Polwarth Dental Clinic | Dental Blog - Polwarth Dental Clinic

Do you need an emergency dentist in Edinburgh?

Dental emergencies happen at any time of the night or day.They can be the result of a sudden trauma or develop over time. Thankfully most dental emergencies are not usually life threatening, unlike medical emergencies.

emergency-dentist-in-edinburgh If you are looking for an emergency dentist in Edinburgh, you can find one here at Polwarth Dental Clinic. This service is available to both registered and non-registered patients during our regular practice hours. We also offer our registered patients an out of hours service that is available 365 days of the year. If you are not registered as a patient with us you are advised to call the NHS helpline on 111 for out of hours advice and treatment. They will be able to advise you where to find an emergency dentist in Edinburgh.

When you really must see a dentist

Many dental emergencies are painful and unpleasant, but some are more serious than others. If left untreated, severe infections and abscesses in your gums, teeth or the jaw can be fatal. You should therefore contact your dentist immediately for advice and an emergency appointment.

Tooth pain can be caused by food which has become trapped between your teeth. It is sometimes possible to relieve the pain by using dental floss to dislodge the offending matter. You may find that your gums bleed when you floss or clean them – this is not a dental emergency. However you should seek advice and treatment from your dentist.

Still bleeding after a tooth extraction?

If you’ve hada tooth removed, you will be advised what to do for the first 24 hours. You will need to rest and avoid doing anything strenuous during this time.You should also take care when eating and drinking. Hot drinks can affect the wound and you probably won’t feel like eating much, but if you do choose soft foods that are easy to swallow without too much chewing.

Avoid the temptation to rinse your mouth out or to try and brush the area.Use the dental swabs provided to put gentle pressure on the site of the wound. Sleep with your head higher than your heart, and if the bleeding continues contact your dentist for further advice.

Give your teeth something to chatter about with dental implants in Edinburgh

Many things change as we grow older, some for the better and some for the worse. Losing teeth definitely comes under the latter. There are many reasons for tooth loss, including injuries and accidents, or perhaps an infection. Whatever the cause, the effects for most people are the same. You feel embarrassed to talk or smile, and eating can be a problem. In addition, your remaining teeth may start to move out of alignment.

dental-implants The problems caused by missing teeth are nothing new. Until recently the choices for replacing them were limited to having a bridge or dentures. Both choices have their limitations, although they do help to restore the appearance and much of the function of your own teeth. Now there is a long-term and more reliable solution that dentists are able to offer: dental implants

Getting to the root of the problem

The last few decades have seen the development of dental implants. Although dental implant technology was first developed in the early 1960s, they have only become widely available in the past 10 years or so. Here at Polwarth Dental Clinic in Edinburgh, dental implants have given many of our patients back their confidence, and the ability to eat all the foods that they enjoy.

Dental implants are inserted into the jawbone where the missing tooth once stood. The implantation may be carried out at the same time that the original tooth is removed. Depending on your specific needs and the implant system your dentist uses, your dental implants could take between 6 to9 months to successfully integrate.

Wearing full dentures? Dental implants can still help

Dental implants are a versatile solution to a range of oral health issues. They can be used to support a single tooth, or up to 4 teeth on a bridge. If you have lost all of your teeth, dental implants can be used to fix your dentures in place.

If you want to find out if dental implants are a suitable solution for you, come and talk to us here at Polwarth Dental Clinic in Edinburgh. Dental implants may be just the answer you’re looking for.

When you need an emergency dentist in Edinburgh

From a broken tooth, to lost fillings or raging toothache, when you experience a dental emergency, you’ll want to see a dentist as quickly as possible. There are some dental emergencies where time really is of the essence.If a knocked out tooth is re-inserted by a dentist within the hour, there is a higher chance that it will take hold.

emergency-dentist More important still, is the treatment of severe tooth infections or abscesses that can be life-threatening if left untreated. If you have a severe tooth infection but cannot see an emergency dentist in Edinburgh, you should call the NHS emergency helpline on 111 and seek urgent medical attention.

First aid in a dental emergency

If you have suffered an injury to your mouth or teeth, controlling any bleeding should be your first priority. If possible clean the wound with some warm water; adding a little salt can help reduce the risk of infection. If you can, apply light pressure to the area using a clean handkerchief, a cold used teabag or some gauze, and seek assistance immediately.

