It’s well-established that having a positive dental experience as a child can encourage a lifetime of good oral health. At Molloy Dental we are all parents and dentists ourselves, we understand that children can feel scared or uneasy about dental visits. We treat our younger patients with extra care and kindness because we believe that going to the dentist should be a positive experience. We will provide you with the highest quality of dental care for your entire family.

• It is recommended that children attend the dentist before they start to lose their baby teeth as prevention is better than intervention.
• The earlier a problem is diagnosed the easier it is to treat.
• We strive to provide a child friendly approach for our younger patients, building on their trust and removing all aspects of fear.
• We aim to make your child’s visit a stress-free dental experience and ensure they are happy attending in the future.

Fissure Sealants

Our back teeth are not smooth like our front teeth they have deep valleys (fissures) on the biting surface of them, these are very difficult to keep clean and this is where most decay will start. This is why we like to seal these fissures to stop the bacteria hiding in there.

The sealant floods the fissure and then hardens to form a layer that prevents food and bacteria getting stuck in these tiny grooves and this prevents decay. Fissure sealants should be applied to the permanent molars of all children, but especially in those children who have decay in their baby teeth.

The process is usually quick and easy, there is no drilling or need for injections and takes only a few minutes per tooth. The tooth is cleaned, dried and sealant is then applied and allowed to set hard. Sealants usually last for many years, and usually gets the patients through the teenage years where generally sugar intake is at its highest, brushing at its lowest, thus preventing decay when it is needed the most.

White Fillings

At Molloy Dental if you have unsightly ‘black/silver’ amalgam fillings these can now be replaced with white fillings.

They are more natural looking and very strong. Composite white fillings have the advantages of improved appearance, and the ability to strengthen the tooth by adhering to tooth structure. .

If you’re worried about having mercury fillings and you’re self-conscious when you laugh, replacing old fillings with new white fillings may boost your confidence.

Root Canal Therapy

Root canals are valuable dental procedures used to treat and save teeth with badly infected roots that otherwise would need to be extracted. The pulp is the alive portion of the tooth that extends into the root and contains nerve endings and tissues. When it becomes infected, patients generally experience pain, swelling and abscess.

Root canal treatment involves removing the damaged parts of the tooth and infected root but ultimately the focus is on preserving the tooth. In some cases, an antibiotic is prescribed to help prevent further infection within the tooth. The organic portion of the tooth that remains may be restored using a crown that provides a natural appearance and normal tooth function from a strength point of view.

Many patients associate root canals with pain and discomfort, but local anaesthetics and advancements in modern dentistry have made root canals highly tolerable procedures that are often no less comfortable than getting a standard filling. Upon completion, a restored tooth that has undergone a root canal will blend in with surrounding teeth – virtually undetectable to the average eye.

Tooth Extraction

At Molloy Dental we always consider tooth extraction to be the option of last resort. However, sometimes, when the prognosis is too poor, a tooth cannot be saved.

The most common reasons for needing an extraction are:

Infection
If tooth decay or damage extends to the area where the nerve is found bacteria in the mouth can enter the pulp tissue, leading to infection. If infection is so severe that antibiotics do not cure it or Root canal is not the solution, extraction may be needed to prevent the spread of infection.

Tooth Overcrowding
Sometimes dentists extract teeth, these can be retained baby teeth and often adult teeth to prepare the mouth for orthodontics. The goal of these extractions is generally provide room for the remaining teeth, to be moved by the braces fitted to the teeth. Likewise, if a tooth can’t break through the gum, because there’s no room in the mouth for it, we may recommend extraction.

Wisdom Teeth Removal
If there isn’t enough space for wisdom teeth to erupt at the back of your mouth they can become impacted, causing pain, swelling and infections called pericoronitis. They may need to be removed if there is no prospect of them resolving themselves, ironically these can often be the most straight forward of treatments and will not need a hospital stay, but we will talk you through all your options first.

At Molloy Dental we can then talk you through the options for a permanent replacement, such as an implant or a bridge.