Dental implants have transformed how we restore missing teeth. They offer a permanent, natural-looking solution that supports not only a beautiful smile but also healthy oral function. However, not everyone is immediately a candidate for implants. Let’s take a closer look at who qualifies — and how modern digital dentistry at Helens Bay Dental makes implant treatments safer, faster, and more predictable than ever before.

Ideal Candidates for Dental Implants

• Healthy Gums and Sufficient Bone Structure
  Dental implants must be anchored securely into the jawbone, similar to how natural tooth roots are embedded. Patients need enough healthy bone to hold the implant firmly in place. If there’s been significant bone loss from periodontal disease or trauma, a bone graft may be necessary beforehand. Healthy gums are equally critical because any active infection around the gums can threaten implant success. At Helens Bay Dental, we perform thorough assessments, including 3D imaging, to accurately evaluate bone health before recommending implants.
• Good General Health
  Since implant placement is a surgical procedure, candidates should be in relatively good systemic health. Chronic conditions like uncontrolled diabetes, autoimmune diseases, or undergoing chemotherapy can impair healing and increase the risk of implant failure. However, thanks to personalized treatment planning and close collaboration with your medical providers, our team at Helens Bay Dental can often safely proceed with treatment for patients who require special attention.
• Commitment to Excellent Oral Hygiene
  Dental implants are built to last decades — but only if patients are diligent about oral care. Brushing twice a day, flossing daily, and attending regular professional cleanings are non-negotiable. Candidates who already maintain good oral hygiene habits are excellent prospects for long-term implant success. Our hygiene team supports you every step of the way, offering tailored maintenance advice after your implant procedure.
• Non-Smokers (or Willingness to Quit)
  Smoking dramatically increases the risk of implant complications. It limits blood flow, weakens the immune system, and slows healing after surgery. Patients who smoke are strongly advised to quit before undergoing implant placement and ideally remain smoke-free to preserve the integrity of their implants and overall oral health. Helens Bay Dental offers advice and support to help patients quit smoking where needed.
• Missing One or More Teeth
  Whether it’s a single missing tooth, multiple gaps, or a full-arch replacement, dental implants are designed to restore both aesthetics and function. Unlike bridges or dentures, implants prevent bone loss, stabilize the bite, and look completely natural. Helens Bay Dental offers a range of solutions — from single implants to full arch restorations — all customized to your specific needs.
• Realistic Expectations and Patience
  While dental implants offer incredibly high success rates (95% or higher in many studies), they involve a process that unfolds over several months. Healing time is necessary for the bone to integrate with the implant post. Candidates who are patient and understand the long-term nature of this investment typically experience the most satisfying outcomes. During every stage, our team provides clear guidance, ensuring you feel informed and supported.

Think you might be a candidate?

Contact Helens Bay Dental today to book your personal implant consultation.
Our friendly, experienced team is ready to guide you towards a confident, healthy smile.

Starting your dental journey at a new clinic can feel like a big step—but at Helens Bay Dental, we make sure it’s a welcoming, informative, and high-tech experience from the very first visit.

Whether you’re seeking long-term dental care, cosmetic improvements, or just curious about what’s possible with today’s digital dentistry, your first appointment sets the stage for everything to come. Here’s exactly what to expect when you book a New Patient Assessment at our Digital Clinic in Bangor.

Step 1: A Warm Welcome and Digital Consultation

Your first visit isn’t with a dentist—it’s with one of our friendly Treatment Coordinators. This appointment is designed to be relaxed and all about you.

What happens:

•  State-of-the-Art Digital Scans
  We use advanced intraoral scanners and high-resolution digital photography to take a complete 3D record of your smile. This gives us an incredibly accurate foundation for assessing your dental health and planning future treatment.
• Informal Chat About Your Goals
  Whether you’re looking to brighten your smile, straighten teeth, restore function, or simply stay on top of your oral health, we want to know what matters most to you. This conversation helps us tailor every step to your needs.
• Review & Preview
  We’ll show you the scans and photos we’ve taken, explain what they reveal, and explore the possibilities together. No pressure, just guidance.

Step 2: Clinical Assessment with Dr Gareth Small

Your second visit is where we bring together everything we’ve learned—and you’ll be seen personally by Dr Gareth Small, our Principal Dentist and Owner, who brings over 30 years of clinical experience to every assessment.

What to expect:

•  Thorough Oral Health Examination
  Dr Small will carry out a full clinical exam of your teeth, gums, soft tissues, and bite, using the digital data from your first visit to ensure every detail is accounted for.
• Tailored Treatment Planning
  Whether it’s routine care or advanced treatment like Invisalign, composite bonding, or smile makeovers, Dr Small’s decades of hands-on experience mean your treatment plan is built on solid clinical judgement and aesthetic insight.
• Transparency and Clarity
  You’ll receive a detailed breakdown of any recommended treatments, including costs and timelines. You’ll also have the opportunity to revisit everything with your Treatment Coordinator and ask as many questions as you like.

