We have a take home bleaching system that allows you to bleach your teeth whilst you sleep. Bleaching is a very safe and non-invasive method of achieving that perfectly white Hollywood smile.

We recommend that children be brought to the dentist when all of their baby teeth have erupted. We suggest that children accompany a parent along to a regular check up where they can see you in the chair and understand that it is not a bad experience. On a child’s first visit we offer to take them for a “ride” in our special chair and together count how many teeth they have. This is often sufficient for a first visit to the dentist. In the child’s next appointment (6 months later) we may give their teeth a clean and have a closer look.

Children and adults should both brush at least twice a day and floss once a day. Children often find it very difficult to brush their teeth by themselves, so it is a good idea to let them brush their teeth first, followed by a thorough brush by yourself, to instill good habits early in their lives.

Teeth should be brushed from gum to tooth in an upwards or downwards motion around the mouth, using a fluoride toothpaste. Avoid sideways scrubbing as this can cause toothbrush abrasion, causing teeth to become very sensitive around the gum line. A soft bristle brush is always best to use as they are gentle on the teeth. Electric toothbrushes are fabulous with many different models available with extra features like pressure sensors and timers making tooth brushing that little bit easier.

Dentistry has changed considerably over the years, and technology has allowed us to make dentistry as quick and pain free as possible. Our dentists are very gentle and understand your fears, enabling us to provide you with expert dentistry and a pleasant experience. If required, we will anaesthetise the area of your mouth needing work which will enable you to undertake pain free treatment.

• Brush twice a day with a fluoride tooth paste and floss once a day.
• Limit the intake of sugars and eat a balanced diet. Limit snacking.
• Children should never be sent to bed with a bottle or drink of juice or cordial as sugars left on teeth overnight will quickly attack teeth.
• Visit a dentist on a regular basis.

• Sometimes, if you have a large infection we have to prescribe you with antibiotics and send you away for a large extra oral film before we can see inside your mouth to assess the difficulty in removing your wisdom teeth.
• We often remove wisdom teeth in the dental chair under local anaesthetic with or without an added inhalation sedative(which often makes patients drowsy) to make the experience less unpleasant for you.
• Sometimes we take you to day hospital and under general anaesthetic (whilst you are asleep) we remove the wisdom teeth. In most cases, patients may be wise to arrange a few days off work after the surgery.

Children with both baby teeth and some adult teeth present can start early orthodontic treatment. Usually, there is a lot of crowding at this age (generally between 8 and 10 years) and the smile can look quite unappealing. With removable expansion plates we can create room for the permanent teeth to erupt and correct large bite problems like buck teeth and deep bites. We can even cure thumb sucking habits and help with speech impediments! We find a lot of children who are shy and self conscious because they don’t like their smile and see an improvement once their teeth start to look better.

Most children lose all their baby teeth by the time they are between 11- 13 years of age (there are always exceptions though). This is usually a good time to start braces as they are either in Year 6 or starting year 7 or 8. A lot of their peers are also getting braces on too at this time and it’s not as unusual as it used to be – it is in fact quite the norm or even trendy to have braces at this age because all your friends are too.

Our dentists and hygienists at Oakleigh Dental Centre try very hard to be as gentle as possible and have access to inhalation sedation using Penthrox (methoxyflurane) and the best of local and topical anaesthetics available. If you haven’t seen anyone for awhile, you’ll probably need to have an examination and some x rays to help us come up with a treatment plan which we can then tailor to your requirements whether it be something simple like a filling and a clean or giving you the smile you have always dreamed of having.

6 weeks is not a lot of time to correct crooked teeth or correct an incorrect bite, but sometimes reshaping the teeth and doing some bonding with composite resin can improve the smile enormously and Teeth Whitening to make them whiter always makes a bride and groom shine. If we have a little longer, we can often do veneers or lnvisalign to realign the teeth and correct the bite.