Author Archives: Smile Essential
The Wand Dental Injection: magical and pain free
I had Nik as my dentist at another practice in Leicester, but when he left I simply had to find him. After some investigation I found him! I gave him a call at Smile Essential and arrange to go in.
The dental team made me very welcome and were friendly. The practice is clean, has a relaxing atmosphere and the new technology! At my last visit I had the ‘wand’ to give me an injection, it was magical- no pain.
Their appointment reminder service is fantastic as we all lead busy lives.
I would definitely recommend Smile Essential Dental Practice to my friends and family.
Ms, E.G, Leicester
Teeth Whitening at Leicester Dental Clinic
A lifetime of eating and drinking can have a detrimental effect on your teeth. Food and drink contains colouring that over time penetrates the tooth enamel and makes the teeth lose their original colour. Certain substances are particularly bad for causing staining such as red wine and coffee. Tobacco is also very bad for causing discolouration of the teeth.
When the teeth are discoloured they can look very unattractive and it can also add years to your appearance. Yellow or discoloured teeth can therefore cause a great deal of emotional anxiety and self-esteem issues for many people. However, there are a number of ways you can improve the appearance of discoloured teeth. One of the most popular is a cosmetic procedure called teeth whitening.
This involves applying a peroxide based gel to the teeth in specially designed trays. The gel seeps into the tooth enamel and stains it white, returning the enamel to a more natural and healthy colour of white. Tooth whitening is more effective for some people than it is for others but in most cases it will produce noticeable results and in some cases can even whiten teeth by up to ten shades.
Leicester dentists offer teeth whitening as a standard procedure. This is in contrast to about ten years ago when tooth whitening was a relatively exclusive treatment that was very expensive. Greater demand and developments in technology over recent years have made tooth whitening more available and more affordable to the extent it is now considered a standard cosmetic treatment, such as a hair cut or nail appointment.
There is little or no risk involved with teeth whitening if carried out by a dentist. They can use the necessary safety equipment to protect the soft tissue areas of the mouth. The worst most patients experience is a slight feeling of sensitive teeth for a day or so during the treatment.
Need a New Smile for the New Year? Our Top 5 Tips When Choosing a Dentist…
With the start of a new year comes the chance to reflect over the past years accomplishments, highlights, falls and failures. It’s time to ask what you can continue doing well next year and a chance to do something exciting and make changes to anything that is holding you back.
We see lot’s of changes at Smile Essential dentist in Leicester. Changes in how we communicate with our patients e.g. we now send SMS messages and email reminders as we understand our patients prefer this over a phone call. We connect through facebook and twitter. This exchange of information and fun facts is a great, less formal way of keeping up-to-date. It’s a much more convenient way that we are all getting connected. All of a sudden we are not the scary dentist; we are people, people using our expertise to help other people to smile more confidently.
Your smile plays a major role in how you perceive yourself and the impression you make on those around you. It’s long been known and many surveys show that your smile is what both men and women find most attractive above any other physical feature. It can gain people’s affections, reassure somebody and it can create confidence. But it can also hold you back if you’re not confident with your smile due to dental problems.
For many people a trip to the dentist can be terrifying. With up to 75% of people experiencing some kind of dental phobia and rightly so (you may be surprised to hear us say!). But here at Smile Essential dentist in Leicester we have heard some unfortunate tales from patients of what has happened to them in the past. The school dentist being one at the top of the list! Nowadays though new stories like this are thankfully rare and the patients at our dentist seem very happy.
If you’re not happy with your smile then perhaps the new year offers you a chance to visit a dental practice and create yourself a confident new smile.
Here are our top 5 tips when choosing a dentist-
- Check them out online. Look for dental reviews, check they are on the GDC register. Look at their website- do they look professional, friendly, what does their dental surgery look like? Will you feel comfortable there? Do they have any dental awards that prove their credibility?
- What are your specific fears around dentists? If you’re scared of injections- do they offer anything to make it more comfortable? Many things can be done nowadays to overcome this problem one thing we do is to apply a numbing gel to the gum beforehand so it’s much more comfortable.
- Where are they? You need somewhere you are able to get to easily either for treatment or routine care. Traveling to far afield can lead to further anxiety. Perhaps look at one close to home or work. If you have to travel for more than 30 minutes it could cause further anxiety, so try to stay local.