Cost of the New Patient Assessment

•  £95 – Covers both visits:
  1️. Your digital scan & consultation
  2️. Clinical assessment with Dr Gareth Small

Ready to Take the First Step?

At Helens Bay Dental, we combine cutting-edge technology with the reassurance of decades of clinical experience—so you can feel confident about your smile from day one.

Call us on 028 9185 3304 or visit helensbaydental.co.uk to book your new patient assessment today.

For over 30 years, Helen’s Bay Dental has proudly served the local community as a family-run practice built on trust, care, and continuity. Today, we blend that tradition with the latest in digital dental technology—providing all your dental services under one roof with personalised care and modern convenience.

• All-in-One Dental Care: From general check-ups and hygiene to implants, Invisalign, and cosmetic dentistry—all services are delivered in-house.
• Family-Operated with Heart: We treat our patients like family because we are a family. Our close-knit team has been looking after smiles across generations.
• Private Membership Programme: Enjoy routine care with ease—exams, hygiene appointments, x-rays, and exclusive member benefits for a simple monthly fee.
• Digital Dentistry: We use 3D scanners, digital x-rays, and same-day restorations to deliver precise, comfortable care, faster than ever before.
• Tailored for All Ages: Our practice is designed for families, professionals, and everyone in between—making dental care easy, accessible, and stress-free.

Join our Helen’s Bay Dental family today. Explore our Private Membership Programme or book your first appointment and experience the difference personalised, digital dentistry makes.

Helens Bay Dental newsletter

Welcome Back to Helen’s Bay Dental’s Latest Newsletter!

We’re excited to connect with you again and keep you up-to-date on the latest happenings at Helen’s Bay Dental. Whether you’re due for a dental health check or just want to stay informed about our services, we’ve got plenty of helpful information to share with you in this issue. Read on to learn about exciting updates from our team.

Meet Holly

Meet the Newest Member of Our Dental Nurse Team – Holly!

We are thrilled to introduce Holly, the newest addition to our dental nurse team! Holly comes to us with a passion for patient care . Her positive attitude, attention to detail, and friendly nature make her the perfect fit for our practice.

Outside of work, Holly enjoys meeting friends for a coffee and exploring new places. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to the excellent care she’ll be providing to our patients.

Please join us in welcoming Holly to the team!

Louise passed!

A massive congratulations to our Treatment coordinator Louise who passed her dental radiography exam. This is a difficult exam that required a lot of hard work which Louise certainly put in!
We believe in investing in our teams growth and development, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge to provide only the best dental care to our patients.

Gareth and Edward attend a study day in London

We’re thrilled to share that our talented dentists, Gareth and Edward, recently attended an insightful study day in London, focused on innovative approaches to patient care and implant dentistry.

The event brought together experts in the field, allowing them to expand their knowledge on the latest advancements and best practices. By delving into the intricacies of patient care, they gained valuable insights that will help enhance the way we approach every patient’s individual needs. Additionally, they learned about cutting-edge techniques in dental implants, ensuring that our clinic continues to provide top-quality treatment for patients seeking long-term dental solutions.

Gareth and Edward are excited to bring this fresh knowledge and expertise back to the practice, making sure you receive the highest standard of care possible. We’re always striving to stay at the forefront of dental advancements, and this study day was an incredible opportunity for both personal and professional growth.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to invest in the latest dental techniques to keep you smiling bright and healthy!

Dreaming of your perfect smile?

What a fantastic before & after transformation!

Check out this stunning smile makeover! Our patient came to us looking for a more confident, radiant smile, and with the help of custom veneers, we delivered just that!

Before: chipped, misaligned teeth

After: Beautiful, even and natural-looking veneers!

Veneers can make a world of difference in creating the smile you’ve always dreamed of. Ready to transform your smile? Call us today for a consultation.

Always welcoming new patients

Helen’s Bay Dental Practice is always happy to welcome new private patients, if you know any friends or family that are looking for a practice we would love to hear from them! We take pride in providing personalised, high-quality care in a relaxed and friendly environment. Whether you’re looking for routine dental checks , advanced treatments, or cosmetic procedures, our dedicated team is here to ensure your dental experience is comfortable and tailored to your needs. Join our family of patients and experience exceptional care at Helen’s Bay Dental Practice!

First sign of spring in Helens Bay

Welcome back to our latest newsletter! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and new year. As usual there has been a lot going on in Helen’s Bay and we love to keep all our patients updated… our fabulous nurse Helena brought in this beautiful bunch of flowers for us and brightened up a wet January morning!

