A Close Look At Restorative Dentistry

With restoration dentistry, our team can provide treatments that target damaged or decayed teeth to protect your smile and stop discomfort. Many of these are also designed to offer a lifelike appearance too. In today’s blog, your Grand Prairie, TX, dentist talks about how we help smiles and offer natural-looking results with restorative dentistry.

When To Seek Restorative Dentistry

You should seek restorative dentistry when you have pain in a tooth, as this could indicate the presence of a cavity or possibly an infection. If you injure a tooth, even if the chip seems minor, you should still seek treatment to avoid the onset of cavities and infection down the road. If you sustain an injury and no damage is visible, consider an appointment as fractures may be invisible to the naked eye, and they could threaten your oral health. Our team can use lifelike restorations to treat these concerns and return your smile to full function, health, and beauty, sometimes in as little as one visit!

Examining Your Smile

To begin, our team will examine your smile with advanced digital x-rays and intraoral cameras. These technologies allow us to obtain clear and detailed high-definition images while using 90% less radiation. These will be available instantly chairside, so we can walk you through the diagnostic process and help you understand the treatment you may need. Every smile is unique, which is why our restorative treatments can be personalized for your smile.

Dental Sedation

We strive to ensure your visit is a comfortable experience, so you don’t dread a visit to the dentist in the future. Our team could apply a local anesthetic to the area being treated to numb the gums and teeth. If you have more substantial injuries or oral health concerns, or if you have anxiety or special needs, we could also offer dental sedation. With sedation, we have nitrous oxide, oral sedation, and IV sedation. We will choose the right option for you, so you can enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, with little to no memory of the procedure afterward. This helps ensure that even anxious patients enjoy their time in the office.

Dental Fillings

If you have a cavity, we could offer relief in one sitting with a dental filling. We don’t use metal in the fillings, instead we use a composite resin that is safe for all ages and biocompatible. The material can also be shaded to blend with your tooth. The placement process involves numbing the tooth, removing decay, and then cleaning the tooth. We apply the filling material in several layers, and then sculpt and mold the tooth as this material cures under a light. The last step is to polish the tooth for a brighter appearance. In addition to treating tooth decay, composite resin can be used in bonding procedures to mask or repair common cosmetic imperfections in only one sitting.

Custom Crowns

If you have more substantial tooth decay, an infection, or major injuries, we could repair the tooth with a crown. This custom restoration caps the tooth, and could also be used to improve bite balance and chewing function. The restoration is custom-made and when possible, we use lifelike materials that can be color-matched to blend with your smile, such as porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, or zirconia. Placement could also aid in tooth replacement, as one or two could support a crown. One could even be used to restore a single tooth dental implant. The process begins with our team numbing the tooth and then removing structure to make room for the crown. We take detailed digital images and impressions of the tooth, which we use in a lab setting to design the crown. When the restoration is complete, you will return to the office so we can check the fit and then place it with a powerful bonding agent. Your restoration can then stay in place for years to come!

Root Canal Therapy

If you have an infected tooth, you need treatment for the portion of your tooth. Root canal therapy is an endodontic treatment that addresses concerns in the interior of the tooth. Our team will examine the smile to assess the position and severity of the infection. We numb your tooth and offer sedation to ensure you are comfortable as we open the tooth to remove the tissues from within and clean the inside of the tooth. Next, we add a special restorative filling known as gutta percha to the inside of the tooth. Finally, we cap it with a crown. In one visit, we can stop the pain of an infection and prevent your tooth from being lost.

Tooth Extraction

Our team uses restorative dentistry to repair teeth and preserve them when possible. But sometimes, issues arise that require the tooth to be removed completely. For example, if a cavity or infection is too severe to be addressed with a root canal, as leaving the tooth in place could allow infection to reach other parts of your smile. Our team could extract teeth loosened by gum disease, or to make room for orthodontic treatment. We could even do this to pave the way for dentures! If you have wisdom teeth soon to erupt, we could take them out before they do, so you avoid complications like impaction, infection, misalignment, and more.

The process involves our team taking digital x-rays to ensure we avoid contact with nerve tissues, blood vessels, or sinus cavities. We then numb the area and may recommend sedation, so you are cozy as we remove the tooth with a pair of forceps. We then suture the area closed and provide detailed aftercare instructions and prescriptions for medications to aid in the healing process. You usually return to your normal routine after about a day or two of rest. If you have any questions about restorative dentistry, then contact our team today!

Do You Have Any Questions About Restorative Dentistry?

The team at Pecan Tree Dental in Grand Prairie, TX, is ready to help return your smile to full function, health, and beauty with restorative dentistry. To schedule an appointment with our team, call us today at 972-262-5111.