Frequently Asked Questions

There’s nothing to fear! We use the gentlest and most painless anesthesia for your treatment. The answer is no. Naturally, nobody likes to have someone pottering around in their mouth, but together we can make it a great experience. Our patients love to watch the ceiling mounted television for both the audio and visual distraction. And it works a treat.

There are lots of reasons and different ways to manage this. It may be due to a growing cavity, an area of worn tooth or a result of gum recession. Grinding and clenching can do this particularly if your bite is unbalanced.

We are often asked this by first-time attendees. It’s not a simple answer. It’s like asking how much does it cost to mow my lawns! The answer varies as to when it was last cut and the size of the lawn.

What we feel is important is that the whole mouth gets a really thorough check over including the teeth, gums, bite and all the soft tissues. Sometimes radiographs are needed and that can add to the cost.

It can vary from around $85 for just a dental check up. Around $275 for a check up, clean and fluoride treatment. Adding x-rays to the check up appointment will make the overall cost $400. This is prior to any private health fund rebate you may be entitled to.  We are happy to claim for you onsite and you just pay the gap on the day. 

One of our featured benefits is the personalized service and  Dr. Zukerman’s direct mobile number is listed on the appointment card.

Our out of hour emergency service is available after clinic closure every evening, weekends and public holidays.

We are here to serve your needs and provide the highest level of dental care.

Tooth whitening is now very common and we offer a variety of systems. The most popular and cost-effective is the ‘take home’ system. Custom made mini trays are fabricated from molds of your teeth and the gel applied at home on a daily basis for 1-2 weeks.

As the first set of teeth don’t arrive until 2-3 years of age, Dr Zukerman will generally like to see children around the age of 3-4 years. That’s the best time to start dental orientation as it coincides with kinder and other social experiences. By this age the child is happy to sit in the chair unattended and ‘have the teeth counted’. We will make this first experience a fun time for all. Naturally should the parent see anything unusual in the mouth earlier that this, then of course bring them in sooner! Fortunately, in today’s world with fluoride in the water supply, early decay in youngsters in uncommon

Toothpaste is essentially a dentifrice, a bit like any type of soap. There is a huge range of different pastes available in commercial stores, some with advanced research. Mostly they all contain fluoride which is great. Gels are less abrasive than the pastes Personally Dr. Zukerman believes it’s the technique of cleaning that’s more important than actual toothpaste.

So simply choose the one that you like best! Only a small amount is needed (especially kids) and always aim the toothbrush bristles to the gums of the teeth with a swirling motion. Don’t scrub! Equally important is the cleaning of the gaps and spaces between the teeth with the floss or miniature interdental brushes.

Dental radiographs are an integral part of helping correct diagnosis in dentistry. They allow us to see things that cannot be observed just by looking into the mouth. It’s sometimes amazing to see what can be discovered. We can see what’s happening between the teeth, under old restorations, the health of the bone and gums. And of course, pick up any nasties that may be growing unaware.

At Smile Designs we have the advanced facility of the Panoramic X-ray. This is in the low dose digital format. You will be able to see your whole mouth and jaws on the one film. It’s taken out of the mouth with no uncomfortable gadgets squashed in! This is also great for seeing any third molar (wisdom) teeth. Generally dental x-rays will be repeated every 3-5 years