The world of mobile has certainly evolved over the last few years. Before the mobile phone we could take a walk to the shops while relaxing, taking in the view and our local surroundings. We could pop to the local pub and enjoy socialising without a call demanding you are home in 5 minutes or your dinner is in the dog! I remember holidays when I could complete forget work because people from the office were not calling 10 times a day. Romantic dinners were spent talking to your partner instead of each of you looking at your lap, hands under the table while you check the latest Facebook posts.

The revolution of the mobile phone has ruined our social lives and to some extent our personal lives too. Things will never be the same. Now we are hit with the ever increasingly popular smartphone. My Grandmother has one and she is 87! I am not saying my Grandmother can use her phone but in her words she likes the colour of it.

With smartphones comes applications. There seems to be an application for almost everything. I am still waiting for the application that does the cleaning and cooking however I am guessing it will not take that long before the technology will be at our fingertips.

The latest dental technology to hit to mass market is the electronic toothbrush. I know what you are thinking… That’s not new!

But this new gadget the inventor thinks no one can live without has something different. The toothbrush is connected to a smartphone a...

Here are several reasons why you should flash your pearly whites more often.

It boosts your immune system

Smiling changes the chemistry in your body. Numerous medical studies have found smiling to lower heart rate, steady breathing and relax the body, which results in a stronger immune system. Our immune system is incredibly important for our body and can help us to combat disease – both protecting us from getting ill in the first place, and also helping us to fight off infection once it is in our bodies. At the same time it can also prevent us from getting ‘generally run down’. It can also help to repair wounds and generally keep us on top form and in top shape. There are many ways you can improve your immune system fortunately, so we will have a look at some of them here.

It changes your mood

Psychologists have found if you grin for 60 seconds, no matter how fake or forced it feels, it releases serotonin which tricks the body into making you feel happy again.

It lowers your blood pressure

As you smile, endorphins go up and blood pressure comes down. Those who have monitored their blood pressure both before and after smiling show a measurable difference.

The concept of Dental Implants dates back over 1,350 years to the Mayan civilization. This is over 1,350 years before Dr. Brånemark invented the Dental Implant we know today.

While excavating an ancient Mayan site in 1931, archaelogists found a fragment of mandible dating from 600 AD. It was thought the mandible was from a woman in her twenties. The mandible appeared to contain sea shells. Initially it was thought that the shells were placed under the nose in a manner observed by the ancient Egyptians after death.

Fourty years later in 1970, Professior Amadeo Bobbio studied the mandibular in more detail.  Using a series of radiographs, it was evident that the bone had formed around the shells which showed that they were placed while the woman was alive. It was conculded that the shells were placed to act as teeth. This is believed to be the first recorded use of Dental Implants.

You could say that today’s Dental Implants were founded by accident…

In 1952 Professor Brånemark was conducting a study in relation to blood flow in vivo in a Swedish Laboratory. He devised a method of constructing a small chamber of titanium which was embedded into the soft tissue of rabbits ears (I know, you feel sorry for the little rabbits – believe me so do I!)… Following the study, the surgeon found that he was unable to remove the titanium cylinder as it had intergrated with the bone. This was the first indication of the strong relationship betw...

Since the introduction of Invisalign there is a rise in the number of patients opting for Dental Braces as a solution to their crooked teeth.

Personally I think Invisalign is a revolution. Let me be clear! If my teeth were crooked, Invisalign would be my first port of call.

In 2013 we saw a 32% increase in the number of patients seeking Braces in our clinics. These patients are travelling from overseas for their dental treatment in Turkey. The cost savings in some cases are over 100% so it is easy to see why it is an attractive idea.

In three of our clinics we offer Braces however it is not something we can ethically offer to our international patients. The reason is very simple.

Any professional Orthodontist will inform you that you need to ensure your Braces are adjusted at regular intervals. In some cases this can be every 4 weeks and in others slightly longer. The cost of travelling back and forth to another country will far outweigh any savings made on the initial treatment! There is also the frequent time off work and in most cases less monitoring of the progress than normal.

Many patients ask if they can visit us for the initial Braces and have them adjusted in their home country. It is important that the same Orthodontist should start your treatment and continue it through to its success. Even if you had your Braces abroad, the chances are a dentist in your own country will refuse to make adjustments and continue your t...

OK, so you are looking at the title of this post ‘Let’s talk sex’ and wondering what it is doing on a dental blog… I can understand that, so let me explain.

