We offer a full range of general, preventive and cosmetic dental services. You can read more about all of these below.
In general, unless you’re in pain or have some other dental emergency, we will begin your treatment with a first consultation. After this initial assessment, we will discuss the results with you, so that we can tailor a treatment plan to your specific needs and priorities.
All our dentists are motivated, enthusiastic, highly-qualified professionals, who take pride in providing the highest level of treatment possible. We understand that some patients may be anxious about treatment. Our aim is to build, through care and honest communication, a relationship of confidence and trust with our patients.
Our fundamental guiding principle is to provide treatment that’s always in your best interests. We want to help you achieve a healthy mouth, so you can keep your teeth for life.
We pride ourselves on our honest, supportive communication with our patients
Treating generations of families and building a friendly, trusting community
We deliver the highest quality general, preventive and cosmetic dental services
We adhere to the strictest hygiene and infection control protocols, delivered with care
A thorough examination of your mouth, including teeth, bone, joints, gums, lips, tongue and more
Unless you’re in pain or have some other dental emergency, we will begin your treatment with a thorough examination of your mouth. This examination includes an assessment of your ‘soft tissue’ (gums, lips, tongue, lymph glands, etc.) and ‘hard tissue’ (teeth, bone and joints). It might also include taking X-rays. X-rays are a valuable examination procedure which we use carefully. There are some dental problems that only X-rays can reveal.
After this initial assessment, we will discuss the results with you, so that we can tailor a treatment plan to your specific needs and priorities. We believe it’s important to inform and educate you about any dental problems you have, and provide a range of acceptable treatment alternatives for your consideration. If necessary, we can refer you to a specialist for particularly complex or unusual treatments.
Our team is highly experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of dental issues
Our dentists are experienced and caring in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of painful dental problems. If you experience any of these symptoms, please contact us:
We will then be able to lease contact us, so we can help you with these services:
We can enhance your smile, and your confidence, using relatively minor, modern techniques
We understand the importance of a healthy beautiful smile. If you’re embarrassed or self-conscious about your smile, it can not only undermine your confidence in meeting people, but ultimately affect employment, education and relationship opportunities.
Significant improvements in your smile may be achieved by relatively minor, conservative techniques of modern dentistry such as tooth whitening and/or tooth bonding.
We offer the following cosmetic dentistry treatments:
We will discuss the relative merits of all available strategies and treatments as they relate to your needs. This will provide you with not only a great looking result, but also the assurance that your new smile is based on proven and accepted clinical results and research, to last and function as long as possible.
Our family-friendly practice is a great place to establish routines to set your child up for lifelong dental health
Poor dental health at an early age can potentially cause life-long problems. Without proper dental care, babies and children can rapidly develop dental problems that affect not only their teeth, but also their overall health, appearance, speech, and self-esteem.
Most children have their ‘primary’ (baby) teeth by 30 months of age. The health of these baby teeth will affect the health of their permanent (adult) teeth.
For this reason, we recommend that you start bringing your child for check-ups at around 2½ years of age. (Of course, you’re welcome to bring your child earlier than this if you have any specific concerns.) The age of 2½ years is also a good time to spot any potential orthodontic problems, like crooked teeth, or protruding front teeth due to thumb sucking. Sometimes, these early problems can be corrected using simple treatments before they become too severe.
We have a fun children’s play area in our waiting room, so our younger patients can relax while playing with toys before they see the dentist. We aim to make your child feel comfortable and confident in the dental setting.
Regular check-ups from an early age have been shown to help minimise a fear of the dentist and establish good dental health routines for life. By educating both you and your child about best practice dental care, we can create a positive view of dental health in your child, helping them to avoid any later problems that could occur.
Our family-friendly practice is a great place to establish routines to set your child up for lifelong dental health
‘Preventive dentistry’ is the collective term for treatment and education to avoid gum disease, tooth decay and other problems of the mouth. Preventive dentistry has been a foundation of our practice since we opened in 1981. We enjoy helping patients of all ages to improve their oral health, comfort and appearance.
Our thorough preventive program is a combination of regular check-ups and scheduled X-rays to spot any problems early on. Whenever we see a potential issue, we’ll discuss the causes of the problem with you, including how you can prevent it from reoccurring in the future.
A dental check-up with a Penrith dentist
We’ll help you understand how to use a tooth brush most effectively. We’ll also explain and compare the benefits of dental floss, toothpicks or ‘interdental brushes’ for cleaning between your teeth. Fluoride toothpastes and at-home fluoride rinses help you maintain the benefits of our professional teeth cleaning by keeping your teeth clean and strong and your gums healthy.