Our New state of the art 3D Facial Scanner

As you all know we like to keep up to date with our the latest technology here in Helen’s Bay! We recently purchased a new 3-D face scanner, this state of the art technology allows clinicians to capture detailed and accurate facial information to help with clinical diagnosis..how amazing is that! Here is our colleague Luke helping us test it out.

Team training

Some of the team spent a day at the beautiful Grand Central Hotel in Belfast. The course was on Reception mastery, focusing on the heart of our practice… YOU our patients! what an exciting way to start off the new year and the ladies came back feeling excited and inspired!

Welcoming new patients

Do you know anyone that needs an amazing new dentist? We are pleased to be in the position to welcome your friends and family to our practice. All new patients at Helens Bay Dental are initially assessed by Dr Gareth Small. We offer the gold standard in dentistry and patient care and with our highly qualified team as well as state of the art technology. You know they will be in good hands.Our welcome team are on hand to take their call and help them start their journey. Below is a couple of recent images of amazing before and afters we have taken for some very happy patients!

This photo shows a patient who came to us after orthodontic braces at his old practice but felt after he was finished this treatment he was left with black triangles which are spaces at the top between each tooth that can appear after this treatment is finished and can look unsightly. We suggested that he consider composite build ups to close these spaces, Sarah organised a digital smile design ‘road test’ for the patient to allow him to visualise exactly how the teeth would look after the build ups. The patient was really happy with the design and couldn’t wait to go ahead! What a result he had! Cosmetic bonding is an amazing treatment and can be done in only one appointment, if you would like any more information on this treatment just get in touch with our treatment coordinators on 02891853304

This before and after photo is a lovely lady who was unhappy with her teeth for a while. She then had a bad fall which resulted in a injury to her mouth and loose and fractured crowns! She was given a partial denture by her previous dentist but was unable to get used to it. She made the decision to get in touch with us as she wanted a fixed option. We were able to achieve this amazing transformation using “All on X” dental implants, this is one of our favorite before & afters and I am sure you can see why! Dental implants are the closest thing you can get to the look, feel and function of a natural tooth and allow permanent replacement of missing teeth If you have any spacing in your mouth that you would like to consider an implant for just get in touch with Glenda or Shelley to find out more 02891853304

Team member of the month

We get very regular reviews and recognition from patients for the dentists and team and we love it!

We also recognise team excellence once a month in house! Well done to Shelley who was voted by her colleagues for team member of the month!

And as always thank you to all the team for the on going hard work and dedication … we appreciate every one of you!

Welcome back to our July newsletter! We hope you all have been keeping well and enjoying this beautiful weather. As you know we like to keep you up to date with what is going on in our practice so we have a few things to talk to you about today…

Hannah attended our practice as she had been considering cosmetic dental work for some time but was always worried she wouldn’t be able to achieve her desired result. On Hannah’s first appointment we took a digital 3D scan and we were able to look at this along with Hannah and discuss what changes she would like to make. In Hannah’s lovely words she “felt in excellent hands with Glenda and Sarah as their professional manner put me at ease and they kept me informed at each step of the way, they also gave me all the options available and went through what each would mean”. Hannah then decided to go ahead with composite bonding on her upper front teeth.

“I can only say that the attention to detail was more than present, and I am overjoyed with my new smile! This has totally uplifted my confidence, I am no longer self-conscious and covering my mouth to laugh or smile, I’m proud of my big grin and amazing new teeth and the compliments from friends and family who are stunned by the difference and how natural my smile looks. I cannot give enough thanks to Sarah and the team for all their hard work”. We have added Hannah’s before and after photos. What a difference this has made! Sarah has achieved a whiter, brighter and more even appearance.

Did you know we offer Invisalign clear braces here in Helens Bay Dental? If your teeth are crowded, unevenly spaced or have shifted since you were younger Invisalign braces can help you attain that natural, arresting smile that only straightened teeth can give.

Invisalign braces are the invisible alternative to traditional orthodontics, using a series of clear aligners invisible braces comfortably adjust your teeth without your mouth being poked by metal wires and brackets.

Unlike their traditional metal counterparts Invisalign braces removable, these remarkably invisible braces which are available at our practice can be taken out when you eat, floss or clean your teeth.

3D computer imaging technology is used to design and plan your smile. A series of custom made clear aligners are then manufactured ready for fitting! The individual aligners move your teeth little by little and are generally worn for 2 weeks each, by the time you are wearing your final aligner your teeth will be in the desired position.

And at last but certainly not least one of our front of house team Victoria welcomed a beautiful baby boy at the end of May…. welcome to the team Milo! Big congratulations to Victoria from all at Helens Bay Dental.

