Privacy Policy
Beautiful natural-looking composite restorations
Plaque -- a sticky, almost colorless layer of bacteria that forms on your teeth -- mixes with the sugars in food to produce decay causing acids. When decay created a cavity, the dentist usually fills it with a durable material, most often a composite (a tooth colored material), a metal alloy called amalgam, or gold.
Visits: One.
Durability: A filling can last from five years, to a lifetime, depending on its location, the material used, and the care you give your teeth. Gold and porcelain have the longest life span, followed by bonded fillings and then amalgam.
How fillings are applied:
.....1. At the site of
the decay, the dentist drills out the decay and shapes the
tooth to hold the filling.
.....2. The hole is
filled with the appropriate material for the cavity's size and
location.
If a tooth's pulp, which contains nerves and blood vessels, becomes infected or damaged because of decay or injury, root-canal treatment is often the only way to save your tooth and repair the damage.
Visits: One to three, depending on the pulp's condition. If the tooth is abscessed (the pulp has died and infection has entered the bone), the infection may have to be drained before the root can be filled.
Durability: The material used to fill the root canal will probably last a lifetime, but eventually the filling or crown may need to be replaced.
How root canals are made:
.....1. Pulp becomes
damaged and infection spreads to the bone and tissues. An
abscess forms at the roots.
.....2. After the
tooth is numbed, the dentist makes an opening in it to reach
the pulp chamber. Infected pulp is removed and the
chamber and the root(s) are cleaned out, enlarged, and then
shaped.
.....3. Once clean and
free of infection, the pulp chamber and the root canal(s) are
filled with a rubber-like material. The tooth is then
filled.
.....4. The tooth may
need a crown as well. Some crowns may need a post and
core for additional support.
Crowns (sometimes referred to as caps) are used to cover teeth that have been weakened by decay around fillings or that are severely damaged, decayed, chipped, discolored, or misaligned. Crowns may also be required after a root canal or when a tooth cracks or breaks. The most common materials used for crowns are metal (gold), porcelain, or porcelain fused to metal.
Visits: Two.
Durability: Crowns are generally placed on teeth to protect the underlying tooth. Where it is true a crown may not last a lifetime, we have many patients with crowns that have lasted 20-25 years or more.
How crowns are applied:
.....1. The dentists
removes the decay and shapes the tooth into a base for the
crown. An impression is made so that the crown will be an
exact fit. Then a temporary crown is placed over the bare
tooth.
.....2. On your return
visit, the temporary crown is removed and the new custom-made
crown is cemented to the tooth. Crowns for severely
damaged teeth may require a post.