General Dentistry
Do you visit the dentist as often as you should?
Are you put it off because it’s expensive and seems unnecessary?
You’re not alone:
more than half of adults in Ireland admit to only considering visiting the dentist in an emergency.
Prevention
Yet prevention is the key to good oral health. Brushing twice a day is fine for general maintenance but it’s like never taking your car for a service and repairs — you’re gambling on it not falling apart. No matter how well you brush, floss and rinse with mouthwash, there will be areas of your mouth that you can’t clean effectively by yourself — these areas are at risk of plaque build up and decay.
Regular check-ups and visits to the <hygienist> for thorough cleaning are essential for making sure that you keep your natural teeth for as long as possible. With us there’s no need to be put off by the thought of expensive examinations — we keep our fees down, easing the pressure on your pocket for the benefit of your health.
Dental examinations help identify and nip problems in the bud before they get serious but what about if you already have an issue that’s in urgent need of treatment? We offer a range of treatments to fix all common dental problems comfortably including:
- White fillings — to repair cavities and restore the look of your teeth
- Crowns — to restore the function and appearance of damaged teeth
- Bridges — fills the gap left by missing teeth
- Root Canal — saves teeth that have been badly damaged by infection
- Wisdom teeth extraction — remove potentially painful problem teeth
- Dentures — restores appearance and function to patients with multiple missing teeth
- Emergency dentistry — when you need treatment fast
As well as these standard treatments, we also offer <dental implants> as a permanent solution to missing teeth. And if your problem is an aesthetic one, have a look at our range of <cosmetic dentistry>, <orthodontics> and <facial aesthetics> options. Excellent clinical care, a relaxed and friendly feel and great value comes as standard with us. We offer advanced dentistry for less — because everyone deserves to feel better.
Benefits of general dentistry
- Focus on prevention — nipping problems in the bud
- Wide range of treatments to fix existing problems, saving your teeth
- Reduce the risk of tooth decay and gum disease with
- Emergency dentistry — for when something unexpected happens
- Free consultations on many treatments
- 0% finance available over up to 48 months
FAMILY DENTISTRY
FAMILY DENTISTRY
Have you had problems trying to find a dentist that gets on well with your children and puts them at ease? Or maybe your children are getting close to the age when they need to see a dentist and you’re looking for a practice that can accommodate your whole family?
General dental practices will treat patients of all ages but what makes a good family dentist? To start with you want to be sure that your loved ones are in great hands, so you’re looking for an established practice with experienced clinicians. You’ll want to make sure it offers a wide range of treatments so whatever the issue, there’s an excellent chance you’ll all be treated in the same clinic by the same team. Of course, you want value for money too and a range of flexible options to pay for treatment at an attractive rate.
So what makes Phibsboro Dental Care a great family dentist?
- Our practice has been serving Dublin communities for 40 years, treating several generations
- Our team is made up of highly skilled established clinicians — principal dentist (Paul Fitzsimmons) has over 15 years experience
- We offer a wide range of treatments including (general dentistry), (cosmetic dentistry), (orthodontics), (dental implants) and also (facial aesthetics)
- We offer excellent value for money with all our modern, high quality treatments being competitively priced
- We offer flexible payment methods with 0% full finance options — together we’ll find a payment solution that suits you
- We are open until 8pm Tuesday to Thursday and 8am-1pm on Saturday, making it easy to get an appointment outside of school hours
If you’re looking for a dental practice in Dublin to trust with your family’s oral health, Phibsboro Dental Care is an excellent choice. Offering an excellent patient experience, convenience and ease of access is at the centre of what we do. We are dedicated to providing high quality treatment at prices that don’t hurt — because we believe in making advanced dentistry available to everyone.
