Frequently asked questions

They say if you want to find a good plumber ask another a plumber to recommend one to you. After all the only ones who really understand how good a particular dentist is will be another dentist. We would be very happy for you to ask other dentists about us as we feel we have a very good standing in the profession. Dentists from all over the country regularly see Dr Sidelsky’s work when he lectures in cosmetic, minimal invasive dentistry and implants.

How about looking at his qualifications. Does he have a MS degree or is he registered as a specialist with the General dental council.

Good doesn’t only refer to his clinical skills but we all want to see professionals who are caring and sensitive to our individual needs. Here the best way to find out is ask an existing patient. Another good tip is to see how the practice deals with your enquiry. The receptionist who deals with you will by definition often reflect the attitude of the dentist and the other team members.

You also want your dentist to have the best equipment and to be involved with postgraduate training. Does he have a list of courses that he goes on. Even better if he a specialist or an opinion leader in the area you are seeking treatment.

Often patients compare the service they receive at the dentist with buying an item at a shop. It makes sense if you can buy say a certain model of mobile phone 30% cheaper at a different store or web site then we agree you would be a fool not to do so!

Dentists are however not the same. There isn’t one ‘model’ the same as another. As you can see from the answers to the above questions they vary in expertise, knowledge and skill. Also one has to take into account that this would also apply to the laboratory they are using. One dentist we know when asked that question by his patient merely raised his hands and indicating to the patient that he would be buying those hands and that’s the difference.

Another very important point is comparing like with like as one dentist might use a cheaper technique or material that you may not even be aware off.

Well this question is the perfect one to follow the previous one! To answer it let us ask you a question?

• Is it a post crown?
• What sort of post?
• Is it cast gold post or screw or carbon or quartz fibre?
• Is it made from porcelain or is it bonded porcelain to gold?
• Is it a lava IE: zirconium based or is an Emax which is lithium disilicate?
• Perhaps an onlay would be better and should this be a Cerec or laboratory made?

Now we’re not trying to bamboozle you where but these all the varieties which are available and each one has a different application depending on the individuals circumstance. We recommend you booking for a consultation which we can tell you costs between 49 - 120 pounds so we can examine you and advise you as to which is the best of the above for you. Of course at that appointment we will co-discover with you all the fees and the pros and cons of each of the above so you can make the right decision for your health.

The debate goes on. Confusion reigns to say the least. Most research which has been carried out using strict controls seem to suggest that whilst it is true that you may have a higher mercury content in your body with silver fillings these in fact do not affect you in any meaningful way. The recommendations of most dental ethical governing bodies is that you cannot advise a patient to remove their silver fillings to achieve health aims for other diseases. The latter could range from chronic illnesses to cancers etc. On the other hand there is much reporting from the alternative medicine family to suggest it is harmful and there are plenty individual anecdotal reports of remissions from people who have had their amalgams removed.

Conclusion - We can’t advise you to remove your amalgams but if you want to have them removed then we can do it!

But! What is the most important thing? To make sure that the restoration you are having to replace the amalgam is of the highest possible standard. That’s where we think we can help you.

Wow! That’s a big question and it deserves a good answer. First of all for bigger type of hole every dentist would probably agree with each other that it should be done.

The problem creeps in for smaller holes where there is room for genuine clinical variation in approach. In our practice we belong to the modern school of minimal invasive dentistry.

In a nutshell that means we first ask ourselves when any patient is before us the following question... "Has this patient got an active tooth decay problem?"

If the answer is yes then we offer or patients the chance for them to treat the disease! This is called a tooth decay management programme. If they are willing to control the disease using life style changes then we feel we have techniques to control and stop the small holes from getting bigger, we can harden them for you – it’s called remineralisation.

There are wonderful new materials like ICON which is called resin infiltration. As long as the cavity isn’t to big we can fill all the parts which have been eroded by the bacteria without any drilling.