Out for a late lunch in a new venue in Belfast Six by Nico. We had a very unusual experience, so different and new! We were welcomed by a young enthusiastic team, excited to tell all about their offerings and keen to hear after how we found everything. They explained the origins of the restaurant, how the food would be delivered and a little about each course. They told us what to expect and assured us it would be a unique experience that we would love, and they were right. There was even a screen showing live feed from the kitchen as each plate was put together time after time all afternoon

We did the usual… took photos of the food, checked in on Facebook, shared it with friends!
On the way home Gareth did an online review and recommended the restaurant as a must do experience. What happened next was even more unusual! The following day Gareth received an email from the chef thanking him for taking the time to review explaining a bit more about their new set up in Belfast (home town Glasgow!)

” I cannot tell you what it means to be so warmly welcomed to the Belfast community. Your compliments will be passed on to my Team in Belfast and will help motivate them to continue their incredible work. I’d love to keep this channel of communication open with you. If I can answer any questions, you remember something that you thought could be changed or even I could check availability for you. Please do not hesitate to contact me I love being able to communicate with my guests on a one to one level Thank you and have a wonderful week”

We love reviews at Helens Bay Dental and are lucky to have an expanding collection of warm words! We take a lot of time to tailor how we offer Dentistry and customer service and we were very impressed at this Restaurant and will be looking to see what we can transfer to our Customer care and communication. We will start with thoughtful replies to the lovely patients who take the time to review us!!

We have a new look for 2019 our 25th year in Helens Bay and it has changed things in ways we imagined and ways we didn’t! And its changed things for everyone as our pictures show.

Gareth wanted to have a new studio to deliver his Brand of Digital Dentistry in a new and improved way:- all digital imaging, microscopic examination when required, single visit crowns and a quicker and more accurate outcome with implant retained crowns.

Alexis wanted to have a space where she could look after patient calls, emails, patient care administration and Gareth’s many digital technical support needs in a back office space.

Amanda wanted to have a team member at the front of house looking after patients on arrival before handing over to the clinician looking after them.

Glenda wanted to be able to concentrate on her Treatment Coordinator role looking after new patients on first visits and helping existing patients make appointments to suit their schedule when new treatments are needed.

The physical changes took only 2 to 3 weeks which surprised us all, although our Builder Seamus Woulihan of Seaview Developments was delivering exactly what he promised. He met and exceeded our needs, which is what we try on a daily basis to do. We have worked hard in the Pre-Christmas period to deliver the best of care and service and to develop the new flow through our small building.

The impact on our patients has been enormous and we have been hugely encouraged by the swift and positive responses. The bank of 5-star reviews are building on Google and Facebook allowing others to get a glimpse of what it is like to be a patient at Helens Bay Dental. Many have taken the opportunity while with us to log a review on one of our Ipads!

A review on Instagram this week shows the patient perspective literally!

Our smaller Reception area and extra treatment rooms allows a more personal interaction between patients and staff and that has led to so many positive conversations about why Helens Bay Dental suits our patients and why it is different. New arrivals are recommending us to others which is how we can continue to grow.

We are family owned and operated and aim to remain that way. We have invested heavily in the Dental technology and are changing small things to make the Dental and Service experience personal and remarkable. We look forward to welcoming patients old and new to Helens Bay in 2019 and hope we can share the experiences with others like some of our new patients do.

We are just back from a family weekend celebrating my Father in laws 80th Birthday. Happy times with extended family of all ages reflecting on how time flies!

I returned to a 2 day in Practice training event with the whole team as we completed our move to the Digital World by introducing a wireless scanning tool to record images instead of using wet impressions material!

Long standing patients here ( of whom there are many) are the backbone of our Practice and they are very familiar with how things change at Helens Bay. It was 13 years ago that we started digital scanning to allow us to mill crowns and inlays in house. This continues to develop and progress and our dentists are among the most experienced in the UK in this field The skills have now been expanded through the entire team allowing new exciting work areas to develop for the nursing team.

At Helens Bay Dental the “Family” is comprised of team members of many ages some in situ 24 years and others less than a year. Together we are learning and introducing the latest technologies to make the patient experience and treatment outcomes the best and most innovative available anywhere! There are more exciting changes to come in 2018, news to follow!

How time flies at work when you are having fun and learning new skills to improve more smiles!

Friday 11th May 2018 was Team Meeting morning at Helens Bay Dental and we started early with breakfast, a healthy one as we practice what we preach and like to look after our teeth! We called upon the culinary skills of our near neighbour “Crumbs Catering”.

8.30 am the goodies arrived and a beautiful table was set up in readiness by Crumbs owner Diana. All agreed that our healthy option was local and delicious. We had a successful review of the last quarter and discussed the coming months.

There are even more exciting times to come at Helens Bay Dental and we will share soon. Thanks to Diana and her staff for the breakfast for the Helens Bay Champions!