If you have suffered from an injury that has caused bleeding you should avoid using any pain medication that contains aspirin or ibruprofen. These act as blood thinners and can increase bleeding.

Chipped or damaged teeth that are not causing you pain should not be considered a dental emergency.You should make an appointment to see your dentist as soon as possible and take care when eating.

Looking for an out of hours emergency dentist in Edinburgh

If you need an emergency dentist, both registered and non-registered patients can call us here at Polwarth Dental Clinic on 0131 229 8143 during practice hours. We will try to see you on the same day.

For our registered patients we also offer an out of hours service. This service is available 365 days of the year and the call out fee is £135. To access this service you will need to call the practice on 0131 229 8143 and follow the instructions on the answer machine. For patients who are not registered with us please call the NHS emergency helpline on 111.

Gap year yes, gaps in your teeth, no

There are times when a gap is a good thing. A gap year before starting at university can give you a chance to travel and explore the world. A gap caused by the loss of a tooth or teeth however can affect your oral health, cause problems with eating and even affect your confidence.

dental-implants-edinburgh In the past there were limited solutions to this problem. You could live with the gap, or you could opt for dentures or a bridge. Over the past decade, another option has become more widely available. Dental implants are now widely regarded by most dentists as an effective long-term solution to missing teeth. Here at our clinic in Edinburgh, dental implants are giving more of our patients something to smile about.

More about dental implants in Edinburgh

Dental implants consist of 3 parts. The first is the titanium screw that is placed into the jawbone. The second part is the abutment, which connects the screw to the third and final part – a replacement tooth, teeth or denture. Once fixed in place, dental implants provide a secure and reliable way to address a variety of tooth loss scenarios.

Dental implants offer you a number of benefits. One of the most important is that the implants help conserve the structure of the jawbone. The natural process of biting and chewing prevents the bone from shrinking back. This degeneration of the jawbone is why dentures become loose over time.

Dental implants have an additional benefit, they help to prevent the sunken and aged look that occurs when the muscles of your face are no longer supported by the teeth and jawbone.

Are dental implants always the best solution?

As long as you are in good general health and have sufficient jawbone left at the site of the missing teeth, implants are an excellent solution to tooth loss. In some circumstances dental implants may not be a suitable treatment for you. So to find out if dental implants are right for you, come to Polwarth Dental Clinic and talk to our Edinburgh dental implants team. We offer an initial consultation where your needs can be discussed in a relaxed and informal way, before a tailored treatment plan is created.

Looking for an emergency dentist in Edinburgh?

There are times when unexpected things happen and dental emergencies are no exception. It always seems to be the way that dental emergencies happen at night, or when you are away from home and unable to see your own dentist. We are pleased to say that if you are looking for an emergency dentist in Edinburgh, Polwarth Dental Clinic are able to offer this service to patients and those who aren’t registered with us.

emergency-dentist-in-edinburgh If you are in pain or have damaged a tooth we will always endeavour to see you on the same day during normal practice opening hours. In most cases we can treat you when we see you; if your case is more complicated it may be that we can only offer pain relief as a temporary measure.

Emergency dental care 365 days a year

We offer an out of hours service for all our registered patients every day of the year.Simply call the practice and listen to the recorded message for instructions on how to contact our out of hours dentist. There is a fixed fee for this service of £135.

If you are not registered with us as a patient and you need an emergency dentist in Edinburgh you will need to contact the NHS 24 help line on 111.

Dental emergency – what to do if a tooth is knocked out?

If an adult tooth is knocked out, it can sometimes be successfully re-implanted as long as you act fast and take the following steps:

Make sure that you only hold the tooth area and avoid touching the root;
Clean the tooth and root off if it’s dirty by licking it or rinsing it in milk. NEVER use water to do this;
If possible push the tooth back into place, this applies to adult teeth only;
Place a clean handkerchief over the tooth and bite gently to keep the tooth in place;
Contact a dentist for advice immediately.

If you are unable to re-insert the tooth into the socket place it inside your cheek. If this is not possible place the tooth in a container with some milk. Don’t use water!

