Veneers with Darren Cromey @ Walkinstown Dental

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Woman teeth

Now you’ve all been with me as I blogged my way through my teeth makeover. Just to recap (no pun intended. Oh okay, maybe a small one): me and the notorious Walkinstown Roundabout have come to know one another pretty well as I navigated it several times in my quest for a better smile. And that was actually the most difficult part of the whole process believe it or not.

To say that I’m happy with the finished result is an understatement. The veneers are perfect, they look like normal teeth - only better - whiter, brighter, straighter. I’ve gone from hating my smile to wanting to flash it at every opportunity.

If you’re unhappy with your teeth and thinking of taking the plunge into cosmetic dentistry I would definitely recommend it - give Walkinstown Dental a ring (they’re cheaper than the big clinics too) and Darren did a fantastic job on my teeth. You’ll probably need less done than you think so do go for a inital consult - I was amazed at the difference four veneers made. He also does six month braces, invisalign braces and teeth whitening.

I’ll put up pictures as soon as I get a chance - I just haven’t been ready for my close up yet darlings.

Happy days! And thank you Darren - you’ve no idea how happy you’ve made me!

Dr Darren Cromey, Walkinstown Dental Clinic, 01 450 6373

Tags: dentistry, teeth, veneers
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth | 7 Comments »

And… the temporary veneers are on: dental makeover #3

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Mouth checkup

Dun dun dun. This was the day. This was the hour. The temporary veneers were going on.

First my gums were numbed. I remember having this done and it did hurt in times of yore. But surprisingly all I felt this time was a little pinprick for about two seconds - and then nothing. And both times when the needle went in dental nurse Trisha put a reassuring hand on my arm - I can’t tell you how much comfort you get from this. I had stiches when I was a little kid and the only thing I remember about them now was that Beaut.ie Mammy held my hand the whole way through. And that’s how I knew everything was fine.

Well I’m so Two Thousand and Late thinking it would hurt. “We use a very fine needle and a very small amount of anasthetic for the first shot. Then you don’t feel it when we up the dose a bit” said Darren reassuringly.

He was as good as his word. Past those two initial pinpricks I felt absolutely nothing. The composite fillings on my front teeth were removed. I felt nothing. The surface of the teeth were prepared for the temporaries. Again nothing. All the drilling and filing and putting on of new teeth type surfaces and all the rest involved no pain whatsoever.

However it did mean for over an hour I was unable to talk and I didn’t like that one bit. While lying with my mouth open I was dying to join in the conversation about giving up bread that was going on. It’s too difficult I wanted to utter but had to remain silent. I was gratified when Darren remarked “It’s virtually impossible”. My words exactly I thought triumphantly. To myself.

After it was all done I had a good look in the mirror. Gone were the beige pair of teeth that I hated so much and in their place are white even gnashers. The front four teeth now look normal, so normal that no one has noticed them believe it or not. When I point it out they say “Oh yeah - knew there was something different but couldn’t put my finger on it.”

Of course they do feel weird and I can’t stop running my tongue over them - but that’s because I only got them in yesterday and am not used to them yet.

The temporaries are rock solid and if truth were told I’ d be happy to keep them forever. But apparently it will all get even better with the real thing.

Totally thrilled. Roll on the veneers.

My dentist is Dr Darren Cromey at the Walkinstown Dental Clinic

Tags: dentist, veneers
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth | 14 Comments »

Cosmetic dentistry and me: teeth whitening stage complete captain

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

happy blond with toothbrush

So I’ve been telling you about how I’m going to get my smile brightened up with veneers (read about it here if you missed my first installment).

The first step was to whiten my teeth up to the best natural shade possible - because that’s the shade the veneers will be.

Every night for about 3 weeks I’ve been busy whitening. It’s been easy because I did it while I was asleep - before bed I dripped a teeny tiny droplet of gel into each little tooth cavity in my teeth mold yoke and off I went to sleep. It fitted snugly and didn’t bother me at all. Well, except for the first night when for about half an hour I was sure I was going to choke and felt like I was going to start drooling over the sheets.

Attractive I know.

But I hadn’t it in properly. The trick is to push the plastic mold up and back onto your teeth. This gives a good fit and means you don’t really notice the mold at all.

My teeth aren’t sensitive (I’ve had Zoom whitening before with no problems) and sure enough there was no bother with this kit. Darren recommended Sensodyne and I used it faithfully just in case.

