We recently caught up with our talented Dr. Monica Collins to gain her personal insights on cosmetic dentistry and to discuss what cosmetic treatments she can provide to her patients.
Originally from Ireland, Dr. Monica graduated from the University of Manchester England and moved to Australia in 2014, eventually finding herself on the beautiful Central Coast – how lucky are we!
Q & A with DR. Monica
What’s your favourite part of your job?
As many of my patients know, I love to laugh and smile. Seeing these emotions reciprocated because of something I have helped improve, albeit, reduced dental anxiety to a complete smile make-over is, for me, an overwhelming sense of happiness.
What is cosmetic dentistry anyway?
Cosmetic dentistry is the practice of improving the appearance of your smile.
What dental treatment do you provide to help Coastie patients to improve their smiles?
At Saratoga Dental we always strive to provide high quality dental treatment that has been thoroughly planned to meet our patients’ expectations. We do most of our planning via an advanced digital technology, Digital Smile Design (DSD), which allows us to predictably create beautiful smiles. DSD also enables our patients to get an idea of the final result before we even begin cosmetic procedures on their teeth.
We, at Saratoga Dental, believe a patient’s input into the engineering of their final smile is invaluable to its success. The numerous cosmetic procedures we perform include; teeth whitening, conventional orthodontics and Invisalign, placement and restoring of dental implants, gum treatments, composite bonding, crowns, bridges and veneers, which in many cases, can comprise a full mouth make-over.
What are veneers?
Veneers and crowns are often used to improve the shape, size, and shade of teeth to achieve a more harmonious smile. Not only can they transform a smile but are also able to provide teeth with advanced strength, preventing further damage to tooth structure and assisting in the longevity of your teeth.
Veneers can be constructed in both white composite filling material directly on the front area of your tooth or created in one of our professional labs in a ceramic material and cemented onto your teeth. Crowns are much the same as veneers, however, they cover the whole tooth and are generally made from stronger ceramics and cemented onto the teeth.
What are dental implants and bridges?
Dental implants and bridges are used to replace teeth and are fixed in position but the dentist. Dental bridges utilise the natural teeth either side of the gap to support a fake tooth.
Dental implants, however, do not require use of your natural teeth to replace a tooth. Dental implants are made up of three components; the titanium or zirconia screw that is placed within the bone then the abutment which connects the crown (the visible portion) to the screw.
For more information on dental implants, check out Dental Implants – What are they and do I need them>?
Contact us to book in your cosmetic consultation with Dr. Monica Collins!