01 / General care
Everyday dentistry
Checkups, fillings, gum care and emergencies — the routine and not-so-routine work that keeps your mouth healthy for life.
Dental cleaning
Professional cleaning — a "scale and clean" — is one of the most neglected aspects of dental health, and one of the most important to keep your teeth firmly in place.
Regular removal of plaque and calculus prevents gingivitis and periodontal disease, both of which cause slow, progressive bone loss around the teeth. Enough bone loss and teeth become wobbly, painful, and eventually need to come out.
The procedure is gentle — electronic and manual instruments carefully remove the plaque and calculus you can't get to with even the most meticulous brushing and flossing.
Dental fillings
Fillings are needed when you have decay, broken or worn old fillings, or fractured teeth. We use a range of materials, but the most common is white dental composite.
Traditional amalgam (metal) fillings aren't used as much now, due to historical concerns. Composite is a great solution for most cases, and for more broken-down teeth we have ceramic alternatives.
We can often avoid more invasive treatments like dental crowns — but the dentist needs to see you first to confirm a ceramic filling is the better option.
Toothache & emergency dental treatment
No one likes being in pain. Anaesthetic works less effectively when an active toothache is present — severe inflammation gets in the way — so the best strategy is preventive care.
That said, when you do have a toothache, don't hesitate to call us for a same-day appointment. We'll do everything we can to fit you in quickly and resolve the pain in the most efficient, pain-free way possible.
Tooth extractions
As dentists, we hate having to remove teeth — we know it can leave you worse off than when you came in. But when a tooth has a truly hopeless prognosis, we're left with no choice.
If we need to, have confidence we'll do it in the most painless, anxiety-free way possible. We're happy to facilitate treatment under mild sedation or sleep dentistry where appropriate.
Periodontal therapy
Needed when gum disease has progressed to the point that bone is being rapidly lost around the teeth — often in patients who smoke, have diabetes, or have an immune-affecting condition.
Local anaesthetic is often required as we need to get well under the gums. We chart pocket depths and use mechanical and chemical methods to reduce plaque and calculus and slow the bone loss.
Root canal treatment
Needed when decay reaches the pulp or nerve of a tooth, or when a tooth breaks and exposes the nerve. The best prevention is regular checkups with x-rays — caught early, root canal can often be avoided.
Once the root canal space is infected, we can't guarantee the tooth won't need treatment and a dental crown over the top to seal and protect it. After root canal, the tooth no longer has its protective nerve reflex, so a crown also stops it fracturing when you bite something hard.
The fee for root canal therapy varies with complexity, but is generally around $3,000 for a complex tooth.
