Services

Hygienist

Oral hygiene is important in all cases and we have a hygienist in the practice to assist with this. It is without doubt that those who see a hygienist regularly tend to not only have the healthiest mouths but also require less Dental work.

Good dental hygiene and gum health is the foundation of all healthy mouths. Hygienists will provide invaluable information about tooth care and will save you from more dental work.

Children’s Dentistry

Dr Paul Darby-Wade is an advocate of preventative dentistry and encourages parents to start bringing children at an early age, ideally around 3-4yrs. Children become familiar with the environment and visits to the Dentist become a friendly and non-threatening experience from the start.

Sedation is used in situations where a child may be particularly fearful or uncooperative. As an experienced father of 4 daughters, Dr Paul Darby-Wade is able to treat children in a gentle but firm and friendly manner.

childrens dentistry


nervous patients2

Nervous Patients

It is a privilege for us to treat nervous patients. Often these patients have had a bad experience in the past and dread seeing the Dentist. We spend time with these individuals and treat them with great sensitivity enabling many of them to overcome their fear or nervousness.

At times we may use conscious sedation, using medication, and often these patients will overcome their fear in just one visit. We also use special techniques to disguise the discomfort of injections, should they be required.


Restorative work (fillings)

We are a metal-free practice and whenever a tooth needs to be restored, we make every attempt to use white filling material. Most of the time, we use either Composites(resin) or Glas-ionomer restorative material.

Sometimes when a tooth is heavily broken down, we can use Porcelain or hybrids thereof to restore it.

Patients who have lost an extensive number are teeth are given the option of a “Nylon” type of Denture which is strong, flexible and very aesthetic being barely visible in the mouth when worn.

Before

After


Endodontics/Root canal

Dr Darby-Wade uses the latest techniques in Root Canal Therapy including the use of apex locators, tapered files, gyromatics and hot gutta-percha. Digital x-rays allow us to rapidly determine our progress during and after treatment. Root canal therapy (removing the nerve) will only be required in certain situations such as:

  1. Post trauma/fracture, where the nerve is exposed.
  2. Extensive decay, where the removal of decay exposes the nerve and a suitable medicament will not suffice.
  3. Infection, where a tooth becomes extremely heat or touch sensitive.

Joint and Bite Problems

We increasingly encounter patients who have some kind of clenching or grinding issues. In many instances stress is a major factor but sometimes a misaligned tooth or teeth can be the cause.

Clenching, if left untreated, can cause many dental problems such as mobility in teeth, sensitivity, food traps and fractures.

We often use a type of clenching inhibitor called a Myo-habitual Clenching Inhibitor. By using this device, which keeps your  back teeth apart, we can literally “switch off” the patient’s clenching muscles.

 

clenching inhibitor


Implants

Dr Darby-Wade has over 20 years of experience in this treatment modality and he has carried out many extensive restorations and rehabilitations of people who have lost teeth. Implants have many benefits including preservation and support of the bone and adjacent teeth around the site.

We very rarely use artificial substances or donor bone to augment implant sites, preferring a patient’s own bone which can be harvested from within the mouth.

Currently we are using the Neodent system made in Brazil under the guidance of world-renowned German manufacture Straumann as well as MIS made in Israel.

Implants are expensive items and we prefer to use lesser-known but well supported systems in order to reduce cost.

Dr Darby Wade has used most of the major international systems and is able to restore almost any implant, even if not placed by himself.


Biolase Laser Surgery

This is a very effective tool that allows for very precise surgical work which minimizes trauma to the tissues of the mouth thus reducing bleeding, post-operative pain, scarring and facilitating rapid healing.

We are also able to use the Laser for heat therapy including painful joints and it is also possible to bleach teeth in this way as well.

Finally, we can correct the appearance of gingival hyperpigmentation with advanced laser dentistry techniques, as seen in the photo, where the upper gums were done whereas the lower gums weren’t.

 


Teeth Whitening / Bleaching

We use the Zoom system which is very well known for bleaching teeth. A session usually takes about 1 ½ hours in the chair and up to 9 shade differences can be achieved, depending on the type of discolouration. Patients are directed by our in house Hygienist as to the best system to to choose from including, Zoom, Biolase, and Home Bleaching systems.

Go to www.zoomwhitening.co.za to find out more.


Same day crowns

We are one of the few practices in Durban who own and use the Planmeca/ E4D Same-day-crown system. This has been a revolutionary addition to the practice and the benefits are enjoyed by patients as well as they no longer have to leave the practice with a temporary crown, or wait for weeks for their crown to be made. We are able to digitally re-create a replica of a tooth prior to the damage incurred and by using the design unit, we are able to mill a Crown from a variety of materials.

By using this system, a tooth can be restored in as little as 2 hours.


Before

After

Fast Braces

This is a revolutionary system with over 20 years of research backing it. Because of new understandings about bone stimulation we are able to rapidly move the Crown and Root of teeth simultaneously into their correct positions with good bone support. Stimulation of a tooth down its length allows even spread of the forces along the root which minimizes, if not eliminates, resorption. The system uses a triangular bracket which mimics the shape of a tooth and this allows better and quicker 3dimesional movement. We are able to complete difficult cases in as little as 9-12 months.

Dr. Darby Wade is the first Dentist in Africa to qualify as a Senior Master Provider and with well over 100 completed cases he is very confident in the quality of treatment this system is able to achieve.

Go to www.fastbraces.com to find out more.