Dissatisfied With Limited Dental Options?

NHS dentistry is a good service but limited – private options are available for extended care.

There is no doubt that NHS dentistry has had a positive role to play over the years, providing everyone with basic dental care at a free or low cost (funded by the taxpayer of course). This has been a good thing but, increasingly, people these days are looking for more from their local Chelmsford dentists.

If you are currently with an NHS dentist, you might be quite happy with them and the services that they offer. Are you aware though, how much more private dentistry can offer you?

Although many treatments that are only available privately, such as dental implants and cosmetic dentistry, are more costly, we offer a range of payment plans at Blue Sky Dental to allow you to spread the cost of your treatment.

So what can you gain by ‘going private’?

Enhanced treatments (aesthetics)

First of all, we would like to take a look at two treatments that you can get on the NHS but which are also offered privately as an enhanced version. The first of these is the standard dental filling. Most people that have had an NHS filling will have had the standard amalgam filling. This is a very strong filling material for sure but it is also very dark in colour and therefore often very visible. By paying privately, you can have white tooth fillings instead that not only restore the tooth, but do so in a natural looking manner.

The other treatment is orthodontic treatment, better known to many as dental braces. NHS braces have improved in appearance but they are still made of metal and are visible to those around you. Private dental patients of our Chelmsford practice can take advantage of modern orthodontics made from a translucent plastic that is not only almost invisible to the naked eye but also offers a greater level of convenience too. For more information about these orthodontics, please see the relevant page on our website.

Additional treatments

Having looked at enhanced versions of standard treatments, let us take a look at some of the treatments that you can only get from a private dentist.

Dental implants

If you lose a tooth, or a number of teeth, the only two options available on the NHS are dentures and a bridge. These days, fewer people opt for a bridge as it requires some invasive work being carried out on teeth that are generally healthy. Most people then opt for dentures. Unfortunately, these are not always as strong or stable as patients would like them to be.

If you are prepared to  ‘go private’ with your oral care, you can take advantage of dental implants, a tooth replacement system that replaces not only the crown section of the tooth, but the roots too. This provides for an extremely strong and stable tooth replacement that looks and feels like the real thing and can last for twenty years and often more, providing that you look after them well.

Teeth whitening

One of the best known cosmetic dental treatments that is only available privately is the tooth whitening procedure. This is an effective (and non invasive) way of improving the colour of your teeth. It is also one of the most affordable cosmetic treatments available and is now quite widely used. The effects are not permanent but they are quite long lasting and the treatment can be repeated at no risk to your teeth.

Porcelain teeth veneers

Most patients will benefit from the treatment above, but those whose teeth are badly stained or damaged by cracks or chips in the teeth, will probably benefit more from having dental veneers fitted to their teeth. This often does require some invasive dentistry but it is an excellent way of attaining a great looking smile that can last for ten years or more (again, with good care) before the veneers need to be replaced. If you are not sure which treatment will benefit you the most, an initial consultation will allow us to determine this and also allow you to ask any questions about your options.

Facial aesthetics

Modern practices such as our own Chelmford dental clinic now also offer a range of facial aesthetic services as well as dentistry. Our highly trained and experienced facial aesthetics team will be able to improve the appearance of your skin, easing out wrinkles and generally giving you younger looking skin.

If you are currently with an NHS dental practice and are interested in the services mentioned, but are unsure whether to take the next step or not, why not contact us if you would like to discuss? You can reach Blue Sky Dental for more information on 01245 211070.