Preventive dentistry involves professional checkups and cleaning to maintain healthy teeth and gums for life. The main streams under Preventive dentistry include:

Dental Diagnosis
Dental Diagnosis is the most important aspect in modern dentistry. Oral examinations and check-ups are carried out to ensure a proper treatment plan is drawn and executed.

Scaling & Polishing
Scaling is done to remove calculus or tartar on teeth that causes tooth decay and gum infections. Professional polishing is done to restore your teeth's natural sheen.

Dental Fillings
Dental fillings are the most common restoration procedures. If part of a tooth has been lost through decay or damaged due to an accident, dental fillings may be used to fill a portion of tooth or plug the hole and stop any future pain or discomfort. There are two basic types of dental fillings: Traditional Amalgam Fillings and now the more widely requested Composite Resin Tooth-Coloured Fillings - or white fillings which are coloured to look like your natural teeth.

Plaque Control
"Prevention Is Better Than Cure" is the ideal motto to adopt. Your teeth can and should last a lifetime. Prevention and early detection are key in avoiding costly and painful dental treatment. Prevention begins with the control of plaque and calculus, the main cause of decay and gum disease.

The most important steps in maintaining oral health and preventing tooth decay are regular brushing and a balanced diet. Additional methods are :

• Sealant resin protection for you and your children's teeth
• Fluoride treatment to help teeth build resistance to decay
• Caries risk assessment
• Diet counseling
• Preventive resin restoration
• Oral hygiene instruction

Cosmetic Dentistry covers a multitude of procedures that improves the beauty, health and appearance of your smile.

Laser Tooth Whitening
Over time, our teeth do gradually become discoloured or yellowish due to age or habits such as drinking coffee, tea, alcohol or smoking. Today there are various advanced methods and technologies of smile whitening. For example, Laser Tooth Whitening whitens discolored teeth using laser light to evenly and gently activate the whitening agent applied on teeth. The entire process is complete in just under 2 hours.

Veneers
Veneers or dental porcelain laminates are ultra-thin shells of ceramic material bonded to the front of teeth used to mask discolorations and irregularities in teeth to improve a smile.

Dental Crowns
A dental crown is a custom made restoration that covers or "caps" a tooth. Dental crowns are used to restore teeth in shape and size. They provide strength and improve the appearance of your teeth. There are three basic types of materials for dental crowns - Porcelain Fused to Metal (PFM), All Porcelain (AP) and All Metal dental crowns (Gold)

Porcelain fused to metal (PFM) dental crowns and all porcelain crowns (AP) are tooth coloured crowns. PFM dental crowns offer the best combination of aesthetics and durability. PFM dental crowns are usually used to restore back teeth where the forces of chewing and grinding are strongest. AP crowns are the most aesthetic and are used primarily for front teeth where the need for strength is not as critical. AM (Gold) dental crowns are the most durable and offer the most precise fit.

Dental Bridges
A dental bridge consists of units of crowns joined together to form a bridge. Dental Bridges and dental implants are used to replace missing gaps in teeth. The key benefits of Dental Bridges are they :

• Restore your smile
• Restore your ability to properly (i) chew and (ii) speak
• Maintains the shape of your face
• Distributes the forces in your bite properly by replacing missing teeth
• Prevents remaining teeth from drifting out of position
• Helps preserve the natural function and position of the teeth
• Restores and maintains your natural bite

Typically there are three types of Dental Bridges :

• Traditional Bridges - bridges involve creating a crown for the tooth or implant on either side of the missing tooth, with a pontic in between. Traditional bridges are the most common type of bridge.
  
  
• Cantilever Bridges - are usually used when there are adjacent teeth on only one side of the missing tooth or teeth.
  
  
• Maryland Bridges - also called a resin-bonded bridges or a Maryland bonded bridges. Maryland bridges supported by a metal framework. Metal wings on each side of the bridge are bonded to the back of existing teeth.

Types of Dental Bridge Materials :

As with Crowns, there are three basic types of materials for dental bridges: Porcelain Fused to Metal (AFM), All Porcelain (AP) and All Metal (Gold).

The all porcelain dental bridges and porcelain fused to metal (PFM) dental bridges are tooth coloured bridges. PFM dental bridges are usually used to restore back teeth where the forces of chewing and grinding are strongest. All porcelain dental bridges are the most aesthetic and are used almost exclusively for front teeth where the need for strength is not as critical. Gold dental bridges are the most durable and offer the most precise fit.

Dental Inlays and Onlays
Inlays are similar to fillings but the entire work lies within the cusps (bumps) on the chewing surface of the tooth. Onlays are more extensive than inlays, covering one or more cusps. Onlays are sometimes called partial crowns. The benefits of Dental Inlays and Onlays are they :

• Increase the strength of a tooth with respect to fillings
• Alternative to an crown when teeth damage is not extensive
• Porcelain inlays/onlays does not change colour over time
• Gives better aesthetic appearance compared amalgam fillings

There are three types of Inlays and Onlays, they can be made of porcelain, gold, or composite resin. Porcelain inlays mimic enamel's translucency and colour, making them attractive choices for patients. Gold alloy inlays and onlays possess greater durability.

Dental Bonding
Dental bonding is a procedure in which a tooth-coloured resin material (a durable plastic material) is applied and hardened with a special light, which ultimately "bonds" the material to the tooth to restore or improve your smile. The main benefits of Dental Bonding are this treatment:

• Repairs decayed teeth (composite resins are used to fill cavities)
• Repairs small chipped or cracked teeth
• Improves the appearance of discolored teeth
• Closes minor gaps and spaces between teeth
• Makes teeth look longer
• Changes the color and shape of teeth
• Lightens stains
• Corrects crooked teeth to a certain degree
• A cosmetic alternative to amalgam fillings
• Protects a portion of the tooth's root that has been exposed when gums recede