What Are Dental Restorations?
If your teeth are missing, decayed, weakened, or fractured, in such a case you need dental restoration. Dental restorations are a process of replacing or restoring your missing teeth or missing parts of your tooth structure or structures that need to be removed to prevent further decay.
What types of issues are treated with dental restorations?
The tooth structures can be missing due to decay, deterioration (weakening) of a formerly placed restoration, or fracture of your tooth. Dental restorations can fix those issues.
What are the types of dental restorations?
A few examples of restorations include the following:
Fillings: The most well-known type of dental restoration is dental fillings. Cavity fillings in your teeth with gold, silver, or tooth-colored plastic and glass materials are called "composite resin dental fillings."
Crowns: Crowns are tooth-shaped "caps" that are placed over a tooth to restore its shape and size, strength, and appearance, to hold a "bridge" set up, or to cover a dental implant. Teeth frequently need to be reduced evenly around the tooth, with the goal that the tooth crown will perfectly restore the size and shape of the tooth. This is a lengthy process and involves an impression being sent to the lab, with a temporary filling/crown in the meantime. In a few clinics, technology allows for the taking of a digital impression, which is sent to a processing machine that will fabricate a dental crown. In such cases, the process is completed in a single visit.
Types of dental crowns
Dental crowns are made from different kinds of materials, some of which include:
- Porcelain crown
- Ceramic crown
- Zirconia crown
- Metal crown
- A composite resin crown
- combination of materials
Implants: Dental implants are small metal anchoring posts (generally made of titanium) placed into the bone socket in place of the absent teeth. The implant is attached to an abutment that will look like a crown preparation. Dental implants are then covered with a dental crown.
Bridges: Bridges (partial dentures) are false teeth that are designed to "dental bridge" the gap created by at least one or more missing teeth. A Maryland bridge is a permanent dental restoration that is used to replace a missing tooth. Bridges can be anchored on either side with the help of crowns and then cemented permanently. Bridges are made from porcelain, gold, or a mix. Fixed bridges are inserted and removed by a dental specialist.
Dentures: Dentures are a removable substitution for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. Your teeth may be gone because of gum disease, tooth decay, or an injury. They are made of acrylic resin, a few times blended with metal attachments. Complete dentures replace all the teeth, and partial dentures are considered when there are a few natural teeth remaining and are replaced by metal clasps joined with the natural teeth. Dentures are classified into three types: conventional, immediate, and overdenture. A conventional denture can be a removable one. It is inserted on the same day that the last of the teeth are removed. An overdenture is done when there are still some teeth left. This type of dental replacement fits over the teeth, the leftover portions of teeth, or implants.
What are the advantages of dental restorations?
Dental restorations not only help you chew your food better, but they also help you talk more clearly and give you a better smile. They help you with keeping your teeth.
What are dental fillings?
Dental fillings are used to repair or restore teeth. They are made from a single or combination of metals such as plastics, glass, or different materials. One of the most common applications for fillings is to "fill" space in a tooth that your dentist has removed due to decay—"a cavity."Fillings are also used to fix cracked or broken teeth.
What materials are dental fillings made from?
Dental filling materials include:
- Gold
- Porcelain
- Silver amalgam (contains mercury blended in with silver, tin, zinc, and copper).
- Tooth-colored materials made up of plastic and glasses are called composite resin fillings.
What steps are involved in filling a tooth?
First, your dental specialist will numb the area around the tooth to be worked on with a local anesthetic. Then, a drill, air abrasion instrument, or laser will be used to eliminate the decayed area. The choice of instrument depends upon your dental specialist's comfort level, training, and investment in the specific piece of equipment, as well as the location and degree of the decay.
Then, your dental specialist will probe or test the area during the decay removal process to determine whether all the decay has been removed. Once the decay is removed, your dentist will clean up the bacteria and food debris and set up the space for filling the cavity. If the decay is close to the root, your dentist may initially place a liner made of glass ionomer, composite resin, or other material to secure the nerve. By and large, after the filling is in, your dental specialist will get it done and polish it.
There are several steps involved with tooth-colored fillings. Once the decay has been taken out by the dentist, the area is cleaned and tooth-colored material is applied in layers. Then, a special light that "fixes" or hardens each layer is applied. When the multi-layering process is finished, your dental specialist will shape the composite material to the best outcome, trim off any excess material, and polish the final restoration.
How to take care of dental fillings?
To keep up with your fillings, you should follow good oral hygiene practices:
- Visiting your dental specialist frequently (at least twice a year) for cleanings is recommended.
- Brush with fluoride-containing toothpaste.
- Floss once every day.
If you have any of the following symptoms, contact your dentist:
- Your teeth are extremely sensitive.
- You feel a sharp edge.
- You will notice a break in a filling or if a piece of the filling is missing.
Your dental specialist will take X-rays in case the individual suspects that one of your fillings may be broken or be "spilling".