The goal of any restorative procedure is to restore the tooth to its original strength and function. Our doctors may utilize fillings to accomplish this, depending on the severity of the tooth decay.
To fill a tooth, one of our experienced dentists will remove the decay from the tooth, clean the affected area, and fill the cavity with a composite resin to match your existing tooth structure.
Crowns are a type of dental restoration that fully cover the portion of a tooth which lies above the gum line. Crowns encase the entire visible aspect of the tooth and essentially become the new surface of the tooth.
Our dentists may recommend a crown if decay has consumed enough of the tooth that there is no longer a stable tooth structure remaining. Typically crowns require 2 visits. At the first visit, the tooth will be prepared. This involves cleaning out all the decay and taking an impression for the crown. At the second visit, the permanent crown will be placed. There is usually a 2-3 week time period between the two appointments, during which your crown is custom manufactured.
Bridges do exactly what their name suggests – they serve as a bridge between two teeth to cover the space left by a missing tooth. Unlike dental implants, they aren’t anchored into the jaw. Instead, they are anchored by the 2 adjacent teeth.
Bridges are fixed prosthetics. This means that once they are placed in your mouth you treat it just like a natural tooth and do not remove it to clean or maintain. Just like crowns, bridges are a 2 visit procedure. The teeth will be prepared at the first appointment and a temporary bridge will be placed. Several weeks later the permanent bridge will be placed.
A root canal becomes necessary when the root of the tooth has sustained some type of damage. This damage could be caused by injury, decay, or infection. A root canal procedure involves removing the damaged root and filling the vacant space with a special dental material to seal the area.
In certain cases, our dentists may refer patients who require root canal therapy to an endodontist. An endodontist specializes in root canals and is trained to handle more complex root canal issues.
I set up new patient appointments for myself and my two kids, expecting a typical dentist visit. Oh man, was I wrong! This place is so great, I’m looking forward to having my two cavities filled next week!