For many of our patients, this program has resulted in a dramatic decrease in tooth decay, tooth erosion and gum disease, thereby avoiding the need for extensive dental treatment.
We will discuss your concerns, assess available options for your treatment, and help you achieve the smile you crave
Beginning with your initial examination, and progressing with regular check-ups, we can continually monitor and assess the appearance of your teeth and dynamics of your smile.
A smile makeover considers a combination of aspects, including:
To achieve your best smile, we can consider strategies such as:
We will discuss your main concerns, and assess the available options for your treatment and their relative merits for you. Everyone is treated as an individual and the treatment plan is customised accordingly.
A relatively-inexpensive and conservative treatment to successfully rejuvenate stained teeth
Teeth normally darken gradually over time to a yellow or brownish colour. Teeth are often made much darker by stains from coffee, tea, dark wines, smoking, or medications like tetracycline. You might prefer to have whiter teeth for your 21st, your engagement, your wedding, or another special occasion, so your smile can look its best.
Teeth whitening is a relatively-inexpensive and conservative treatment that has proven very successful in rejuvenating stained teeth. The results can be stunning.
We often whiten teeth before further cosmetic restorative treatment (veneers, implants, crowns, white filling replacement) so the new cosmetic treatment can be made as white and visually-pleasing as possible, while still matching the natural teeth around it.
After many years of successful treatment, and careful tracking of clinical trials and results, we use only the most highly-recommended whitening treatment: at-home overnight teeth whitening, used under the direct supervision of your dentist. This treatment involves a few visits to the dentist, and usually takes about two weeks to complete. Each night, the patient wears a custom-fitted ‘whitening splint’ (like a mouthguard) that holds a special whitening liquid.
Thin restorations bonded to the front of teeth to improve the appearance of stained, chipped or crooked teeth
Veneers are thin restorations that are bonded to the front surface of your teeth to improve the appearance of stained, chipped or crooked teeth. They are a more conservative alternative to crowns. Veneers not only improve the colour of teeth, but can also close spaces between teeth, improve the length of short or worn teeth, and change the shape of teeth.
We can deliver 2 types of veneers:
Not all teeth are suitable for veneers and we will discuss this with you.
A hollow cap is fitted, shaped and fixed in place over a tooth to improve function, strength, comfort and appearance
A crown is a hollow cap that is fitted, shaped and ‘cemented’ (glued) over a tooth. Each crown must be precisely shaped. Crowns have numerous functions, including:
Crowns may be constructed to provide a tooth-like appearance in shape, size, colour and texture. These crowns are normally composed of:
On back teeth, where appearance may not be as important, crowns of gold metal may be used. These gold metal crowns are enormously strong, to withstand the pressures of the molar teeth during chewing.
A false tooth or teeth suspended between, and supported by, crowns and permanently fixed in place
A bridge is a false tooth or teeth which is suspended between, and supported by, crowns on either side of a gap in your normal teeth. Like an individual crown, a bridge is fitted and ‘cemented’ (glued) in place. Unlike a denture, a bridge is not loose, and does not have to be taken out.
Bridges have numerous functions, including:
Bridges are most commonly made of a metal framework (for strength), which is then coated and hidden by aesthetically-pleasing porcelain so it blends with your natural teeth. These are constructed in a highly-sophisticated dental laboratory, so the process usually requires two appointments.
The root canal is cleaned, shaped, medicated and treated to relieve pain and avoid extraction of the tooth
Teeth with painful and infected ‘pulps’ (tooth nerves) may be treated with Root Canal Therapy to relieve pain and avoid extraction of the tooth.
There are several benefits to avoiding tooth extraction:
Root Canal Therapy is performed over multiple appointments. Firstly, the pulp is removed and the root canal is cleaned, shaped and medicated. Next, the canal is filled with a special material. A final filling is then placed, which may require a crown to strengthen the tooth.
The success rate of Root Canal Therapy is very high (over 95%), but we assess the overall strength and future of the tooth before commencing this procedure.
Operations performed under local anaesthetic, including tooth extraction and treatment of gum disease
‘Oral surgery’ is the term for surgical operations on your teeth or gums. This might involve removing teeth, particularly wisdom teeth or those that are decayed or abscessed.
Operations on the gums might be required to treat gum infection (periodontal surgery) or remove problems such as excessive gum. The appearance of your teeth might be improved by changing the shape or position of the gum tissue next to them.
All of these surgical procedures can be performed with just a local anaesthetic (a small needle in your gum to make that part of your mouth go numb). We might also use Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) ‘conscious sedation’ to relax you when appropriate.
