Beauty Spot

DENTAL EXPERTS

Dr Bryan Bluhm joins the team at GC Dental Solutions.

OFFERING QUALITY DENTISTRY from their stateof-the-art, purpose-built facility in Helensvale, GC Dental Solutions (GCDS) recently welcomed Dr Bryan Bluhm to the practice.

Originally from Newcastle, NSW, Dr Bluhm completed his trade as an electrician, before making the switch to Dentistry.

“I had always been interested in healthcare and the blend of health and hand skills made Dentistry the perfect fit for me,” he explains.

“I’ve been practising Dentistry for many years now and have found a unique interest in Invisalign (invisible braces) and cosmetic dentistry (veneers). "Through the conjunction of both I’m able to provide my patients with a beautiful smile that is always achieved conservatively (without too much drilling).

“I am now entering my second month with this practice, consider myself a Gold Coast local, and look forward to building long-term relationships with my future patients.”

The team at GCDS strive to be at the forefront of dentistry, and this means always keeping upto-date with the latest technology.

“We’ve been able to embrace this approach through our iTero 3D scanner, a device that only 15 per cent of dentists in Australia have access to,” explains Bryan.

“Identical to cutting-edge medical technology, 3D images are captured of our patients’ teeth that are then 3D printed by our lab, upon which, medical devices such as Invisalign retainers, dental crowns and implants may be constructed.

“To the great benefit of our patients, this eliminates the need for ‘gooey’ physical moulds of teeth (impressions), giving a far more comfortable experience, and a quicker appointment.”

The GCDS practice also offers a range of Invisalign and cosmetic procedures.

“Over the past few years I’ve noticed that several people have come in asking for veneers, not fully understanding what cosmetic dental treatment entails nor the options available to them.

“This leads to a lot of confusion amongst my patients, who believe they need to follow celebrity trends on social media of cutting healthy teeth to achieve a highly aesthetic smile, which is in fact, rarely the case.

“While yes, veneers can be one solution, contemporary dentistry allows us to provide discreet tooth alignment that is more acceptable to adults of all ages through Invisalign clear aligners, rather than metal ‘train-track braces’.”

This approach, combined with teeth whitening and/or composite edge bonding, allows a more conservative approach to cosmetic treatments, sometimes eliminating the need for veneers entirely.

However, in some cases, where teeth are severely discoloured or crooked, having a short course of Invisalign treatment again allows a conservative approach whereby fewer teeth, and less of the teeth themselves, need be drilled as the teeth will be in a far better placement.

Although conservative approaches have their place, for those patients wanting more immediate results, without the delay of Invisalign, GCDS offer hand-layered bespoke porcelain veneers crafted by their master dental ceramist.

Patients can rest assured that these minimally invasive cosmetic treatments rarely require needles.

According to Dr Bluhm, another area of concern for many patients is missing teeth and implants.

“Ever since dental school I’ve noticed people with missing teeth, and not uncommonly, the general public notices this as well.

“It’s unfortunate that I have encountered a great many patients who have chosen to remove their teeth when they became infected as it was more often than not, a cheaper financial decision.

“What they weren’t made aware of at the time is the increased, and often damaging, forces placed on the remaining teeth, and that over the coming years the teeth adjacent to the removed teeth will drift, rotate, and move, increasing the risk for gum disease.”

Previously, the dental profession dealt with these issues using the inconvenience of false teeth (that have to be removed and cleaned daily) or dental bridges that attached to the adjacent teeth, which unfortunately meant that if anything went wrong with either of the adjacent teeth, the entire bridge was compromised, effectively becoming a 3-tooth problem.

Modern dentistry provides the option of dental implants as tooth replacements, an option that is fixed in place (doesn’t require removal for cleaning), as our natural teeth are, and doesn’t involve the adjacent teeth unlike a dental bridge.

“Where our patients have lost their natural teeth, our experienced surgeon, Dr Sempf, can place a dental implant and in as little as three months, following healing, an implant crown (tooth) can be placed, restoring chewing function, balancing damaging forces and greatly reducing risk for gum disease,” Bryan says. gcdentalsolutions.com