At Helens Bay we have been placing and restoring dental implants since the year 2000.  Gareth, Lidia and Sarah work as a team with the help of the hygiene department and our very experienced dental nurses and treatment coordinator.  Between Lidia, Gareth and Sarah they have over 80 years of experience in delivering private dentistry.  Lidia has been placing implants for over 20 years and has placed over 6000 implants at Helens Bay.  We have placed and restored just under 2000 dental implants since the year 2000.

Lidia and Gareth have travelled extensively to attend training courses both in surgical and restorative areas.  They have also both trained and mentored dentists in Ireland on placing implants from Biomet 3i and Nobel Biocare.

We provide a 10 year guarantee on the implant and five years on the restoration. At Helens Bay we have a Cone Beam CT scanner to enable the planning of implants and also we can use Cerec technology in some cases to design and fabricate the crown.  In 2012 we attended the Malo clinic in Portugal and were trained in the All on 4 technique – this means a patient can have their unrestorable teeth removed, implants placed and a batch of replacement teeth constructed within 24 ours to allow the patient to have a new set of teeth fitted to bring back their smile.

‘A Small change can make a huge difference” No pun intended!

Patients often ask me what I would do if I was in their situation and I find myself applying “The Daughter Test”… What would I recommend for my daughter or family member.

The actual daughter test arrived about this time last year when my daughter Emily found her teeth to be beyond bearable! She had orthodontic treatment as a young teenager and had a set of perfectly aligned teeth but like so many she did not comply with the aftercare instructions! So over a period of time her teeth slowly relapsed to their original positions.

Emily was 21 and was concerned that when she smiles, especially in photos and “selfies” her teeth were irregular and close up photo looks are of huge importance to this age group (and more!).

Emily wanted her dad the Dentist to help her fix it!

There are a number of treatments that can quickly restore slightly misaligned teeth to their former glory. We provide them at Helens Bay Dental and its an area of special interest to my colleague Sarah Lochhead.

Sarah suggested that the relatively small correction could be done for Emily using Invisalign – a series of custom-made clear removable plastic aligners.

This was a perfect solution as the visits were scheduled to fit in with Emilys visits home from University in London.

Happy Daughter… Happy Dentist!

Last month I took part in a course to update my skills in interpreting Cone beam CT scans. We have been using this amazing imaging equipment on site for several years. I travelled to London with my colleague Lidia Ferritto, long time Implant dentist at Helens Bay.

Cone beam CT scans have revolutionized the way we approach planning for Dental Implants and are also beneficial in the diagnosis of other conditions. We took part in a two day course giving us the opportunity to get world class training to refine and develop our skills.

The consultant leading the course Dr Jimmy Makdissi from the Maxillo Facial Radiology department at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry was not only an expert in his field but also very familiar with the beach at Helens Bay!

His wife was originally from Bangor and he knows Helens Bay and the surrounding area very well. Having met the team from Helens Bay Dental he said he now has an additional reason to visit Helens Bay and call in to meet the rest of the team!

As a result of meeting Jimmy we are able to utilize his training and skills in Helens Bay. The world becomes an ever-smaller place with technology as we can upload our scans on a secure link to Jimmy in the London Hospital. He can then interpret complex scans allowing local patients to avail of his great knowledge.