FAQs

You should start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as the first tooth appears. Use a specially-made baby-toothbrush or a soft cloth to clean it morning and night.

Children as young as two years should be taken to the dentist for a first non-threatening ‘visit’ in order to make them used to the dentist. This will prevent a trip to the dentist becoming a traumatic experience. Ideally, your child will visit us before they have any pain or discomfort, so that they won’t have a negative connotation to the dentist.

Application of sealants to your child’s permanent molars can prevent cavities on the chewing surfaces. It is an easy and completely pain-free procedure that can last for years. This procedure should not replace good oral health and children should be supervised to brush their teeth twice a day. Speak to your dentist if you are unsure of a good brushing technique.

In the true sense of the word medical aid is just that – an aid in payment. A medical aid is not a complete medical funding, and should only be seen as aiding the payment to the medical practitioner. Most medical aids will aid you in paying for a treatment option but that treatment option may not be the best or optimal treatment that can be done; for instance medical aids may aid in paying only for outdated silver metal fillings, however the preferred filling would be a white composite filling.

A root canal is the removal of the infected or damaged nerve of the tooth, and these nerves reside inside canals in the tooth. A root canal may be necessary if the nerves have become damaged, infected, exposed due to trauma to the teeth or if you have an abscess of your tooth due to an infection that is primarily caused by cavities.

An emergency root canal is the procedure of first cleaning out the nerve canal(s) in order to ensure that they are free from bacteria that can cause further infection. In order to ensure that the canals have been thoroughly cleaned, medication is placed inside these canals. This needs to stay in for one week, after which the canals can be sealed during the final root canal procedure.

Finance for your treatments is available through an independent provider. Call Medifin on 0861 000 808 or visit www.medifin.co.za for info. This practice is not a licenced credit provider – for this reason no credit arrangements can be made with the practice.

Call us on 012 993 5761 to arrange a consultation for an estimate. Once we have provided you with this estimate, we will submit it to your medical aid on your behalf in order to establish which procedures will be covered.

Oral sedation that includes a specific oral medication to suit the profile of the patient-R400

Intravenous sedation where a specialised doctor will place the patient under sedation in the dental chair at the practice. This is recommended for larger procedures like dentectomies (removal of all teeth and roots in the jaw for preparation of placing a full denture)- R2000 to R3000

Theatre can be arranged for general anaesthesia which will include involved procedures like removal of impactions (wisdoms) as well as all children under 5.

Most medical aids will cover any treatment in theatre for children up to the age of 5, where after medical aid authorisation needs to be obtained on a case by case basis. Private rates can be negotiated by the practice with the anaesthetist and day clinic or hospital.

We would recommend arranging a first consultation where your fears and needs are explained to the dentist so that a customised treatment modality can be offered, which may include anxiety control in the form of oral medication for your specific situation. We also offer sedation in theatre as well as Intravenous (IV) sedation in the chair done by a doctor.

Some teeth are too heavily decayed and too weak to function with a filling only, or the filling area is so large that the tooth structure is compromised. When placing a crown, the tooth is given a new lease on life. A crown is literally a ‘cap’ that is placed on the original tooth. The whole cap is made to the same colour as your teeth and the bite area is similar to what it would have been on your original tooth.

A bridge placement is a procedure that allows the dentist to replace lost teeth without the use of dentures or dental implants. A false tooth is held in place by being attached to a tooth next to it.

As far as possible, only white fillings are done. Please note that the South African -, the British- and the American Dental Associations regard silver fillings as safe to use, however these will only be used in certain indicated cases.

All braces candidates are always first referred to a specialised orthodontist for consultation with specialised x-rays and feedback before a final decision on the treatment plan is made.

Due to the highly specialised nature of this procedure it is recommended that all implants are placed by either maxillo-facial surgeons or a periodontist in conjunction with our practice.

Two types of veneers exist – minimally invasive and more invasive veneers, whereby tooth colour, tooth shape and alignment can be corrected within a week’s time versus braces, bleaching and extensive prosthodontic treatment that can take months or years to have an effect. It is essentially a ‘cap’ like a crown placement and many different materials are used, like zirconium or ceramic. Veneers do not discolour due to coffee or wine consumption or smoking.