Restorative
Restorative dentistry focuses on the repair or replacement of damaged or missing teeth. These procedures are meant to improve overall oral health and function.
Restorative dentistry focuses on the repair or replacement of damaged or missing teeth. These procedures are meant to improve overall oral health and function.
A dental filling is used to replace missing or damaged tooth structure. Tooth decay leads to the formation of a cavity, which is then filled. Many materials are used to fill teeth. The two most common are tooth colored composite materials and metallic amalgam.
A crown is a restoration that covers an entire tooth. They are done when a tooth has more than one-half of its tooth structure missing and a filling won’t solve the problem. If a tooth is cracked, a crown will usually hold the tooth together so that the damage doesn’t get worse.
A bridge is a fixed dental restoration used to replace one or more missing teeth by joining an artificial tooth definitively to adjacent teeth or dental implants.
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that is surgically anchored into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge in place. The benefit of using implants is that they don’t rely on neighboring teeth for support. They are permanent and stable. Implants are a good solution for tooth loss because they look and feel like natural teeth. They do not get cavities, but can still suffer from gum disease.
A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth and the tissues connected to those teeth. It is made of acrylic, plastic, and sometimes porcelain and metal materials. A denture closely resembles natural gum tissue and teeth.
A root canal treatment is performed to treat an infection within a tooth. This treatment eliminates the infected tissue within a tooth. Once the diseased tissue has been removed, the inside of the tooth is disinfected and filled with a rubber material. The rubber material prevents bacteria from growing greatly reducing the risk of reinfection.
When a tooth is root canal treated, an opening is created to gain access to the diseased pulp tissue. The opening needs to be filled in order to strengthen the tooth and retain a crown. A post is used to retain the filling material by giving the material something to hold onto. A post is placed into the hollowed out root and cemented into place.
When a tooth can no longer be maintained, an extraction is done to remove it. An extraction may be simple or surgical. In a surgical extraction, some of the surrounding bone and gums that support the tooth need to be removed. The tooth may also need to be sectioned into smaller pieces. An extraction is more likely to be surgical with a broken tooth or a tooth with more than one root like wisdom teeth.
An onlay is a restoration made of porcelain or gold that can repair a heavily damaged tooth. An onlay is an indirect restoration that incorporates a cusp by covering, or onlaying, the missing cusp. This type of restoration conserves natural tooth structure by replacing only the broken parts of the tooth.
A dental sealant is a thin plastic film painted on the chewing surfaces of molars. Sealants have been shown to be highly effective in the prevention of cavities. They act as a barrier to prevent bacteria and small food particles from penetrating into a tooth. Sealants are most commonly used on newly erupted molar teeth. Molars typically erupt at age six and twelve. Sealants can be beneficial at any age.
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