RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY
Tooth Colored Fillings
Dental caries or dental cavities are the most common disease known to man. Tooth decay occurs when bacterial acids begin to eat away at the tooth enamel. This can cause patients to feel sensitivity when they eat sweets or drink hot or cold beverages.
When cavities are small to moderate size, a tooth can be restored with a filling. Fillings can be different materials. Years ago, fillings were generally silver amalgam, especially fillings in back teeth. Nowadays, fillings can be made from tooth-colored materials. These tooth-colored fillings contain no mercury as the older silver amalgam fillings do. Mercury in the silver amalgam fillings has been alleged by some people to have health hazards, and it is unsightly. Silver amalgam fillings tend to weaken teeth and many teeth with these fillings can crack over a number of years. To help prevent teeth from cracking, the tooth-colored fillings are bonded into place. This bonding process helps to restore a tooth to more of its original strength before it ever had a cavity or filling, and helps prevent teeth from cracking or breaking.
Root Canals
One of the most revolutionary developments in the field of endodontics is the operating microscope, which provides extreme magnification. This makes it possible to identify and treat even minute structures and problem areas. Thus pain can be minimized and excellent long-term results achieved.
Digital radiography offers a wide range of possibilities for diagnosis and treatment planning such as careful monitoring of the treatment progress during root canal therapy. This can be achieved using very low levels of radiation.
Using three-dimensional volume tomography (DVT) we are now able to accurately visualize areas of inflammation that previously could not be identified.
Providing the best possible long-term solution for your teeth and overall health is our primary concern. To reach this goal, our team of specialists will thoroughly discuss the diagnostic findings before we decide whether your teeth can be preserved using the latest techniques of root canal treatment or should be replaced by implants.
Crowns
Tooth decay (dental caries) or trauma can cause significant damage to the enamel jacket of the tooth and its underlying structures. A decayed tooth, one with a large filling, or a tooth that is broken or worn down can usually be saved with a dental crown. That avoids having to go through an extraction and be left with a gap in your smile.
A crown is sometimes referred to as a cap, because it fits over a prepared tooth, covering it like a stocking cap fits over your head. In our office, preparing for and placing a crown is a gentle, precise process where your comfort is our top priority.
Crowns can be made of many different materials including gold, porcelain, and zirconia. Many cheaper crowns are made offshore under sweatshop-like conditions using allergic producing materials like metallic nickel. We work with professional American dental laboratory technicians to design lovely, lustrous porcelain crowns that are strong and blend beautifully with your smile. A similar method is used to create crowns as part of crown and bridge units, or used to top dental implants – both sound dentistry methods of replacing a missing tooth.
The crown is cemented into position, replacing the enamel and some of the underlying tooth structure called dentin. Crowns look beautifully natural, and feel and function normally. With proper home care and regular dental check-ups, you may expect your dental crown to last many years.
Dentures (full and partials)
Complete dentures are used to replace missing teeth for people with no remaining teeth. Dentures may also be used for people who have lost several teeth. In this case, the appliance is called a partial denture or an overdenture.
Tooth loss may result from periodontal disease (gum disease), tooth decay, or traumatic injury. It is very important to replace missing teeth. The ill effects of not doing so can be a shift in remaining teeth, an inability to bite and chew properly, as well as a sagging facial appearance, which makes one appear older than they are.
The beauty of dentures today is that they are designed to be comfortable and functional. They are very similar in appearance to natural teeth and can improve a smile or facial appearance.