tracks worn by schoolmates, and for many people an imperfect smile is preferable to a mouth full of metal. But there is another way.

Invisible braces

Invisalign is an invisible teeth straightening system, which we have been offering for many years here at Bristol dentist clinic CK Dental. We chose the system because it offers the ideal way to achieve straighter teeth, without the embarrassment and pain associated with traditional brace systems.

Convenient and fast

An Invisalign treatment programme is comprised of a series of invisible, removable aligners that are tailor made for you. Whereas with regular, metal braces, you need to return to the dentist for painful tightening sessions every few weeks, with Invisalign you just insert the next aligner in the series every fortnight.

We decided to offer Invisalign in Bristol because it offers results in times that are similar to or sometimes even faster than traditional braces, and because the system is so user friendly – the aligners are removable, so you can take them out to eat, or for public engagements, although of course the more you wear them, the quicker they will get to work.