Benefits of family dentistry
- Have your whole family registered with one dental practice
- Convenient — our opening hours make it easy to get an appointment
- Great family friendly feel
- Wide range of treatments
- 0% finance available over up to 48 months
WHITE FILLINGS
WHITE FILLINGS
Brushing your teeth thoroughly twice a day is really important for keeping your teeth and mouth clean and healthy. No matter how careful you are, however, there are going to be areas you just won’t be able to reach well enough to brush effectively (this is why it’s so important to visit the <hygienist> at least twice a year, where all your teeth and gums can be thoroughly cleaned). In these hard to reach areas, dental plaque can collect and plaque acids can start to eat through your teeth’s enamel forming a cavity.
Cavities
Dental cavities are typically yellow, brown or black in colour. In the early stages, cavities are often painless so if they are located on teeth in a less visible area of the mouth you may not even notice them. Regular dental examinations will identify these cavities before they advance to more serious stages where the teeth can become sensitive to hot and cold. If an especially deep cavity reaches the nerve it can cause a very painful toothache and the tooth will need <root canal therapy> to save it.
Fillings
Fillings are used to seal off cavities and restore the tooth to health and function. People often associate fillings with traditional metal amalgam materials but modern composite has allowed dentists to create fillings that match the shade of your tooth and restore its natural appearance. These composite fillings are a little more expensive than amalgam fillings as they are more difficult to place, but from an aesthetic perspective they are undoubtedly superior.
Fillings are one of the treatments that some patients can be nervous of but in reality the procedure is painless as it is performed under local anaesthetic. Your dentist will remove the degraded tooth material inside the cavity before etching the tooth with an acidic gel, then apply the composite resin before hardening it with an LED light. The filling will then be polished for a beautiful, natural looking finish.
Your white filling will typically last around five to seven years before it will need replacing. Its longevity will be affected by the location of the tooth (and the part of that tooth) it is located on — areas that exert a lot of force when chewing will put it under greater stress than areas that don’t. If your tooth is filled extensively, we may suggest protecting it with a <crown>.
Benefits of white fillings
- Restore the shape, appearance and function of teeth
- They blend in beautifully with the rest of your teeth
- Procedure is painless
- One of the most common dental procedures
- Our dentists have treated thousands of cases
CROWNS
CROWNS
How are teeth damaged?
Your teeth are tough but they are not indestructible — heavy trauma can break them, particularly if they are already weakened by underlying problems. People who regularly take part in contact sports such as rugby or boxing are particularly at risk of these kinds of breakages. Advanced decay is also a common cause of damage.
What are crowns?
Dental crowns (sometimes called caps) are used to restore and protect teeth that have been badly damaged through decay or breakage. They fit over the tooth, sealing it and restoring its appearance and function. As well as being used to repair single teeth, they are also used to hold bridges and dentures in place.
Crowns are typically made from porcelain bonded to metal for a strong construction and a natural appearance. Your dentist will shape your tooth in preparation to be bonded to the crown, then send a series of impressions to a laboratory where a dental technician will make the crown, matching the shade to the natural colour of your tooth. This will typically take a few weeks but you will be given a temporary crown to wear in the meantime that will protect your tooth.
What about if most of the tooth is gone?
Sometimes there may not be enough tooth protruding above the gumline to support a crown. In these cases, a stainless steel post can be fixed into the root canal to provide a firm base to bond the crown onto. This is known as a post crown. Although such treatments may sound invasive, they are performed under local anaesthetic and are painless. You can also rely on our highly experienced dentists to perform your treatment as gently as possible and with care and respect.
How do I care for my crowns?
Once in place, you will need to care for your crown with a good oral hygiene routine. Regular visits to the hygienist are also advised to minimise the risk of decay where the crown meets the gum line. Crowns can last for many years when cared for and your dentist and hygienist will advise you on how best to look after yours.
