What is Restorative Dentistry?

For so many years, your only choice was the metallic fillings that would darken with age. Now, there is a much better choice available. Composite resin fillings can be matched to the color of your teeth and are very durable. Now you don’t have to reveal your past dental work when you smile or laugh because every filling will look completely natural.

You may need a crown if a tooth has a fracture, root canal therapy, or a large filling. By placing a crown on that tooth, it is strengthened and protected. A crown may be all-porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal or it could be all-metal. 

When one or more teeth are missing, a bridge fills the gap. This restoration is made from tooth-colored materials and is secured on the existing teeth on either side of the gap. Your teeth are protected from shifting and you don’t have an unsightly or uncomfortable space in your mouth.  

When decay reaches the soft, inner parts of your tooth, the pulp and root are exposed to bacteria. The usual result of this penetration is an infected tooth and toothache. 

We can clean out the soft inner part of your tooth and fill the space with sterile material. A permanent filling is placed over the opening into your tooth. A crown is often placed over the tooth to strengthen it and help it last many more years.  

This method of restoring a missing tooth offers permanence and excellent functionality. Once a tooth has been removed, a small titanium screw (the implant) is placed in the jaw to serve as the foundation for a replacement tooth. Once the bone heals and bonds to the implant, an attachment called an abutment is connected to the implant. The abutment will secure the replacement tooth to the implant. This is further allowed to heal and then a natural-looking tooth replacement attaches to the abutment. The process takes several months from start to finish but the final result will feel and act like your natural tooth. This method of replacing teeth also protects the integrity of the bone in the space where the teeth are missing. Because the jaw is designed to absorb the forces of biting and chewing, it can begin to break down and then collapse when there is no tooth in the space. An implant prevents bone deterioration as well as keeping all the other teeth in the area from shifting as they adjust to the open space.

Sometimes tooth loss is unavoidable. When some or all teeth are missing, a partial denture or full denture restores a person’s ability to eat and talk, and provides a normal appearance again. Each set of dentures is custom-created for our patient, using molds we make in our office of the patient’s gums.

Immediate dentures are created the same day that teeth are extracted so the patient does not need to suffer from being toothless while his gums and bones heal. Periodic adjustments preserve the fit of the denture as healing proceeds. The immediate denture may be replaced with a new, permanent denture when healing is complete.

When several teeth have been removed but the remaining teeth have strong roots, these teeth can act as anchors for a denture. A small metal crown is placed over each remaining tooth and the new denture attaches to them. This choice eliminates the need for a full palate coverage with an upper denture.  

If you have any questions about these methods of restoring your teeth, please call our office. And if you would like to find out how these restorations can bring back your smile or ability to eat whatever you want, please call us today for a consultation. We would love to help you recover your comfort during eating and talking and restore your beautiful smile for you.