Saint Albans, VT Restorative Services
If you're like most of us, you probably take the ability to eat for granted. But when dental problems occur, it can be difficult or impossible to chew and bite food. Restorative dentistry is an umbrella term for any dental procedure which focuses on restoring the mouth’s functionality and appearance.
While restorative dentistry does not fall under its own specific dental specialization, many of the procedures are included under other specialties. The goal of any dental procedure, including restorative dental procedures, is to preserve as much of the natural tooth both underneath and above the gum line as possible.
What Is Restorative Dentistry?
Restorative dentistry procedures restore your smile by repairing or replacing damaged or diseased teeth. Restorative dental procedures are often used in conjunction with one another to achieve the patient’s desired results. Most procedures require good dental health, meaning that your dentist needs to resolve any issues like cavities before performing a restorative dentistry procedure.
This could mean, for example, a patient requires a dental filling or root canal before restoring the biting surface with a crown or improving the teeth’s appearance with veneers. Using several procedures to benefit the patient results in a functional, aesthetically pleasing smile which will both boost confidence and making simple tasks like eating or chewing less difficult.
Common Restorative Dentistry Services
Fillings: Your dentist removes decayed areas of your teeth and replaces them with durable fillings. Fillings are typically made of composite resin, porcelain or gold.
Root canals: If tooth decay is severe, the pulp at the center of your tooth can become inflamed or infected. During a root canal, your Venice dentist removes the pulp, cleans your root canals, adds tiny posts for stability and places a special filling material in the tooth.
Crowns: Crowns completely cover a tooth and are used if a tooth is weakened by a crack, fracture, large filling or root canal treatment. They're also used to cover chips and discolorations. Crowns can be made from a variety of materials, including porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, ceramic, resin, gold or nickel.
Bridges: Bridges consist of two crowns that anchor one or more false teeth in the middle. They're used to replace missing teeth and are usually made from porcelain or porcelain-fused-to-metal.
Veneers: Veneers are a good choice if you want to cover teeth that are chipped, too short, oddly shaped or discolored, or if you have slight gaps between your teeth. These thin pieces of porcelain are cemented to the fronts of your teeth.
Dentures: Dentures offer a good way to improve your ability to bite and chew if you've lost many teeth. They're available in full, partial or dental implant-supported versions.
Dental implants: When you want a more permanent solution to tooth loss than bridges or dentures can offer, dental implants are a good solution. A tiny titanium implant replaces your tooth roots, while the crown that rests on top of the implant gives you the ability to bite and chew normally. They're a good choice whether you've lost one tooth or all of them.