Restorative dentistry helps patients with various esthetic or functional teeth problems to get crowns, fillings, dental implants, dentures, veneers, and bridges. Let’s take a look at each of these restorative interventions and how they can help people.
If your teeth are severely damaged, cracked or chipped to an extent that they cannot be restored by using fillings, dental crown is necessary to protect the teeth. The crowns are made of porcelain, gold or ceramic. After putting the crown on the damaged tooth, it restores its function and unnecessary tooth extraction is avoided. If before putting the crown endodontics is necessary, the patient is usually sent to a board-certified endodontist.
The dentist knows how to approach each individual filling and what kind of dental material to use. His goal is not only to achieve a cosmetic effect but also to restore tooth functionality as much as possible. Widely used dental materials for fillings include amalgam, gold, porcelain, and resin. If a part of the tooth’s surface has to be restored, amalgam is a preferred material. Amalgam is an alloy that contains either mercury or a substitute to the mercury. On the other hand, composite fillings are those with resins. They are used to restore the tooth’s color. As they are almost unnoticeable, people usually prefer them to the other dental materials.
A dental implant is the best solution in case of a tooth loss. Coordination with an oral surgeon is required, as a titanium implant should be placed surgically. Some time is needed for healing the mouth and implant integration into the bone. It will serve as a root to affix the crown. The implant feels and looks like a real tooth and other people cannot notice the difference.
Dentures are another solution for replacing a tooth and are a great alternative to bridgework and dental implants. They are custom-made and are intended to enhance the structure of the face.
Veneers are a popular option for tooth restoration that are layers of porcelain or another composite material. Their color is identical to the natural tooth and they are cemented to the tooth surface to improve the appearance, if the tooth is uneven, cracked or chipped.
Bridges are placed in the place of the missing teeth. They are intended to preserve the bite and align the adjacent teeth. Custom bridges are a long-term solution in case of a tooth/teeth loss.
Other Types of Restorations
There could be some other dental conditions that have an adequate treatment or correction. Let’s take a look at them below:
This is a cemented restoration that helps dentists to restore maximum three tooth surfaces. Inlays are usually made from porcelain, gold or ceramic.
This is another cemented restoration intended to restore the teeth sides and the chewing surface. It is made from the same materials as inlay.
Dentists usually call it composite bonding. It is a kind of treatment that helps lengthen or reshape the central front teeth.
This is a prosthetic device that consists of a framework with artificial teeth. Using retainers, it is attached to the natural teeth. It can be easily removed, as it is not cemented and people can sleep without wearing it during the night.