Benefits of crowns
- Repair and strengthen badly damaged teeth
- They blend in beautifully with your natural teeth
- Can last for many years if looked after well
- Our dentists have treated thousands of cases
- They are highly trained in restorative dentistry
- We use high quality materials
- Free consultation with any smile makeover
- 0% finance for up to 48 months
BRIDGES
BRIDGES
Missing teeth
Do you have a missing tooth or teeth? Does the gap sometimes make you feel awkward in social and professional situations? Does it affect the way you speak and cause you day to day discomfort when eating?
People can lose their teeth for a number of reasons, most notably gum disease, tooth decay and trauma. On some occasions, knocked out teeth can successfully be replanted but in the majority of cases tooth loss is permanent, which can seriously impact your self confidence.
Not only can it affect speech and the way your teeth fit together but the redistribution of pressure when you bite can mean that surrounding teeth are put under extra stress, potentially causing them to gradually move out of position.
What are bridges?
Dental bridges are a simple and affordable way of filling the gap. One or more artificial teeth (called pontics) are sandwiched between two crowns, which are bonded to the teeth either side of the gap, effectively ‘bridging’ it. These may need some initial minor adjustments but are otherwise permanent, restoring full function to your bite.
The process of getting a dental bridge is very similar to that of getting <crowns> — the area around the gap is prepared to receive the bridge and there will be a few weeks to wait while the bridge is made by a laboratory. Once in place, your bridge may need some minor adjustments to get it sitting perfectly. It may take several visits to get just right.
You will need to care for your bridge with good oral hygiene and it is important that you visit the hygienist regularly to prevent decay where the bridge meets the gum line. Bridges are a popular treatment for missing teeth. We’ve noticed that many patients are opting to replace their removable <dentures> with bridges as they find them more comfortable and better for their self confidence as there is no chance of a bridge moving while they are eating in public (which can happen with dentures). Another option for filling the gap left by a missing tooth is <dental implants>.
Benefits of bridges
- Fill the gaps left by missing teeth
- Restore natural appearance and function
- Strong and stable — you can eat with confidence again
- Our dentists are very experienced in this treatment
- We use high quality materials
- 0% finance for up to 48 months
ROOT CANAL
ROOT CANAL
Infection
Factors like tooth decay, gum disease and trauma can lead to a tooth becoming deeply infected. This can cause irreversible damage to the nerve and it may even die altogether. If the infection remains untreated it may spread to surrounding tissue and even to other areas of the body.
The first signs of infected nerve tissue (or pulp) are sensitivity to hot and cold and pain when chewing. The tooth may even become loose. If you experience any of these symptoms it’s important that you visit your dentist as soon as you can for an X ray to establish the cause.
Deceptively, these symptoms can disappear if left untreated, leading people to think that the problem has sorted itself out — what has in fact happened is that the nerve has perished. A resurgence and worsening of the original symptoms follows and, as the infection begins to spread further, new symptoms like swelling and pain of the face and gums arise.
Root canal
Root canal treatment is designed to save the tooth and prevent the spread of the infection by removing the infected tooth material, cleaning and filling the inside with a biologically compatible material and sealing off the tooth with a crown or filling. In approximately 95% of cases this treatment saves the tooth as the nerve is not essential to its function.
Modern root canal treatment is quick and painless. We use a motorised tool that reduces the removal and cleaning stage from 20 minutes to 20 seconds. This dramatically reduces the discomfort for the patient and makes the procedure less invasive as a result. We make root canal treatment even less painful for you by offering free consultations, so you can discuss your dental issues and be assessed by an experienced dentist with no obligation.
We do a lot of root canal treatments. Our principal dentist <Paul Fitzsimmons> does around 40 procedures a month and has treated approximately 5,000 cases in total so you can be certain that you are in safe hands. Many of our patients comment on how their treatment was painless and quick, nothing like they imagined.
Benefits of root canal treatment
- Saves teeth that would otherwise be lost
- Quick and painless
- Our principal dentist (Paul Fitzsimmons) has 15 years experience
- Over 5,000 cases treated
- Free teeth whitening on any treatment over €1,500
- 0% finance for up to 48 months
WISDOM TEETH EXTRACTION
Why do wisdom teeth often cause problems?
