General Dentistry - Garden City Dental Practice in Toowoomba
General dentistry covers all facets of dentistry. This includes dental implants, white fillings, comprehensive care of your gums, teeth cleaning, root canal treatments, oral appliances for snoring and grinding, extractions and wisdom teeth removal.
We provide all of these services and several of our Toowoomba dental practitioners have completed advanced training or have a special interest in more complicated cases of general dentistry. We try to make sure all of your dental needs are able to be performed with only special cases having to be referred externally to the appropriate specialist.
Sport Mouthguards
Custom Fit
The most common cause of dental injuries comes from the pursuit of sport, leisure and recreational activities where impact can damage the jaws and teeth.
It is a worthwhile investment to have a custom fit mouthguard fitted as it provides valuable protection for the future of your teeth due to their close fit, increased comfort and cushioning effect.
‘Off the shelf’ mouthguards are generally large, bulky and loose fitting, providing inadequate protection. However a custom fit mouthguard will provide the best fit, size, coverage and thickness specifically designed for your mouth to the type of activity you are involved in.
Whether you participate in hockey, rugby, soccer, boxing, cricket martial arts or are simply accident prone, your mouthguard will be custom designed to protect your teeth and jaws from potentially shocking trauma.
The benefits include an increased ability to breathe, communicate, and perform with confidence, greatly enhancing your sporting experience.
Splints & Night Guards
Night grinding
One of the side effects of a busy lifestyle and stress of working, lead to a condition called nocturnal bruxism or “night grinding”.
The pattern of grinding varies from individual to individual and can range from mild to severe. Some people have absolutely no symptoms whilst others can suffer from daily headaches, poor sleep and muscle stiffness in their face throughout the day.
On examination we look for flat and worn teeth as well as signs of cracking and chipping in the back teeth.
If we see these signs, we may educate you about a night splint.
There are many different types of these splints designed for different purposes. The aim of these splints is to limit muscle activity and decrease the stress on your jaw joint protecting your teeth for the long term and decreasing pain.
Wisdom Teeth
Not wise
Wisdom teeth infections feel like a deep, dull ache in the back of the jaw. Occasionally, the pain can be referred and spread toward other teeth, the front of the jaw, the ear or the temples.
They can also cause the lymph nodes around the neck and jaws to become swollen and tender and even occasionally spread in the body to cause more serious or life threatening infections.
If you are experiencing pain or swelling from a wisdom tooth infection, you can contact us for a same day appointment as an emergency patient.
Our experienced dentists at Garden City Dental Practice can assess your wisdom teeth and advise the safest and most appropriate options for you.
Depending on the problem, the degree of impaction, the size, shape and position of the teeth and the number of teeth to be removed, this wisdom teeth extractions can be conducted under local anaesthetic, under IV sedation in the practice, or under general anaesthetic in hospital.
White Fillings
Decay or damage
Even with preventative oral hygiene measures, many people at some stage of life will require teeth filling as a result of tooth decay or an accident leading to a damaged tooth.
In the past, metallic or amalgam fillings containing mercury were the most common fillings used. They are often associated with dark staining and cracked teeth.
Our skilled dentists use advanced bonding techniques to produce strong, durable and aesthetically superior white or tooth coloured (composite resin) fillings.
White or tooth coloured fillings are bonded composite resin restorations that cosmetically appear the same as a natural tooth.
In addition, when placed with meticulous care, they are less likely to cause fractures or cracks to the surrounding tooth structure and can last for many years.
Composite resin fillings are colour matched to the shade of your teeth, providing a natural, aesthetically pleasing restoration that can be moulded to an exact fit.
Sleep Apnoea
& Snoring
Sleep apnoea is a condition that affects many adults where the airway in your throat that leads from the nose and mouth to the lungs collapses when you fall asleep, due to the muscles around the throat over-relaxing.
If the collapse is severe enough it blocks the airway causes an apnoea (absence of breath). If it is a partial collapse, some air may vibrate through, usually causing a snoring sound.
There are many treatments that have been tried for sleep apnoea and we can assist through an oral appliance, also called a mandibular advancement splint (MAS) or mandibular advancement device (MAD).
These work by supporting the lower jaw in a forward-postured position throughout sleep. The usual oral appliance consists of a “mouth guard” fitted to both the top teeth and the bottom teeth and then joined together in such a way that the bottom teeth end up in front of the top teeth, like a bulldog.
Pushing the bottom jaw forward in most people opens up the airway at the base of the tongue and front of the throat and supports it so that it is less likely to collapse.
This helps to reduce either the number or severity of the apnoea events. An oral appliance, properly fitted, is usually quite effective in stopping or reducing snoring.
Root Canal Therapy
To save a tooth
Root canal therapy is performed to save your tooth when it is affected by infection or painful inflammation. It is often an alternative to tooth extraction.
Root canal therapy involves the removal of the inflamed/infected nerve tissue from your tooth’s root canals. The root of your tooth houses the nerves and blood tissues that run through a small, narrow canal and serve to nourish and help the tooth to develop. This tissue is known as the pulp.
The pulp is normally protected by the surrounding outer enamel, but it can become inflamed or infected as a result of spreading decay, cracks or fractures, trauma or deep fillings. When this pulp becomes inflamed the tooth becomes incredibly sensitive to cold and hot sensations or to touch.
It can be particularly painful, often waking patients at night and affecting their ability to chew, incurring high amounts of pain. If you are experiencing any of the above you will need to contact us immediately for an emergency appointment.
Gum Disease
Periodontal
Have you ever noticed:
- Bleeding gums
- Loose or mobile teeth
- Tartar build-up
- Bad breath
- Receding gums, giving the appearance of long teeth?
These are signs that you may be suffering from Periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease is caused by bacteria from plaque that spread down into the gumline of our teeth and cause inflammation in the gums. The jawbone surrounding our teeth can become affected as well. This is called periodontitis and is characterised by bone loss around the teeth.
The treatment is straightforward: regular and thorough professional cleaning of the teeth and infected gums and maintenance of excellent home oral hygiene care. If the bacterial cause of the inflammation is removed, the disease will stop.
Extractions
When necessary
A tooth extraction might be necessary for multiple reasons, including a cracked tooth, a deep break, a root fracture, deep decay, gum infection, trauma or for orthodontic reasons.
The dentists at Garden City Dental Practice have vast experience in removing teeth safely and painlessly. For extractions that require more complex attention, a referral to an oral maxillofacial surgeon specialist is sometimes recommended based on individual assessment.
Our expertly trained dentists have also undergone specific training in auxiliary techniques around teeth extractions to get the best possible outcome for you.
This includes:
- Effective and adequate local anaesthesia for maximum comfort
- Qualifications specialised bone and gum grafting procedures to be used if necessary