- What are their prices are they affordable? Do they have a member’s plan that enables you to budget for your routine dental care and receive discount if you do require treatment. A dentist should always give you a full treatment summary involving any costs when you go for your dental health check. Nobody likes surprise bills!
- Give them a call and see if the receptionist is friendly, are they helpful and can they answer your questions? A good dental practice and customer experience starts with that first phone call. Dentists should be aware that potential new patients will be anxious and cater for this. Sometimes this phone call is an indication of how well their dental practice is run.
Don’t Scrub Those Teeth!
How clean is your dentists loo?
Choosing a dental practice can be tricky, what should you look for? There are so many things to consider nowadays whether you are looking for cosmetic work, you’re nervous or just want somewhere decent to take the kids. With recent press coverage of a local dentist and his hygiene procedures this is now another consideration for you to think about when choosing a new dentist.
What sort of safety considerations and questions should you look for:
- What are their decontamination and sterilisation procedures?
- Are all of the staff registered with the General Dental Council?
- Does it look a clean, fresh and friendly environment?
- What are other people saying about them?
- How clean is their loo?
How clean is their loo?
This can sound like a daft question but, how often will you judge a cafe, bar or any public place by the state of their loo? In truth you might feel a little uncomfortable asking to see your dentist decontamination procedures but asking to nip to their loo is easy.
Smile Essential’s Decontamination Key Points:
- Use single use (disposable) dental items when possible (gloves, needles etc)
- Surfaces disinfected with a specialised solution between patients.
- Dental instruments are cleaned and processed away from the dental room in a special decontamination room.
- Sterilisation of instruments using a dental autoclave
- Items and dental instruments are stored in sealed in pouch envelopes designed for dentistry where possible or where not in a sealed container.
- All dental staff undergo significant decontamination training and continual development.
- Regular testing and maintenance of dental equipment and appliances.
As you can see there is a lot more to do then just washing your hands and cleaning a few instruments.
Dental Decontamination Room at our Leicester Clinic
Are you well connected?
We love connecting with our patients on facebook. People can message us if they need emergency help (holidays abroad seem to be the big dental problem) , take part in some exclusive facebook competitions or just nose at our daft photos! So if you haven’t liked our dental page already then why not go ahead like us, rate us and if you’re happy recommend us to your friends.
Give me 6 Months and I’ll Give You Straight Teeth
Cosmetic brace system that takes just 6 months to straighten your teeth…
Six Month Smiles Cosmetic brace system is a pioneering new development used for straightening teeth fast! The American system has revolutionised the method for teeth straightening using specialised clear braces to gently straighten and align teeth in an average time of just six months!
Overall the treatment aims to reduce cost, save time and give great results. Now you can get the smile you deserve in an average time of just six months. If you’re an adult that would like to improve the appearance of crooked, misaligned or gappy teeth in the minimum amount of time, without the hassle and inconvenience of traditional brace methods or invasive dental treatments; then Six Month Smiles cosmetic brace system could be a great option for you.
How long have you hated your teeth for?
If you have read the first two paragraphs chances are that you don’t like something about your smile and problems like this rarely occur over night. How many times have you looked at your smile in the mirror when brushing your teeth and wished it was different? How many times do you look at a photo and hate your smile or worse of all not smile at all! It’s incredible how many people we see at Smile Essential Dental Practice that don’t actually smile because they are ashamed and embarrassed about their teeth and smile. The one thing that they all have in common is that they wish they had come sooner. Nowadays you could spend years hating your teeth and being scared of the dentist when actually dental clinics like Smile Essential in Leicester can give you a really wow customer experience and offer extensive treatments like 6 month smiles, quickly and effectively.
How soon do you want straight teeth?
Treatment takes anywhere from 4 to 9 months, but most people complete treatment in just 6 months. With conventional braces the average treatment is between 18 months and 2 years, this is what makes Six Month Smiles such a popular choice for adults. Once you have been in for your consultation the dentist will be able to give you an idea of how long they expect the treatment to take. Our dental practice is conveniently located close to Fosse Park so you could tie us in with some Christmas shopping!
Finance options are available for most of our dental treatments and are popular with our cosmetic brace system.