All of our dentists are highly trained and professionally qualified to perform a range of surgical operations, and your comfort and wellbeing are always our top priorities. For this reason, if particularly complex surgery is required, or if you would prefer to be asleep (under a general anaesthetic), we can refer you to a specialist oral surgeon or periodontist.
Visually-appealing white fillings used for repair and restoration of visible front teeth as well as back teeth
Teeth may need to be repaired or ‘restored’ (filled) for a variety of reasons, including:
Amalgam (metal) fillings are still considered a very safe, functional and sometimes irreplaceable form of treatment. However, visually-appealing white fillings are usually ideal for repair and restoration of the visible teeth at the front. White fillings are also constantly improving in durability for use in the grinding teeth at the back of your mouth.
We have several different types of white fillings for different uses, and an enormous range of colours, shades and translucencies to enhance your aesthetic smile and make the fillings virtually invisible. Some white fillings even help prevent decay.
Modern white fillings are bonded to your tooth surface to increase the grip and disguise the join of the filling and tooth. Most white fillings are made of composite resin and can be completed in a single visit.
When teeth are missing, we can make removable dentures to restore function and cosmetic appearance
When teeth are missing, one of our options for restoring the function and cosmetic appearance is to make removable partial and full dentures.
If a tooth or teeth need to be extracted, we may use ‘immediate’ dentures to replace the teeth on the same visit.
A small titanium screw is inserted into the jaw bone to act as a new root to support a crown, bridge or denture
Dental implants enable us to replace a missing tooth (or teeth) or stabilise a denture.
At each location where a new tooth is to be placed, a small titanium ‘post’ (screw) is surgically, and very precisely, inserted into either the upper or lower jaw bone. After the jaw bone has fused to the titanium, the post acts as a new root to support an artificial crown, bridge or denture.
Implants require very careful and thorough maintenance during the procedure, but they offer a number of benefits:
When extraction is necessary, we use a combination of anaesthetics to make it as painless as possible
Unfortunately, sometimes teeth are so badly damaged or infected that they need to be removed.
At Penrith Dentists, we are sympathetic to the need to make this procedure as free of pain and trauma as possible. For this reason, we use two types of anaesthetic in combination.
Firstly, we rub a small amount of ‘topical’ anaesthetic onto the gum, to put that small area of skin to sleep. Once the surface of the gum is asleep, we use a small needle of local anaesthetic to make the tooth and gum completely numb. After the topical anaesthetic, you will only feel a small ‘pinch’ from the needle.
For many years, we’ve used Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) ‘conscious sedation’ to relax patients when appropriate. Alternatively, we can refer difficult cases and nervous patients to an oral surgeon, who can complete the treatment while the patient is asleep (under a general anaesthetic).
We provide custom-fitted mouthguards, the best option to safeguard your teeth from sporting injury
We strongly recommend that sports-people wear custom-fitted mouthguards. Sporting accidents are one of the most common causes of dental injury. Every year, thousands of people (including children) are treated for dental injuries like broken teeth that could have been avoided or minimised by wearing a protective, custom-fitted mouthguard.
Unfortunately, the ‘boil-and-bite’ mouthguards you can buy in stores generally don’t fit well enough to offer proper protection. They are often knocked out of the mouth by impact during sport. We see many patients that have sustained dental injuries, despite wearing a ‘boil-and-bite’ mouthguard at the time of the impact.
Here are 5 good reasons to wear a custom-fitted mouthguard:
Damaged or knocked-out teeth, broken jaws and cut lips can be painful and disfiguring. The cost of treatment for an injured jaw or teeth would be much more expensive than the cost of a custom-fitted mouthguard.
We offer different thicknesses of mouthguard to match the intensity of the sport and age of the patient.
The treatment of gum disease to make your mouth look, feel and smell better, and increase the longevity of your teeth
Some signs of periodontal (gum) disease are:
If it’s allowed to progress, gum disease can cause the loss of the supporting jaw bone around your teeth, and some or all of your teeth may be lost. Chronic gum disease is also associated with general health problems such as cardiovascular disease.
Treatment of gum disease involves removing the main causes:
In very severe or difficult cases, you may need to be referred to a gum specialist, a periodontist, to carry out your gum disease treatment.
In the short term, treating gum disease makes your mouth look, feel and smell better. Treatment will also greatly reduce gum bleeding (or even stop the bleeding entirely). Longer term, treating gum disease increases your chances of keeping your teeth for life.
Choose a time that suits you and book your visit.
We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
A family-friendly dental practice located in the heart of Penrith, delivering general, preventive and cosmetic treatments to patients of all ages since 1981.
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