In three weeks my teeth actually whitened more than they ever have with any other treatment. But alas those two front feckers did not budge from beige (as we knew would happen). An hour in the dentist chair getting the super strength dentist grade whitening gel has meant that I’m ready to go to the next stage - the temporary veneers.

This is when the fun will commence I’ll warrant. The drilling and sawing (slight exaggeration) and suchlike. I’ll tell you all about it next week. Wish me luck!

My dentist is Dr Darren Cromey, 01 4506373, Walkinstown Dental Clinic

Tags: dentist, looking beautiful in bed, teeth whitening, veneers
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth | 9 Comments »

Teeth makeover diary: the initial consultation.

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

perfect-smile

I mentioned on the Blather last week that I was going to the dentist. And I’ve mentioned a time or twenty in other places that I hate my front teeth. I hate the colour of the two front ones and despite whitening they’ve refused to budge from beige. Plus there’s been some movement in the side ones - I had braces as a teenager but things have moved in the teeth department since then. So now when I get photos taken it looks as though one of them is brown too because it’s moved so far back.

In short I hate them. Oh did I say that already?

So when Darren Cromey was recommended to me as the dentist who could give me a teeth makeover and has done so successfully with many others, I hurried off to see him. Perusing the before and after pictures in his waiting room I was astounded by the drastic improvements in the look of teeth after treatment. After taking (horrendous) photos of my gnashers and studying them he made his expert pronouncement.

“Four veneers and retainer behind the top teeth, plus whitening to bring the rest of the teeth up to match.”

(more…)

Tags: braces, teeth, teeth whitening, veneers
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth | 39 Comments »

Brush-on Veneers: Pearl Drops Instant White

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

pearl-drops-instant-white

Wandering around Boots the other day looking for essential supplies like mouthwash and, er, false eyelashes, I came upon a shiny new product from the Pearl Drops peeps. Called Instant White, it’s about €11 and is a brush-on yokembob that promises to instantly - albeit temporarily - whiten your teeth to give a veneer-like effect, which sounded to me like a great quick fix for a fabiliss smile.

Myself and Himself cracked a tube open on Saturday morning (sure what else would you be doing?) with varying degrees of success. It definitely made my teeth look whiter, but they’re in pretty good nick anyway and there was no discernible improvement in the state of Himself’s gnashers which are a couple of shades down from mine. While results were very natural, it did leave an iridescent finish which Himself was not a fan of. Not to be deterred, I lashed on two coats, making sure the sparkles were evenly distributed, and spent the day grinning like a gobshite, admiring my shiny white gnashers in every reflective surface that I happened upon.

I don’t think Instant White’s going to sort out teeth that are particularly stained or discoloured, despite what the blurb says about it being “like a concealer for your teeth”. It may need to be reapplied after eating, but at least the applicator’s pretty discreet and could nearly pass for a shimmering lipgloss.

Although I still wouldn’t be whipping it out for a public touch-up…

Tags: dentistry, Pearl Drops, teeth, veneers
Posted in Brands, treatment & product reviews, Dentistry & Teeth | 14 Comments »

Clothes Sales Down, Surgery Sales Up?

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

boobs

Harvey Nichols announced last week that that they’d seen a sharp decline in sales in recent months, and are expecting to see a 40% drop-off in bottom-line profit to £10mSTG. I mean, ten million is still ten million, but the point is, we’re not splurging on luxury goods the way we were. And if high-end retailers like Harvey Nicks are hurting, no doubt our own Brown Thomas group is too.

But what we are still very interested in are cosmetic procedures. P-Ken waxed lyrical about the G-Shot on the Late Late the other week, and a recent survey indicated that half a million Dubliners would consider plastic surgery.

Perhaps addressing our own leathery hides is a more appealing prospect these days than handing over the guts of a month’s salary for a leathery bag? We’re way less likely to throw our hard-earned cash away at just any clinic though, says Aoife Murray of RevaHealth.com, a healthcare search engine that helps users find and compare tens of thousands of health clinics worldwide. “We are experiencing a rise in Irish visitors”, she says, adding that “people are interested in saving money while shopping around for treatment.”

RevaHealth’s figures indicate that the number of Irish people using the site to contact cosmetic surgery clinics doubled from January to February, so what were they searching for? 22% were interested in rhinoplasty, the ever-popular breast implants accounted for 16% of searches and 11% of users were comparing their options with regard to Botox.

