Tooth Restoration

When dental patients fail to heed warnings about the importance of good dental care, then they eventually need to inquire about the availability of some form of tooth restoration. Tooth restoration offers help to those who have either missing teeth or damaged teeth, teeth that are in a prominent position in the mouth.

For chipped teeth, experts in tooth restoration frequently turn to bonding. When a dentist uses bonding, then that dental professional can apply a fairly natural-looking material to a damaged tooth. Bonding of some sort comes into play during almost every one of the present-day dental procedures.

Patients welcome the restorative changes achieved by bonding, because patients feel no pain while bonding material is applied to a tooth. Moreover, bonding does not call for a series of visits to the dentist's office. One visit gives the dentist enough time to complete a bonding procedure, because the dentist does not need to make any molds.

When patients have missing teeth, they can choose among expanding arrays of different procedures, all procedures aimed at tooth restoration. Patients know that any one of those procedures should allow them to avoid future dental problems, problems such as shifting teeth. In addition, tooth restoration can make it much easier for someone with a missing tooth to enjoy a hearty meal.

Traditionally, patients with missing teeth have used dentures. Some patients have elected to have fixed dentures, dentures that can not be removed. Unless a patient has lost all of his or her teeth, the dentist must shape the teeth on the denture, so that they fuse with the shape of adjacent, natural teeth.

Once teeth adjacent to a denture have been shaped properly, then they must receive a crown. Following completion of that procedure, the shaped tooth is attached to the artificial tooth in the denture. Not every patient can benefit from wearing dentures. The patient must have healthy gums, and the patient should not an excessive number of dental fillings.

Sometimes damage to teeth results from an injury. At other times tooth decay can cause extensive damage to the teeth. In such cases, a dentist might elect to use either inlays or onlays. Inlays and onlays fit teeth better than the conventional filling. In addition, inlays and onlays can help a tooth to retain its needed strength. Like many forms of tooth restoration, inlays and onlays have both esthetic and practical benefits.

Patients who agree to have inlays or onlays in place of traditional fillings should understand that their chosen tooth restoration method could cause them to make several visit to the dentist's office. Inlays and onlays must be fabricated in a dental labe and then fitted in the dentist's office. If the fabricated device does not fit well, a good dentist will not immediately bond it to the decayed tooth.

A good dentist works with the patient to maximize the benefits of the available tooth restoration procedures. No one method for tooth restoration should be viewed as a satisfactory answer for every patient.