A twinge when you eat something cold

Accessibility and Membership at Tower Dental

Good private dentistry should not be only for people with plenty of spare money. Our dental membership plans make good routine care affordable for Blackpool patients. They start from £9.99 per month for children and from £19.50 per month for adults. A plan covers 2 examinations per year and 2 hygienist appointments. It also covers unlimited emergency consultations. You get worldwide dental accident insurance too. And 15% off all treatments. 0% finance over 6 or 10 months via V12, subject to status are available over 6 or 10 months on all treatment plans, subject to status. You get a full written quote before any treatment begins. There are never any surprises. Call Tower Dental Blackpool on 01253 353759 to book your first appointment or to ask about membership. We look forward to welcoming you to 302a Devonshire Road, Blackpool FY2 0TW.

The Mercury Question — Amalgam Safety in Plain Language

Amalgam (silver) fillings are about 50% mercury. The rest is a mix of silver, tin and copper. The mercury is locked into that metal mix. Chemically it is very different from the methylmercury found in fish, which is the form most toxic to people. It is also different from the liquid mercury in old thermometers. The WHO, the FDA and the European Commission have all reviewed the evidence. They found amalgam fillings safe for the great most of patients at the levels involved.

Even so, the EU banned the use of dental amalgam in the EU from January 2025. The UK is heading the same way. The reason is mainly the environment. Amalgam can pollute through cremation and waste water. At Tower Dental Blackpool composite resin is our standard filling material. We have not placed a new amalgam filling for several years. That is not because we doubt amalgam is safe for patients. It is because modern composite works very well, is kinder to the environment and looks far better.

Do you have amalgam fillings that are sound and working well? Then there is no clinical evidence for taking them out just because they contain mercury. Drilling one out gives you a short burst of mercury vapour. That burst is higher than the daily amount from leaving the filling alone. You may still want yours replaced because of how they look. Or because a filling is failing, or decay is starting under it. That is a fair choice. We will talk through your own case honestly.

When a Filling Is Not Enough — Knowing Inlays, Onlays and Crowns

Filling, inlay or onlay, then crown. That order matches how much of the tooth has been lost. A direct composite filling is ideal when less than about 50% of the top of the tooth has gone to decay or damage. When more than half is missing, a filling puts too much strain on the walls that are left. That raises the risk of the tooth cracking.

An inlay or onlay is an indirect repair. That means it is made outside your mouth. A dental lab builds it, or we mill it from a ceramic block. It then fits exactly into or over the prepared cavity. It is bigger than a filling but less invasive than a full crown. An inlay sits within the cusps, the pointed biting tips of the tooth. An onlay covers 1 or more of those cusps. We bond them in with professional ceramic cements. They are among the longest-lasting repairs in dentistry. Ceramic onlays are known to last well in the right patients.

A full crown is needed when too little sound tooth is left for an inlay or onlay to hold. That is usually when 3 or more cusps are involved. It also applies after root canal treatment, when the tooth needs wrapping all the way round. The choice between filling, inlay, onlay and crown is not random. It follows a clear check of how much tooth has been lost. We will always explain why we suggest one option for your particular tooth.

Stopping the Need for More Fillings — Based on research Oral Hygiene

Tooth decay is caused by bacteria. Dentists call it caries. Certain bacteria, mainly Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus, feed on the sugars and starches you eat. As they feed they make acid, and the acid eats into the tooth. You can nearly always stop it with the right mix of diet, cleaning and fluoride. Even so, it is still the most common long-term disease in the world.

The single most based on research decay prevention measure is fluoride toothpaste used twice a day, every day. Fluoride makes enamel stronger by building tougher crystals in it. It also attacks the bacteria that cause caries (decay). Adults should use 1450 ppm fluoride toothpaste. That is standard adult toothpaste in the UK. Spit, do not rinse. Rinsing with water straight after brushing washes the fluoride away before it can work on the enamel. Just not rinsing makes a measurable difference to decay rates.

Interdental cleaning means flossing or using interdental brushes. It cleans the surfaces between the teeth that a toothbrush cannot reach. About 35% of your tooth surface sits between teeth. Decay and gum disease both tend to start there. Floss or interdental brushes, it hardly matters which. What matters is doing one of them every day.

Diet is what decay-causing bacteria feed on to make acid. How often you eat sugar matters more than how much. Each time you eat it, an acid attack starts. It takes 20–30 minutes to settle. Sipping sugary drinks or snacking all day keeps your mouth acidic. That is when enamel starts to dissolve. Keeping sugary and starchy food to mealtimes helps a lot. At mealtimes you make more saliva, and saliva cancels out the acid. So your teeth spend far less time under attack.

Dental Fillings in Blackpool — Serving the Fylde Coast

Tower Dental is at 302a Devonshire Road, Blackpool FY2 0TW. We fill teeth for patients across Blackpool, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham, Preston, Garstang, Lancaster, Morecambe, Southport and throughout Lancashire. There is free on-street parking right outside. We also have a stairlift for patients who find stairs hard.

Do you need a filling, or think you may have a cavity? Please do not put it off. Early treatment is always simpler, cheaper and more comfortable than waiting for the pain to start. Call 01253 353759 or use our online booking form to arrange an appointment at Tower Dental Blackpool.

Tower Dental Blackpool — Why We Are Different

Tower Dental Blackpool at 302a Devonshire Road FY2 0TW is not a typical dental practice. We are an advanced private dental practice that happens to be in Blackpool. You get the convenience of a local practice. You also get the clinical depth, qualifications and quality of materials that most patients link with larger clinical settings or specialist referral centres. Our principal dentist Dr Sarah Metias holds the Membership of the Joint Dental Faculties from the Royal College of Surgeons of England (MJDF RCS, GDC 114267). That is an advanced postgraduate qualification. Our implant dentist Dr San Chatterjee has a special interest in implant dentistry (GDC 84643). Our clinical academic Dr Alaaeldin Elraggal holds a PhD in Dental Biomaterials. He brings research-level know-how on the materials used in restorative (repairing damaged teeth) and cosmetic dentistry.

All that postgraduate training is right here at our Blackpool practice. It helps every patient who comes to us. It is true whether you come for a routine examination or emergency treatment. The same goes for dental implants. And for composite bonding, which is tooth-coloured filling material shaped onto your teeth. We base our clinical decisions on strong evidence. We pick the materials carefully to suit each case. We give you the time your case needs. We do not cut it short to fit an NHS appointment schedule.

Patient-First Philosophy at Tower Dental Blackpool

Our philosophy is simple. We make every clinical decision in your best long-term interest. We do not pick the option that earns us the most per appointment. So we tell you honestly when you do not need treatment. We tell you when a cheaper option will give the same result as a dearer one. We tell you when your case is better handled elsewhere. We then refer you to the right specialist. We also tell you what results to expect in real life. That includes the limits of the treatment and the upkeep it will need. We do not oversell results.

This honesty matters to us. It is the base of the trust our patients place in us. The 5-star patient reviews on Google for Tower Dental say the same things again and again. They mention the team's honesty. They mention the lack of pressure. They mention how clearly we explain things, and the genuine care shown all the way through. Patients from across Blackpool, the Fylde Coast and Lancashire keep coming back to us. They send their family and friends too. That is not down to marketing or special offers. It is because the care here is really patient-focused.