Dental caries and trauma can significantly impact your tooth structure, impairing its oral form, function, and aesthetics. But with the evolution of restorative dentistry, you can rehabilitate your oral health through several dental procedures that restore diseased or damaged tooth structure.
Dental care in Philadelphia offers restorative procedures intending to rehabilitate the oral form, function, and appearance by rebuilding the lost tooth structure.
What is restorative dentistry?
Restorative dentistry is a special branch of dental sciences that helps restore, repair, or replace your teeth. The main objective of this branch is to enhance oral health and masticatory functions. Additionally, restorative procedures also help improve the aesthetic appearance of a damaged tooth.
Who needs restorative dentistry?
You may need restorative dentistry if you suffer from:
- Tooth cavities or decay
- Broken tooth
- Fractured or cracked tooth
- Missing tooth
What are the types of dental restorations?
There are several types of dental restorations, including:
- Fillings
- Your dentist will remove the decayed part of your tooth and fill it with a suitable dental cement.
- These are often recommended for small cavities.
- Crowns
- Crowns, metal, or porcelain are preferably used to repair large cavities or restore broken teeth.
- Inlays and Onlays
- These restorations are usually indicated when the cavity is too large for a regular dental filling or small for a crown.
- An inlay usually covers the area between the cusps, inlays cover at least one cusp.
- Root canal therapy
- This kind of restorative procedure is used when the dental infection involves the pulp.
- The entire infected pulp is removed and replaced with gutta-percha and permanently restored using a suitable crown.
- Bridges
- The bridge consists of artificial teeth with dental crowns on either side.
- They permanently replace one or more missing teeth
- Dentures
- These are conventional, removable dental restorations that replace single, multiple(partial), or all (complete) missing teeth.
- Dental implants
- This is a small, threaded, screw-like post that replaces the missing tooth roots.
- This is attached to a crown that restores your oral function.
What are the advantages of restorative dentistry?
Restorative dentistry offers a wide range of benefits, such as:
- Restore oral health
- Eliminate tooth pain
- Improve chewing function
- Reduce the risk of further damage to the tooth
- Completely seals the tooth and prevents the spread of infection to other teeth
- Improves your smile
Wrapping up
The goal of restorative dentistry is to repair and replace damaged teeth. This improves the overall oral health and function. However, early detection is the key to a successful restoration since it saves you from excruciating pain, and discomfort, in addition to saving you time and money.