Restoring your smile with dental implants in Edinburgh

Depending on your age, losing a tooth can either be a sign that you’re growing up, or a sign that you’re growing older. There are many reasons why we lose teeth, but as an adult a missing tooth or teeth can affect us in a number of ways. Firstly you may find it more difficult to eat certain foods. A missing tooth may make you feel self-conscious and reluctant to smile or speak to people you don’t know well.

dental-implants-in-edinburgh Until relatively recently the only way that your dentist could restore your smile was by giving you a bridge or dentures. Unfortunately, as many of us know to our cost, bridges and dentures can sometimes let you down. Things have changed and now dental implants can be used to give you back a smile that you can be proud of.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are made from a carefully engineered titanium screw which is inserted into the bone of the jaw. Titanium is very strong and is unique because living tissue can bond with it. This means that the implant becomes firmly fixed in the jawbone and provides a strong and stable support for an individual crown, a bridge or even a full set of dentures.

Here at our practice in Edinburgh, dental implants have been used to help many of our patients to look and feel good about the appearance of their teeth. Compared to bridges and dentures, dental implants can play an important role in maintaining the overall health of your jaw. This is because they help to stimulate the jawbone due to the effect of biting and chewing. This stimulation is the natural process that keeps our teeth strong and healthy.

Find out more about dental implants in Edinburgh

Dental implants are now a well established method for restoring both the appearance and more importantly, the function of your teeth. Dental implants are suitable for any adult in good general health. A consultation with our implant dentist will ensure that this treatment is the most suitable one for you. Once the implants have been placed and fully integrated, they will last for many years.

What is a dental emergency?

The first thing any dental patient needs to know is what exactly constitutes a dental emergency. You don’t want to head out to your emergency dentist in the middle of the night if it is something that could wait until morning.

At Polwarth Dental Clinic emergency dentist in Edinburgh, we agree that there are several dental injuries and issues that require immediate and expert attention. These can occur at any time of the day or night and require a dentist as soon as possible.

I’ve lost a filling

A lost filling may not be a dental emergency and many people can wait for a day or so until having it replaced. The real problem can come if food or other debris becomes trapped in the hole. This means you should get the filing replaced sooner rather than later.

Your dentist at the clinic will arrange to see you quickly and fit a temporary filling to cover the cavity. You can then arrange another appointment for a permanent filling.

Toothache

Many of us suffer from toothache now and then. It can turn out to be a small problem that can get resolved during one of our regular dental check-ups. There are also times when toothache can appear suddenly and can be very painful. This is when a call to an emergency dentist in Edinburgh can be the only choice.

This is sometimes the case when we do not visit our dentist regularly enough, allowing the cavities to rot right through to the pulp of your tooth. In serious situations, an abscess can develop if decay is left untreated. An abscess will certainly cause extreme pain and require immediate treatment by your emergency dentist in Edinburgh.

Accidents

When a tooth is knocked out in an accident, there is a chance of saving the tooth if you act quickly, with a trip to your emergency dentist in Edinburgh. Ideally you should try and do this within an hour of the accident. If you want to keep your tooth, you will need to pick it up and take it with you to your dentist. At Polwarth Dental Clinic, our dentists recommend keeping the tooth in a glass of milk.

Fix those wobbly dentures for good with dental implants in Edinburgh

If you have had enough of your dentures having a life of their own in your mouth, then now might be the time to consider having denture stabilisation treatment with dental implants.

At Polwarth Dental Clinic in Edinburgh, dental implants are an increasingly popular way to solve the problems caused by loose-fitting dentures, so that you can once again enjoy eating without fear of losing your teeth, or your speech not being so clear.

dental-implants-edinburgh Dental implants stabilise dentures by giving them a secure base rooted in the jawbone, just like natural teeth have. However, with denture stabilisation, you do not need to have every single tooth root and crown replaced. Instead, in Edinburgh, dental implants, usually four of them, are strategically placed within the lower jawbone.

You can have the implants inserted under local anaesthetic, and, if you have a nervous patient, you can also have sedation. The dentist opens up the gum and drills a hole for each implant. They will start off with a small drill and increase its circumference to widen the hole without cracking the surrounding bone.

