Dental Services

“Your well-being and comfort is important to us!”

Due to Covid-19 Coronavirus we are offering emergency treatment only with strict regulations in place.

Whakatane Dental Centre  provides a range of dental solutions. In particular, we offer general and cosmetic dentistry treatments, as well as dental reconstruction. Our team is highly skilled, and more importantly, passionate about these areas of dentistry, and is dedicated to giving you the best dental experience possible.

We make sure that our patients understand the dental services they need, so they can make decisions and undergo treatment with full confidence and trust. An initial appointment with us includes a consultation explaining each patient’s diagnosis and treatment options.

Our range of services include:

General Dentistry

This includes all general-practice dental care treatments, ranging from  repairing decayed or damaged teeth using every-day materials, through to providing dental crowns, root canal therapies and dental hygiene services… and more.

General Dentistry

Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic Dentistry

We provide a wide range of cosmetic dentistry services. This includes ‘smile make overs’, cosmetic rec ontouring, teeth whitening, dental veneers… plus much more.

Crowns, Bridgework and Veneers

What are Crowns and bridges?
Crowns and most bridges are fixed prosthetic devices. Unlike removable devices such as dentures which you can take out and clean daily, crowns and bridges are cemented onto existing teeth or implants, and can only be removed by a dentist.

How do Crowns work?
A crown is used to entirely cover or “cap ” a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can be used to improve its appearance, shape or alignment. A crown can also be placed on top of an implant to provide a tooth-like shape and structure for function. Porcelain or ceramic crowns can be matched to the color of your natural teeth. Other materials may be used in the construction of a crown or bridge, including gold and metal alloys. These alloys are generally stronger than porcelain and may be recommended for back teeth. Porcelain is frequently bonded to a metal shell when the crown is to be placed in sites where the tooth not only needs to be strong, but also cosmetically attractive.

Crowns are most frequently used to:

·         Replace a large filling when there isn’t enough tooth remaining

·         Protect a weak tooth from fracturing

·         Restore a fractured tooth

·         Attach a bridge

·         Cover a dental implant

·         Cover a discoloured or poorly shaped tooth

·         Cover a tooth that has had root canal treatment

How do Bridges Work?
A bridge may be recommended if you’re missing one or more teeth. Gaps left by missing teeth eventually cause the remaining teeth to rotate or shift into the empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance caused by missing teeth can also lead to gum disease and
temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.

Bridges are commonly used to replace one or more missing teeth. Like other bridges, dental bridges span the space where the teeth are missing. They are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space. These teeth (called abutments), serve as anchors for the bridge. A replacement tooth (called a pontic), is attached to the crowns that cover the abutments.

As with crowns, you have a choice of materials for bridges. Your dentist can help you decide which to use, based on the location of the missing tooth (or teeth), its function, aesthetic considerations and cost. Porcelain or ceramic bridges can be matched to the colour of your natural teeth.

Veneers
Veneers are ultra-thin, custom-made porcelain laminates that are bonded directly to the teeth. They are an option for closing gaps or disguising discoloured teeth that do not respond well to whitening procedures.

Dental Reconstruction

Our dental reconstruction services include rehabilitation of entire dentitions where drastic damage has occurred, and this service may include dental implants and bridges on teeth or implants; We sometimes recommend tooth coloured ceramic / porcelain crowns or inlay-onlays. However, a great deal can often be achieved using ‘every-day filling materials’, and this often fits in with a minimal intervention philosophy which will be applied whenever practicable, in consultation with you, our patient;

  • White Fillings
  • Dental Crowns
  • Dental Bridges
  • Dental veneers
  • Dental Night Guards
  • Dental Hygiene
  • Root Canal therapies
  • Tooth removal including impacted wisdom tooth removal
  • Sedation
  • Continuing Dental Care

Dental Reconstruction

Root Canal Reconstruction

Our teeth are supported by their roots, not unlike the foundations of a building. Looking after the roots is vitally important to keeping your teeth.

Inside the tooth is a chamber with fine spaces leading into the root/s where the dental nerves and blood vessels (pulp) are. If the pulp becomes diseased, or it dies, an abscess and/or toothache can occur.

In the past, teeth that were abscessed or had infections in their roots often had to be extracted, but now we can offer the option of root canal treatment. This allows you to keep your teeth longer.

Root canal treatment is performed under local anaesthetic and is quite an intricate process. The pulp chamber of the tooth is cleaned and all the diseased tissue is removed from the root canals. The canals are shaped, then sealed with a permanent filling material. Finally, the crown of the tooth is restored.

Root canal treatment will usually require more than one appointment and may be completed over a number of weeks.

Root Canal Treatment

We also provide:

  •    Free teenager dental care under the governments dental benefit scheme
  •    WINZ quotes
  •    ACC treatment
  •    Late night appointments