Wisdom teeth are a relic from our ancestors, vestigial teeth that were once used for grinding up heavy plant matter. They are the last of your adult teeth to come through, typically between your late teens and mid twenties, an age when you are presumably ‘wiser’ than you were as a child.
Most adults have four wisdom teeth, one in each posterior corner of the jaw, but it is also possible to have less than or more than four. Problems often arise with wisdom teeth as they begin to erupt, causing painful and tender gums. The problems don’t stop there, however, as nowadays our jaws often do not have space to accommodate them and so they fail to erupt through the gum line. A wisdom tooth may then become impacted on neighbouring teeth and can cause decay if it makes thorough brushing impossible.
Another common problem with wisdom teeth is when the tooth does break through the gum line but can’t fully erupt. The affected area of the gum can become inflamed and infected with a disease called pericoronitis. Because wisdom teeth are obsolete and may be likely to cause issues further down the line, they are sometimes removed even before they have begun to cause major problems.
Can you take them out?
Wisdom teeth vary in how easy they are to extract, with teeth that are deeply impacted needing oral surgery to remove them. We don’t take on the most complex cases, but we certainly do treat a good proportion of them, with our dentist particularly competent in the more tricky cases requiring a degree of oral surgery. This makes us able to treat a greater proportion of difficult wisdom tooth extractions than most dental practices.
The alternative to extraction at your dentist is to have your wisdom teeth removed at a hospital. This means you will join the back of a waiting list and could be waiting as long as two years for your operation. With us you’ll have your wisdom teeth removed quickly with our standard expertise and relaxed feel. Our principal dentist <Paul Fitzsimmons> has treated around 2,000 cases in total so you can be confident that you are in safe hands.
Benefits of wisdom teeth extraction
- Gets rid of potentially painful problems
- Stops other teeth being adversely affected
- Painless — you may feel some pressure but no pain
- 2,000 cases treated by our principal dentist
- We can treat more cases than most dental practices
DENTURES
DENTURES
Your teeth have a lot to put up with over the course of a lifetime. Whether through physical damage or through dental issues such as decay and gum disease, eventually tooth loss is likely and it will have a major impact on your life. The void can damage your self confidence, affect your speech and the ability to eat comfortably. It will probably also affect the surrounding teeth which may gradually move or be worn down as a result of new dynamics in your bite.
What are dentures made of?
Dentures are removable appliances that are designed to fill small and large gaps left by missing teeth, bringing the bite back to full function and restoring the appearance of the smile. You will be able to eat, drink and smile again with comfort and confidence. The appliances can be made of materials such as acrylic (often mixed with metal), nylon or specialist products like DuraFlex. Dentures can be either full (to replace all the teeth in the upper or lower jaw) or partial (to replace one or a few missing teeth).
We offer flexible dentures (sometimes called soft dentures) which avoid the discomfort of a hard surface rubbing against the soft tissues of your mouth. Being flexible they can be manipulated very slightly as needed to provide a snug and comfortable fit. We don’t use any acrylic monomers in our appliances as some patients are allergic to them.
Who makes them?
Our dentures are produced for us at a local laboratory — a fact that enables us to offer very quick denture repairs. You can drop off your denture to us at 9am and have it back by 4pm. This is a major advantage when you can’t afford to do without your appliance for longer, which you would have to do with most practices.
We typically treat five to 10 cases using dentures a week and we also offer free consultation for denture treatment. Dentures are available to medical card holders at the Health Service Executive’s discretion.