Once the hole is made, the implant is inserted and a temporary cap placed over it to protect it. You go away for several weeks while the titanium implant fuses with new bone growth in your jaw.

When you come back, we re-open your gum and insert an abutment into each implant. Then we attach a bar across the implants. This gives the base onto which your dentures will sit. Tiny but strong magnets in your dentures will keep them securely attached to the bar running between your implants.

As you can see it is all very simple, but you need to be aware that this process can take up to a year. The most important prerequisite for treatment is a strong, healthy jawbone. And if yours has lost size and density, which happens when we lose our teeth, then you may need to undergo some preparatory bone work, such as a bone graft to build up your jawbone and make it strong enough to receive the implants.

When you come to us for an initial consultation, we will make a thorough examination of your jawbone to see if it needs rebuilding before we begin implant treatment. We will also be able to discuss in detail any other concerns you may have, as well as talk you through the process more thoroughly.

Help! I need an emergency dentist in Edinburgh!

At Polwarth Dental Clinic in Edinburgh, we take your dental emergencies as seriously as you do, which is why we guarantee to see you on the same day that you call for an emergency appointment. Call us on 0131 229 8143 when you need an emergency dentist in Edinburgh, and we will make you an appointment for as soon as possible.

Not only that, but we also guarantee to charge you no more than £70 for your emergency appointment, and to make sure that when it is over, you leave us free from pain.

What injuries mean I need to see an emergency dentist in Edinburgh?

You definitely need to see an emergency dentist if you have had an accident, perhaps working around the house or playing sports, or maybe even in your daily work, that has caused a chipped or broken tooth, or, has loosened or entirely knocked out one or more teeth.

Our emergency dentist in Edinburgh will also see you on the same day if you are suffering from toothache or trauma, or if you have developed an abscess, or facial swelling.

I have lost a tooth. What do I do?

First of all, it is very important to bring your tooth along with you when you come to the emergency dentist in Edinburgh. This is because there is a very good chance that we can replace that lost tooth. The sooner you come to see the emergency dentist, the higher the chance of us being able to put that lost tooth back into your mouth. Wrap it up carefully, making sure you do not touch the roots, and bring it along to your appointment.

What happens when I get you?

Firstly, our emergency dentist will thoroughly examine the injured or infected area. We may need to do x-rays to determine the extent of the damage or infection to your teeth and jaw. Of course, if you are in pain, we will also use a local anaesthetic to numb the area. We will also sterilise it, so that the risk of infection is reduced. Then, depending on the case, the emergency dentist will restore the damaged or lost teeth.

Keep your artificial teeth secret

When is a tooth not a tooth? When it’s a dental implant. In Edinburgh, more and more people are discovering that artificial teeth no longer need to be something the whole world knows about.

dental-implants-in-edinburgh This can be especially important if you lost your teeth to accident or injury rather than old age. You may have been just a teenager when this happened, and have been struggling with removable false teeth ever since.

In Edinburgh, dental implants replace the battle of the falsies, with once again being able to enjoy life to the fullest with teeth that behave like your natural ones do. This can be a huge boon if your false teeth have been letting you down by obscuring the clarity of your speech, or stopping you eating whatever you like, or, the biggest tragedy of all, losing a hot date when they find out that kissing you involves kissing your bridge too.

In Edinburgh, dental implants are making such a huge difference to people’s lives because, unlike traditional false teeth, implants become one with your jawbone. At Polwarth Dental Clinic, we insert them in a minor surgical procedure into special channels that we drill into your jaw. Over the next two to four months, the titanium of the implants interacts with the bone tissue, causing it to regrow and fuse with the rough surface of the implants, and thus holding them in place just as if they were natural teeth. This process is known as osseointegration. While it is taking place, you can continue to wear your own false teeth, although you will have to stick to a restricted diet.

After the healing is completed, you can come back to us at Polwarth Dental Clinic for the rest of your dental Implants in Edinburgh. We now add an internal screw, called an abutment, to the implant. To this we attach your new artificial crowns, which will have been specially made for you from hard-wearing porcelain colour-matched to your own teeth, and sized and shaped so that they blend in perfectly with the teeth nature gave you.

If you take care of your new dental implants Edinburgh, they should last you a lifetime; implants have a 98% success rate.