Dentures may be the best option for you if you have lost some or all of your natural teeth due to injury, disease or tooth decay. They will enable you to speak and eat properly as well as providing your face with support.
Full dentures replace all the teeth in your mouth, whereas partial dentures rest on your natural teeth and replace your missing teeth. An immediate denture is one that is placed in your mouth as soon as any remaining teeth planned for removal are removed.
Resurfacing of the fitting surface of a denture is called relining. As your bone and gums slowly shrink over time this affects the shape of the ridges that support your denture. Often this results in a denture that no longer fits as well as it used to. A reline for your complete or partial denture may be the solution to this problem.
There are two common types of relines - hard and soft relines. A hard reline is completed by placing soft putty inside the denture and placing the denture inside the mouth, this allows your gums and soft tissues to mould it into shape. A hard acrylic replica is created when the putty is taken out and sent to our dental laboratory. The dental laboratory then adds to your original denture and sends back the relined one to be adjusted as required to fit well in your mouth.
A soft reline uses a softer, more pliable material but follows the same procedure. This technique is often used for patients who get sore spots from wearing dentures, making hard relines too painful to wear. It is used as a temporary comfortable replacement while the gums heal and is replaced with a hard reline once the healing process is over.
Click on any question below to reveal detailed answers about dental care, treatments, and procedures.
We recommend that you visit your dentist every 6 months for a preventative checkup and professional clean. This allows us to prevent any major dental issues from developing by identifying them early, and ensure that you always put your best smile forward.
If the tooth knocked out is a baby tooth, do not try to place it back into the socket. This may cause damage to the adult tooth underneath. If you can find the tooth keep it, and contact us for an emergency appointment, where we will see you as soon as possible to ensure your child is taken care of.
If the tooth knocked out is an adult tooth and is uncontaminated, try to place it back into the socket immediately. If you are unable to replace it, store it in a container of milk and contact us immediately. Treatment within 30 to 60 minutes is recommended.
Teeth can become discoloured due to a change in diet, the use of a new mouth rinse or certain medications. Stains can easily be removed by cleaning or bleaching by our qualified team.
Teeth may become sensitive for various reasons, but often it is from exposure of the root surfaces of the teeth. A protective layer or coating may be placed over the area to help reduce any discomfort and prevent further damage.
Teeth whitening is a safe, easy and effective way of changing the appearance and colour of your teeth. Here at South Tweed Dental, we offer home bleaching via customized bleaching trays and also in-chair whitening using PolaOffice+ also known as the "World's Fastest Bleach". By using PolaOffice+ you will benefit from instant results of up to 8 shades lighter in less than 30 minutes.
Although the smallest amount of blood while brushing or flossing may not seem like a big problem, if they are consistently bleeding it should not be ignored. Bleeding may occur for a number of reasons, such as gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). It is important to visit us for a thorough examination and assessment.
Dental x-rays are an essential tool to help dentists diagnose potentially serious dental problems. Problems in the areas between your teeth, inside teeth and their roots can occur and x-rays allow early detection and treatment. This in turn can save you time, cost and reduce unnecessary pain and complications. The latest digital x-ray equipment used at South Tweed Dental minimises radiation exposure by 90% compared to traditional film x-rays.
Silver amalgam is a strong, durable filling material that has been used for many years. However it does have drawbacks including not being tooth-coloured, expanding causing fractures and potentially leaking which can cause decay to form underneath. If you are concerned with your amalgam fillings or their appearance, South Tweed Dental can offer aesthetic alternatives such as composite (tooth-coloured) fillings or stronger ceramic restorations.
Snoring is a significant but relatively unspoken about condition affecting between 40-50% of adults and sometimes children as well. Here at South Tweed Dental, we are proud to offer the World-Class NightLase® laser snoring treatment which is the first of its kind in the Northern Rivers region. It is a minimally-invasive, safe and efficacious method for significant snoring reduction. It involves the use of the Er:YAG laser in a non-ablative (non-cutting) treatment of the soft palate and surrounding areas. It naturally treats snoring by stimulating new collagen to form under the skin which in turn tightens up the region, opening up the airway and allowing the free flow of air within these passages. It involves no local anaesthetic (needles) and is a "walk-in walk-out" procedure with no downtime, pre-operative or post-operative pain for the patient.