Bow Lane Dental ★9.9

The dental laboratory is inside the practice

Most City surgeries send their crown and veneer work to an outside laboratory. Bow Lane keeps two GDC-registered dental technicians on the premises: Richard O’Brien, with a master’s in dental technology from Cologne, and Kerstin Hewitt, who qualified top of her year in Germany. When a front tooth carries several shades, the ceramist matches it with the patient in the room rather than from a photograph. Private since 2001, the practice serves the Square Mile.

Treatments

Check-ups, hygiene, white fillings, root canal treatment and children’s dentistry sit beside reconstruction. Tooth repair covers bonding, inlays, onlays and crowns, both conventional and same-day. Missing teeth are replaced with bridges, dentures, implants and All-on-4. Gum disease goes to a specialist periodontist, from non-surgical therapy to regeneration and gum grafting. Straightening spans Invisalign, ceramic brackets, Six Month Smiles, Cfast, functional appliances and Incognito lingual braces. Whitening, veneers, night guards and emergency care for a broken tooth complete the range.

Technology and comfort

iTero 3D scanning replaces impression trays. CEREC mills a ceramic restoration chairside for back teeth; front teeth go to the in-house technicians. Anxious patients are offered nitrous oxide and intravenous sedation, and the ceilings carry screens with noise-cancelling headphones. The practice holds the Clean City Award and works to carbon- and plastic-neutral commitments.

The clinicians

Zaki Kanaan has been here since the practice opened, holds a master’s in implant dentistry and was voted UK Dentist of the Year in 2012. Shirley Cox is a specialist orthodontist and an NHS consultant with Barts, where she trains orthodontists. Bruno Delaunay qualified in Nancy and trained in periodontology at the Eastman on an EFP-accredited programme. Michael Sherpa holds a doctorate in endodontics with distinction. Stewart Beggs works biomimetically; Dominique Kanaan, a diploma holder in hypnosis, looks after frightened patients.

Who it suits

People in the Square Mile who want treatment finished, not referred onwards. Patients whose front crowns have never quite matched their neighbours. Anyone who needs an implantologist, an orthodontist and a periodontist to agree. Nervous patients, and anyone who chipped a tooth this morning.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bow Lane an NHS practice? No, it is private.

How many visits does a crown take? A CEREC crown is milled and fitted at one appointment; hand-built work from the on-site laboratory is chosen when the colour is complicated.

Are the specialists in-house? Yes, so a referral stays in the building.

I panic in the chair. What is available? Nitrous oxide, intravenous sedation, ceiling screens with headphones, and dentists used to dental phobia.

Can I be seen the same day if a tooth breaks? Emergency slots are kept, and a colleague steps in when your dentist is booked.

Opening hours