Benefits of dentures
- Eat and smile with confidence again
- Our dentures are flexible — so more comfortable for you
- We fit around 10 sets of dentures a week
- Free consultation
- 0% finance for up to 48 months
DENTAL HYGIENE
DENTAL HYGIENE
Just brushing isn’t enough
Regular twice daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste is essential maintenance for teeth but it isn’t the complete answer for excellent oral health. No matter how well you brush, there will be areas of your mouth that you won’t be able to reach well enough to clean thoroughly. In these areas, a sticky film of bacterial plaque can accumulate and penetrate beneath the gum line. When you eat sugary foods, the bacteria release acids that attack your teeth which, over time, can eat through the enamel.
If plaque is not removed from the teeth, it can harden into tartar — rough deposits that can build up both above and below the gumline. This causes gum disease which is the leading cause of tooth loss. Gum disease begins with gingivitis and, if left untreated, progresses into periodontitis causing the gums to peel away from the tooth and allowing bacteria to attack the underlying bone. Tooth loss is the likely result.
Other risks
Moreover there is growing evidence that links gum disease in pregnant women to preterm or low birth weight babies. Inflamed gums are also associated with increased risk of heart attack, stroke and dementia. With gum disease being one of the most common adult diseases in Ireland (as well as the rest of Europe), these increased risks shouldn’t be ignored.
What can you do?
Fortunately, you can dramatically improve your dental health and lessen the risk and severity of gum disease by making regular appointments to see the hygienist. During a procedure called a scale and polish the hygienist will remove plaque and any tartar from your teeth and around the gum line before polishing your teeth to leave a fresher feeling mouth. The treatment can also remove some minor staining, enhancing the appearance of your smile.
It’s recommended that you see a hygienist at least twice a year. As well as scaling and polishing, they can also apply topical treatments like fluoride and fissure sealants. The hygienist can also advise on how best to individually care for and maintain your oral health.
Benefits of dental hygiene
- Keeps your teeth in great condition
- Reduces the risk of decay and gum disease
- Reduces the risk of serious health conditions associated with inflamed gums
- Gives your mouth a clean, fresh feeling
- Critical to ensuring a good standard of oral health
- 0% finance for up to 48 months
EMERGENCY
If something unexpected happens and you sustain damage to your teeth, lose a filling or crown, or experience unexpected pain or swelling you will need an emergency dental appointment. We operate a walk in emergency clinic daily at 3pm — you do not need an appointment but it is important to bear in mind that this time slot is meant for emergency cases that need to be seen that day.
But what constitutes a dental emergency and are there any instances where you should seek immediate hospital treatment? Here are some examples of dental emergencies and how best to respond to them:
- Broken or chipped tooth — this can be dealt with as a same day emergency case. Try to keep the tooth clean and if you have any pain, anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen may help.
- Tooth knocked out — if your tooth has been knocked out of its socket, you need to see a 24 hour emergency dentist (call 112 to find the one closest to you) as soon as possible so that they can try to replant it. Ideally, this would be within an hour of the incident occurring. There are special containers available that recreate an ideal atmosphere to keep the tooth healthy (it is worth investing in one of these if you play contact sports) or you can put the tooth in a glass of milk. Take care to touch the tooth as little as possible and do not attempt to clean it.
- Severe pain not eased by painkillers or persistent bleeding — you need to go straight to a hospital emergency department.
- Broken (filling) or (crown) — if you have the filling or crown, keep it and see us as soon as possible. Fillings can fail for a number of reasons — sometimes we will be able to just replace it with another but if there are other problems such as underlying decay, you may need a procedure such as a crown or
to restore the health of the tooth. Similarly, we may be able to rebond a crown if there is no change in the shape or health of the underlying tooth but if there is decay, a root canal may be necessary. - Broken or lost veneer — come and see us as soon as you can.
- Pain, bleeding or swelling following a dental procedure — come and see us as soon as you can. For pain and swelling, anti inflammatory medication like ibuprofen should help. If the pain is very severe or the bleeding persistent, you need to go to a hospital emergency department.
- Bleeding gums — you need to see us as soon as possible. In the meantime, rinsing with warm water and salt will help.