We offer a range of finance options so you can spread the cost of treatment for peace of mind. Our most popular finance option for Six Month Smiles is our 12 month 0% interest offer. If you would like to repay over a longer amount of time we also offer finance at a competitive 9.9APR from 24 up to 60 months. You can calculate what to borrow and the monthly costs on our handy finance calculator.
So are you interested in taking the next step at our Leicester dental clinic?
The next step that we recommend is for you to come and see us for a complimentary dental consultation. It’s completely free and is just to have a chat with the treatment coordinator and dentist to check what your concerns are, what you would like to achieve, we will check to see if it’s possible and discuss your options. If you and the dentist are both happy then the next step is to book in for a full orthodontic assessment appointment to start your journey to a healthy, straight and confident smile.
0116 2891317 or drop us an email
Six Month Smiles: Now you’re on the road to straight teeth
So you’ve begun your journey to straighter teeth what can be some of the common problems… We have created this survival guide for the beginning stage of your treatment or for you to refer back to if you do encounter any hiccups. Remember if there is something that isn’t covered here or you are concerned we are only ever a friendly phone call away.
The BIG 3 rules of Six Month Smiles
- GREAT dental hygiene
- No Hard, crunchy or sticky foods
- Don’t suffer in silence, get in touch with us for advice.
Gemma one of the dental nurses at Smile Essential dental practice, went through the treatment herself and made a video diary of her treatment in this video she gives solutions to some common problems-
Common Questions About Six Month Smiles Adult Braces
1) What is Six Month Smiles and is it the best option for me ?
Six Month Smiles is the latest adult brace system from America which allows people to have the smile they want in the shortest a space of time possible. Overall the treatment aims to reduce cost, save time and give great results. If you’re an adult that hates the way your front teeth look because of crooked, misaligned or gappy teeth then Six Month Smiles could be the best option for you.
Six Month Smiles works slightly differently to conventional braces because it concentrates on moving the front teeth only to improve their cosmetic appearance, it doesn’t alter the bite on the back teeth like conventional braces do. That’s why the treatment can be carried out without the hassle and inconvenience of traditional brace methods or invasive dental treatments, because most adults just want to improve the appearance of their front teeth.
2) Are finance options available?
However you are thinking of financing your new confident smile, we have a range of flexible options specially tailored to suit you and your needs. One of our most popular finance options is our 12 month 0% interest offer; it allows you to spread the cost of your new smile so you don’t have to make any lifestyle changes. You can try out what you can afford to borrow and the monthly costs with our handy online finance calculator .
3) How soon can I have straight teeth?
This is the exciting part about Six Month Smiles! Treatment takes anywhere from 4 to 9 months with most people having their new smile in just 6 months. With conventional braces the average treatment time is between 18 months and 2 years, that’s what makes Six Month Smiles such a popular choice for adults. Because the treatment works quickly every month you will be able to see your teeth one step closer to your ideal smile. Once you have been in for your consultation the dentist will be able to give you an idea of how long they expect the treatment to take for you.
4) What to expect at my appointment?
Your initial appointment for a chat you’ll meet with one of our highly qualified, friendly team members. This will be a time for you to tell them what you currently don’t like about your smile and find out more in-depth about Six Month Smiles. The dentist may wish to take some photos and will advise you on whether the treatment is right for you. If you are suitable for Six Month Smiles and would like to go ahead with treatment then we’d go ahead to book you an appointment for the next stage of your Six Month Smiles journey.
5) Why choose us?
- We have a great reputation. Our practice grows on word of mouth referrals not fancy marketing, gimmicks and offers. We simply deliver what we promise in a professional and friendly. All of the dentists are the Six Month Smiles® accredited.
- We are upfront about all of our fees. The price we give you includes the consultation, Six Month Smiles treatment appointments whether it takes 4, 6 or 9 months. Any necessary xrays, review appointments and after care. It’s included in your tailored made treatment plan, so there are no surprises.
- Once you have invested time and money into creating your beautiful new smile you don’t want your teeth to move again. Our twin retention system holds your teeth in place, giving you peace of mind that your smile is here to stay.
- Included in our package is tooth whitening. We find it’s the perfect treatment to compliment your new smile and really give it the wow factor.
Our friendly Leicester Dental team are always on hand to discuss any other questions you may have about Six Month Smiles Teeth Straightening-
0116 2891317