In this episode Brad talks about the price of the various treatments his practice offers and why they can sometimes seem higher than some people would expect or wish to pay.

Whether you have treatment coming up and want to know more information, or curious about what options are out there for cosmetic dentistry, Lets Talk Teeth with Brad will give you the knowledge you need to make decisions about your dental care and oral health. Presented in an easy to understand way, the purpose of the show is to inform and empower you, the patient, to have the confidence about your treatment and take control of your dental health.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• If you’re paying £2,000-£2,500 to replace a single tooth, that sounds like an extortionate amount of money. But, from the dentist’s point of view – just to make the tooth part – could cost £300-£400, a further few hundred to make the connection between the tooth and the root implant, which itself can cost multiple hundreds of pounds. Before you know it, when the price is added up, you’re already at £1,000-£1,500 of baseline costs just to make the thing we then have to put in the gap where the missing tooth was.
• When you ask a dentist: I’ve got 3 missing teeth, how much will it cost to replace them? That’s like asking: How much will it cost for me to travel 10 miles to work? It’s difficult to answer. How are you travelling? By bike, car, bus, are you paying for petrol? There are loads of additional questions that need to be asked before an accurate cost could be agreed on.
• A dental implant’s cost changes depending on where it fits into the mouth, whether there’s enough bone to support it or if bone regeneration needs to happen before fitting the implant, if the patient’s mouth is healthy enough to have an implant fitted, etc.
• We offer a free consultation to talk patients through all the variables rather than have all the questions online, because when you’re faced with all these questions, which can be quite complex, people often don’t want to go through it all online.
• Dentists aren’t trying to hide the truth, it’s far easier for us to see you and speak to you in person and do all the checks and tests we need to do to get an accurate answer so you can make an informed choice.

BEST MOMENTS

‘We’re as transparent, honest and open as we can possibly be when we’re asked about price.’

‘We’re very proud of our prices.’

‘Asking ‘how much is dental implant?’ is the same as asking ‘how much is a car?’’

‘Dentistry is not cheap. The cost comes from sourcing the best quality products.’

‘Dentistry can be life changing, some of the stuff we can do nowadays is a lot different than even a few years ago.’

ABOUT THE HOST

Dr Brad Thornton is a dentist from Leeds in the UK and owner of Ivory Dental Practice, a private dental clinic focusing on high quality cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, teeth straightening including Invisalign and also private family dentistry. A Dental Phobia certified dentist with a Masters degree in dental implants, he and his team help thousands of people each year regain their smile and their confidence. His approachable and down to earth personality mean people travel from all over the UK and overseas to visit his practice.

CONTACT DETAILS

www.ivory-dental.co.uk

brad@bradthedentist.com

In this episode Brad talks about veneers. Veneers are stuck over the front of the teeth to improve their appearance and the appearance of your smile. There are different veneer materials including porcelain/ceramic and composite.

Whether you have treatment coming up and want to know more information, or curious about what options are out there for cosmetic dentistry, Lets Talk Teeth with Brad will give you the knowledge you need to make decisions about your dental care and oral health. Presented in an easy to understand way, the purpose of the show is to inform and empower you, the patient, to have the confidence about your treatment and take control of your dental health.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Over the last 5-10 years there has been a move away from porcelain/ceramic veneers to focus on moving teeth rather than use veneers, or using composites instead, which is far more common now.
• We do a lot of preparatory work to make sure that the teeth are reshaped in a way that once the porcelain veneers are bonded in place, the end result is a perfect smile.
• If we need to do a lot of tooth adjustment to get the result you’re after, we tend to go toward a healthier option for the tooth, like tooth movement with braces.
• Composites have become more widespread in recent years because it can be added in small parts and is more minimally invasive. It’s very easy to be refined, maintained and repaired.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Once a tooth is reshaped for a veneer to be fitted we can’t ‘un-reshape’ that tooth, it’s irreversible, so we need to make sure we’re doing the right preparatory work.’

‘Nothing we do is guaranteed for life, maintenance will be needed.’

‘Getting teeth ground down to stumps – like we’ve seen in the press recently – are not veneers, they’re crowns.’

‘It’s important we do as little work as we can and be respectful of the biology of the teeth’

‘Should I get my veneers done abroad? No! Not that foreign dentists aren’t any good, its just you need to think about long term maintenanceand not justthe immediate result’

‘It’s difficult for dentists to maintain work done elsewhere.’

ABOUT THE HOST

Dr Brad Thornton is a dentist from Leeds in the UK and owner of Ivory Dental Practice, a private dental clinic focusing on high quality cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, teeth straightening including Invisalign and also private family dentistry. A Dental Phobia certified dentist with a Masters degree in dental implants, he and his team help thousands of people each year regain their smile and their confidence. His approachable and down to earth personality mean people travel from all over the UK and overseas to visit his practice.

CONTACT DETAILS

www.ivory-dental.co.uk

brad@bradthedentist.com

In this episode Brad talks about teeth straightening. Teeth straightening has become more popular recently in the quest to preserve tooth structure by moving teeth rather than drilling them. There are many different types of brace such as: Invisalign clear aligners which are very popular, especially for adults – and are removable, metal braces (either on the front or back of teeth), and clear ceramic braces.

Whether you have treatment coming up and want to know more information, or curious about what options are out there for cosmetic dentistry, Lets Talk Teeth with Brad will give you the knowledge you need to make decisions about your dental care and oral health. Presented in an easy to understand way, the purpose of the show is to inform and empower you, the patient, to have the confidence about your treatment and take control of your dental health.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It’s difficult to replicate the beauty of nature so, if possible, we move teeth rather than use veneers. Once they’re in the right place we can treat them to make them look whiter, refine the edges and perfect them.
• The pressure being put onto a tooth will activate a process causing the tooth to move in the direction it’s being pushed.
• A benefit of ‘train track’ braces are they deliver a consistent, constant pressure to all teeth allowing them to gradually move. The downside is that they are visible.
• Clear aligners are a clear gum shield like retainer that can be removed, so the onus is on you to keep them in to get the quickest benefit.
• After the straightening has been done, we can work to make the teeth look whiter and more even, because teeth that have been crossed over often wear differently.
• All teeth need to be retained after straightening. Teeth move about over time and you don’t want that. Having a bonded retainer fitted is the best way, but you can also get removable ones that you should wear at night forever, not just for a few years.

BEST MOMENTS

‘As good as dentists and technicians are, we aren’t as good as nature.’

‘Once you become comfortable wearing a brace, the less you notice it.’

‘Now is the perfect time to get a brace fitted because we’re all wearing masks.’

‘Some people want to whiten their teeth but say they don’t want to look like Simon Cowell. He’s got fake teeth, they’re not whitened. Tooth whitening will always look natural.’

ABOUT THE HOST

Dr Brad Thornton is a dentist from Leeds in the UK and owner of Ivory Dental Practice, a private dental clinic focusing on high quality cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, teeth straightening including Invisalign and also private family dentistry. A Dental Phobia certified dentist with a Masters degree in dental implants, he and his team help thousands of people each year regain their smile and their confidence. His approachable and down to earth personality mean people travel from all over the UK and overseas to visit his practice.

CONTACT DETAILS

www.ivory-dental.co.uk

brad@bradthedentist.com