We offer a wide variety of restorative services that are intended to save or restore a proper teeth structure. Therefore, we will be happy to help with problems ranging anywhere from restoring a broken tooth, replacing an old filling, rebuilding a broken tooth with an onlay or a crown, or replacing missing teeth with a bridge or an implant. If applicable, we will provide you with an alternative treatment options.
Single Teeth Restorations
Tooth colored fillings
Composite fillings are the most common form of a tooth restoration. They create a strong bond with the tooth, nearly restoring its original strength and structure.
The tooth colored composites are now often used to replace amalgam fillings, which are often called “silver fillings”; however, they contain more mercury than silver. These metals can often weaken the tooth leading to chipping and braking. Therefore, investing in tooth colored fillings now may save you a lot expense over the long run.
Tooth colored composites are used not only for the esthetics and shade matching, but also for the excellent mechanical properties. Teeth restored with tooth colored fillings are less sensitive to hot and cold than the ones restored with an amalgam. Moreover, less removal of the tooth is required for the resin composite placement.
Bonding
Bonding is defined as a procedure of attaching any dental materials to the tooth surface using bonding agents and curing light. Therefore, it may be involved in composite fillings, inlays, onlays, crowns and veneers placement as well as procedures of teeth reconstruction.
Bonding became mostly known for closing the gaps between teeth as well as rebuilding chipped and worn-off edges of the teeth. In these procedures a tooth-colored composites are being bonded to the particular tooth surface changing overall esthetics. Bonding procedure is very convenient for the patient as it is usually completed in one dental visit and does not involve any lab work.
The same technique may be used when patient desires esthetic change of the smile but can not afford porcelain veneers. Composite fillings are then applied to the tooth surface that most prominently shows in your smile. Any necessary adjustments and reshaping of the composite is done, giving you stunning smile with one affordable procedure.
Inlays and Onlays
Inlays and onlays, also called indirect restorations, are often used as an alternative to full coverage crowns. Inlays and onlays offer a well-fitting, strong and long lasting restoration of decay or similar structural tooth damage. They preserve the maximum amount of healthy structure while restoring the decayed or damaged areas of the tooth, ensuring health and longevity. They can often replace regular composite fillings.
In contrary with composite fillings, inlays and onlays require more chair time as they are not placed in one dental visit. They can be usually delivered to the patient in two visits as they are indirectly fabricated by a dental laboratory before being bonded to the patients tooth.
Inlays and onlays are beneficial for two reasons: esthetics and strength.
Crowns
Crown is a solution to most of the structural damages of the tooth. It may be used to protect a cracked tooth, reconstruct a broken or chipped tooth, or preserve the structure after extensive decay.
Crowns can be fabricated from gold, silver or non-precious metals, as well as many types of porcelain which give the best esthetic results. The type of a crown is determined by the dentist based on the patient’s dental needs.
Crowns require at least two dental visits. On the first visit , the dentist prepares the tooth and takes an impression that is sent to the dental lab. Also at this visit, a plastic crown is fabricated in the office to temporarily protect your tooth while waiting on the final crown. After 5 to 10 days a second visit will be scheduled for you. This visit will involve crown delivery. With special dental cements the crown will be permanently bonded to your tooth giving it the strength and functionality of a natural tooth.
Missing Tooth Restorations
Loss of a tooth may be devastating, especially if it’s showing when you smile. Luckily, modern dentistry developed many techniques on replacing missing teeth. Depending on the extent of the teeth loss, a dental implant, bridge, partial or a full dentures may become a perfect solution for your dental problem.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are a perfect solution to replace a single missing tooth or to create a support for a bridge or a denture.
Implants consist of three parts: metal root, abutment (acting as a connector) and a crown. The titanium screw is surgically placed in your jawbone in place of the root of the missing tooth. Usually two to six-month healing period is necessary before the restoration phase. Your oral surgeon will determine when the implant is ready to have restoration placed.
Once the healing period is over, a dentist will take an impression, so that the lab can fabricate an abutment and a crown for the implant. Approximately after three weeks the crown is ready. First, the dentist will check for fit and esthetics of the crown. Then, the crown will be delivered.
Maintenance of the implant is crucial. Regular 6-month visits for dental cleaning and implant maintenance should be kept with the dental office to ensure success and longevity of the implant and its restoration.
Bridge
Bridge is an indirect dental restoration used to replace one or more missing teeth. It consists of 2 or more units connected with each other. The unit replacing a missing tooth is called a pontic and it creates an illusion of a natural tooth growing out of the gum. Bridge can be fabricated from porcelain fused to metal or from porcelain only for better esthetic results. Like any other prosthetic work, it requires at least two dental visits. During the first visit, the teeth neighboring with the missing tooth will be prepared creating space for the porcelain. Then, a molded impression will be taken and sent to the lab. At this visit, a temporary bridge will be fabricated in our office to cover the prepared teeth and also to form the gum tissue around the bridge. The next visit will be dedicated to try-in when we check for the fit and esthetics. If the bridge meets all our expectations it will be cemented in place.
Partial and Full Dentures
Whenever you want to replace missing teeth, dentures are the solution for you. Dentures are made from hard acrylic material that may be reinforced with metal. The pink color makes it look very natural and its mechanical properties will give you confidence in eating and chewing you have dreamed of.
The major difference between partial and full dentures is the number of teeth used in the prosthesis. Partial denture replaces limited teeth loss, while full dentures are used when all teeth are missing in the arch.
Ask our doctors about dentures so that you can return to your old eating habits and start smiling with confidence once again.