Questions answered

Yes, but a night guard is essential, not optional. Without protection even premium porcelain can chip under sustained grinding, and composite fails faster. The Davies hard splint (£395–£495) is part of the treatment plan for grinders.

Porcelain resists staining well — the glazed ceramic surface shrugs off coffee, tea, and red wine for years. Composite stains gradually over three to five years, particularly at the composite-to-tooth margin; annual polishing helps, and heavy coffee or red wine accelerates it.

Composite — largely yes, because little or no enamel is removed and the underlying tooth is preserved. Porcelain — less so, because the light enamel reduction (0.3–0.7mm) does not grow back. Removing porcelain later means either new veneers or building the tooth back up with composite. This irreversibility is exactly why we recommend composite in around four of five cases.

Composite veneers five to seven years before replacement; standard porcelain ten to fifteen; Emax fifteen to twenty; master-ceramist feldspathic fifteen to twenty. Lifespan depends on material, technique, your bite, your hygiene, and protective measures such as a night guard if you grind.

Yes, more than most people expect. A mouth open overnight dries the saliva that protects teeth and gums, raising decay and gum-disease risk, and it changes how the tongue and jaw rest. In children it can influence jaw development; in adults it often pairs with snoring and unrefreshing sleep. It sits exactly where dentistry, breathing and sleep meet — which is why an integrative clinic takes it seriously.

For habitual snorers whose snoring arises from soft-tissue vibration and jaw position — they often help meaningfully, and the evidence base for mandibular advancement is reasonable. They are not universal: nasal obstruction, weight, alcohol timing and sleep position all play roles, which is why assessment comes before the appliance. We will tell you if your pattern suggests the appliance is unlikely to be the answer.

Honestly — no. A splint protects the teeth and manages the load on the joint; it does not switch off the grinding itself, which usually tracks stress and the nervous system. That is why our approach pairs the appliance with the upstream question. A clinic that sells the splint as a cure is overpromising.

Most grinders are told by a partner or discover it at a check-up. The signs we look for: flattened or chipped edges, cracks, sensitivity without decay, morning jaw ache or temple headaches, and scalloped edges on the tongue. If several of those sound familiar, an assessment is worth more than guessing — the damage from unmanaged grinding accumulates quietly.

No — and you should be cautious of any dental clinic that says otherwise. Sleep apnoea is a medical condition diagnosed and managed by sleep-medicine specialists. What a dentist can properly provide is a custom anti-snoring appliance for snoring, and appliance work alongside a sleep physician's care where they direct it. If your symptoms suggest more than snoring — breathing pauses, gasping, heavy daytime sleepiness — ask your GP about a sleep study first.

That is one meaning of the term — sedation dentistry — but it is not what we offer. DWL does not provide IV sedation or general anaesthesia; where a case genuinely needs it we refer to appropriately equipped colleagues. Most dental anxiety responds better to unhurried appointments, full explanation, and — where useful — support from our in-house wellness team.

It depends on the size of each restoration and what replaces it, so we quote a written, itemised plan after assessment rather than a single headline figure. As a guide, a single mercury-free replacement is usually in the region of £200–£500 per filling, and the dental examination is £65. Larger staged plans can be spread with Tabeo finance.

This is the hardest question to answer honestly, so I will not pretend otherwise. Population research has not established sound amalgam fillings as a cause of general symptoms or illness, and I will not attribute unexplained symptoms to your fillings in order to sell you a procedure. If you feel unwell, that deserves a proper medical assessment with your GP. What I can offer is an honest read of what your fillings do and do not explain, and good dentistry either way.

We apply the IAOMT's SMART protocol as our technical standard for safe removal, and I will be candid about the distinction: it is following the published precautions on every filling that actually protects you in the chair, and that is what we do. I would gently steer you away from choosing any dentist on a certification logo alone — ask instead exactly which precautions they use on the day, because that is what limits exposure, not a badge on a website.

Mainstream guidance is to avoid elective dental work, including non-urgent amalgam removal, during pregnancy, and we follow that. If a filling is failing and genuinely needs attention while you are expecting, we manage it conservatively and time anything elective for after your baby arrives. Removing sound fillings during pregnancy is not something we would advise.

Population research has not established sound amalgam fillings as a cause of systemic illness, and we will not tell you otherwise. Removal is a reasonable choice for preference, cosmetics or a documented local reaction. If you have unexplained symptoms, they deserve a proper medical workup with your GP — not a diagnosis read off your dental chart.

Composite resin for most small and medium cavities; ceramic inlays, onlays or crowns where more of the tooth needs rebuilding. The right choice is a restorative decision about bite force and remaining tooth structure, made tooth by tooth with the long-term function of your bite in mind.

The Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique, published by the IAOMT. It codifies precautions for removal — rubber-dam isolation, high-volume suction, water cooling, sectioning the filling out in pieces, and air management — to reduce incidental mercury exposure for the patient and the clinical team. We follow it when we remove amalgam.

The precautions are real and worth having if you choose removal, because drilling an amalgam is its highest-exposure moment. What is *not* honest is telling you sound fillings must come out for your health. The protocol is sensible safety during a chosen procedure — not a reason to have the procedure.

Initial consultations are

A full private dental offering: [Invisalign Diamond II](/dental/invisalign-islington/), [composite bonding and veneers](/dental/cosmetic-dentist-islington/), [hygiene tiers from £85](/dental/hygienist-islington/), [dental implants](/dental/implants-islington/), [emergency same-day appointments](/dental/emergency-dentist-islington/), [whitening](/dental/teeth-whitening-islington/), and [family dentistry from age five](/dental/family-dentist-islington/). Plus the integrated aesthetic medicine, body wellness, and whole-health work the clinic is built around.

Yes. We are an entirely private dental practice — we do not hold an NHS contract. Why? Because the way we want to deliver care — long appointments, sequential planning, multi-discipline integration — is structurally incompatible with the UDA system. Private practice is the model that lets us deliver the standard we set.

The fastest route is the phone —

Three differences matter most. Time — a private appointment runs forty-five minutes to an hour, where the NHS standard is closer to ten. Choice of materials and technique — on the NHS these are pre-set; privately you and the clinician choose. Access — private appointments can usually be booked within days, where NHS routine access has tightened considerably across north London. Cost is the trade-off; honesty about which is right for your needs is the answer.

A private dental consultation at Dental & Wellness London is

Within the case range each is suitable for — yes, the final alignment can be equivalent. The treatment doesn't determine the result; the planning, technique, and compliance do. A well-planned case in either system delivers the same end position.