The idea of a title so daring was tempting but the content goes much deeper than that!

*We have used a false patient name (Ruth) for the purpose of this post.

One of our female patients a few weeks ago, Ruth said in a private conversation that the condition of her husbands teeth had ruined their sex life. Ruth discussed the topic while her husband was in the dental chair. She explained that their marriage had been affected as she no longer wanted to have an intimate relationship with her husband.

Ruth said that for the last 4 years she had been avoiding intimate time with her husband as his teeth were ugly and his breath was bad as a result of dental decay. Ruth did not want to speak to her husband about the real problem and came up with other excuses. In essence she did not want to hurt his feelings. During a recent heart to heart her husband asked her if she was having an affair which she firmly denied. Ruth knew it was time to speak the truth about how she felt. She feared the long term family problems that would occur if she did not.

Ruth admitted it was her husbands dental health that had killed her Libido. The husband was relieved and although fearful of the dentist he contacted a number of clinics the following day to see what could be done to fix his teeth. ...

GOOD HEALTH assesses the performance of a range of DIY treatments

A whiter smile is seen as healthy, but with professional tooth-whitening treatments costing a minimum of £200, many people turn to over-the-counter products.

But some DIY treatments have been shown to damage tooth enamel, burn gums and cause painful sensitivity.

A dentist in West Sussex assesses the latest offerings; they were then rated for whitening performance and their effect on oral health.

Blanx White Shock toothpaste with LED

£7.49/50ml

Claims: Contains Actilux, a patented, self-cleaning ingredient that reacts with light to break down dirt and bacteria and help whiten teeth naturally. An LED light in the neck of the toothpaste tube activates the formula as it passes through it.

The LED light can boost the formula if held in front of your mouth for one minute every day. Actilux reacts to daylight, too.

EXPERT OPINION: Actilux is claimed to be a light-activated tooth whitener, but I cannot find any sound scientific evidence to confirm it works. This paste contains isopropyl alcohol and benzyl alcohol – alcohol has traditionally been used in oral hygiene products to give a fresh sensation, but most manufacturers are removing it because of possible links with  o...

A 57-year-old Italian woman who visited her doctor complaining of facial pain was found to have a dental implant in her left sinus.

Two years earlier, she’d had the dental implant – a 2cm long metal screw which is used to hold a false tooth in place – inserted into her upper jaw.

But a CT scan revealed it had migrated to her sinuses.

At the time, there were no complications but when the woman’s sinus problems were investigated, the implant was found to be missing from her jaw.

Doctors also discovered that her gum had healed over and there was no sign of the implant.

It was eventually tracked down in her sinus – a cavity beside the eye – and removed during surgery.

Following the surgery, the 57-year-old patient found that her symptoms improved rapidly.

She attended a check-up eight months later and still had no symptoms.

Further tests also showed that her sinus had returned to normal and no lasting damage had been done.

It is thought the problem may have occurred as a result of the implant being improperly positioned in her jaw.

Study researcher Alberto Schreiber, of the University of Brescia in Italy, told Live Science that he believes the implant was probably in the woman’s sinus for at least a year, and perhaps even since the surgery two years earlier.

He added that other cases of dental implants ending up in the sinus have been reported.

*The...

87% of our dental patients travel from abroad for their treatment with us.  Since 2005 we have provided dental treatment plans over the phone and via email explaining the treatment options in detail before our patients step foot on the plane. In the case of dental implants we usually ask for dental photographs along with a panoramic X-Ray. In 95% of cases where we have seen an X-Ray, we can provide an accurate treatment plan which is not amended once a patient arrives at our dental clinic.

In cases where a patient is unable to send photographs or an X-Ray we discuss the number of missing teeth and ask a number of other questions to determine the oral health of the patient. In these cases we are always careful about the information we provide. In the case of Dental Implants we are able to make a general plan but we always inform our patients that it may change once they arrive and it will depend on their bone density, the position of the sinus pockets and the condition of their gums amongst other things.

Over the years patients have asked us if we provide a London or UK consultation at a partner clinic before they travel for treatment. In the early years it did not seem feasible but in recent years we have given it some serious thought and came to a number of conclusions which are in detail below.

The clinics offering the UK consultation are advertising it as ‘Free’. There may not be a d...

I hope all our blogging friends have a happy halloween tomorrow. We are planning an office party in the afternoon with an interesting halloween themed menu including: Pumpkin Soup, Banana Mummies and Spiderweb Cake.

Hmmm sounds delightful!