And the other thing we’re hugely interested in? Dentistry. We are mad for the teeth, people, mad. The number of people in the Republic of Ireland searching for value-for-money on basic dental treatments up north increased by nearly 75% in February, according to Aoife. But that’s only half the picture - the company have also noted that interest in cosmetic dentistry has decreased by 25%.

So it seems that when times are tough, we still want to take care of our teeth - but the veneers can shag off.

Tags: Clinic, cosmetic surgery, northern ireland, plastic, plastic surgery
Posted in Beauty News & Links, Dentistry & Teeth | 8 Comments »

Toothpaste Aids Insomnia? Yeh Wha?

Friday, January 30th, 2009

PearlyDreams toothpaste

Tossing and turning all night, poking your snoring bedmate to get them to turn over so you can get some kip, deep, dark under-eye circles - not being able to sleep isn’t funny.

Which is why US firm Dr. Z Technologies, Inc. (no, I’m not joking) have invented PearlyDreams. Sure isn’t that awful nice of them. What is it so? Some sort of supplement or device? Eh, yesssss. Something like that.

Pearly Dreams, ladies, is a TOOTHPASTE. One you use just before bed. No, I’m still not joking.

“The first and only toothpaste with Melatonin plus Organic Herbs”, trumpets the website blurb, adding, “helps you get to sleep and gives you a more restful sleep - just by brushing your teeth!”

Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? I had a bit of a Google. Apparently melatonin is effective as a sleep aid in small doses, according to an MIT study, and the toothpaste also contains valerian, a herb that’s often used as a natural sleep-aid. Doesn’t work a jot on me, but I know people who swear by it.

You don’t swallow the product, merely allow the “the thousands of tiny blood vessels in your mouth absorb the melatonin and organic extracts into your body.” It also promises to clean and polish teeth too - well, you’d kinda hope it would, eh?

Sounds waaayyyyy too good to be true to me, and at $19.95 a tube, I don’t think I’ll be rushing to try it either.

Tags: crazy beauty, insomnia, pearlydreams, sleep, teeth, toothpaste
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth, Lotions, Potions & Scent | 5 Comments »

Six month braces: have you tried them?

Friday, November 14th, 2008

I had braces when I was younger and now I think my teeth have moved back a bit. In fact they look a lot like this guy on the Six Month Braces site.

Without the tache made from grass and lips so dry they might burst though.

Well okay they don’t look that bad. But it’s made me curious. Six months - I could put up with that. I know there’s been a lot of ongoing discussion about braces on this post and I’m wondering who has experience of the six month type?

I remember my braces were really sore when they got tightened before and if the whole procedure is accelerated is that not agony?

Tags: braces, teeth
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth, Popular | 1,058 Comments »

Snap-on Smile - a bridge too far?

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

ugly teeth

Fancy a lump of plastic to simply snap on over your existing ugly teeth?

Course you do! Just like say, clip on hair extensions, or stick on nails, you can get the look with these click into place gnashers. The plastic moulds that form a Snap-on Smile are modeled on the most admired celebrity smiles. Making it tres handy to select a mouthful of teeth a la Halle or Gwyneth for example.

A couple of drawbacks. Unlike veneers these are strictly temporary and kind of necessary teeth tasks (like eh, eating) are nigh on impossible with them in. They adhere to the teeth without any adhesive - which might greatly increase the possibility of them dropping out into your drink I’d say. And if you did pull someone - you’d have to take off your teeth before any kissing could occur. And after that no kissing would probably occur.

Costing between US$1000 and $3000, they’re marketed as a substitute for veneers for the cash strapped.

And brain cell strapped too I’d say.

I haven’t heard that these are available in Ireland. The words cold day and hell spring to mind. Maybe I’m wrong - tell me what you think!

Tags: teeth, veneers
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth | 43 Comments »

Rate It: Best at-home teeth whitening

Monday, June 9th, 2008

We’ve calved about Crest Whitestrips, introduced you to iWhite, pondered the merits of Pearl Drops Party Sparkle Toothpolish, and brought you news of blue-hued lip glosses like Benefit’s California Kissin’. And hardly a day goes by without talk of veneers or braces or somesuch in the Blather, so it looks like a set of gorgeous gnashers is something we all crave.

What’s the best DIY, not-too-’spensive solution you’ve found to make sure your smile has ne’er a touch of Shane McGowan about it?

Tags: Rate it, teeth, teeth whitening
Posted in Dentistry & Teeth, Rate it | 26 Comments »