When a tooth becomes damaged or aches due to issues like tooth decay and dental infection, you need treatment. With restorative dentistry, we will be able to address these concerns and ensure a lifelike appearance. In today’s blog, your Grand Prairie, TX, dentist talks about restorative dentistry.
When to Seek Restorative Dentistry
When should you see our team for restorative dentistry? We recommend a routine visit to our team for a checkup and cleaning every six months. With a routine checkup visit, we can likely identify issues like tooth decay and infection in the early stages, offering care to address these concerns before they threaten the smile. You could also schedule an appointment when you develop symptoms that concern you, such as pain in a tooth or an injury to a tooth. Our team will examine the smile with advanced digital imaging and then use the information to plan treatment with precision and accuracy. We can return your smile to full function, health, and beauty once again with restorative dentistry.
Dental Fillings
Restorative dentistry allows our team to treat a cavity in only one visit. With a tooth filling, we can use a metal-free composite resin to offer lifelike solutions to tooth decay in only one sitting, with results that blend with the surrounding teeth. We will numb the tooth and then remove the decay from it. We next clean the tooth and apply the shaded composite resin in several layers. We then shape the tooth as the material cures under a light. The last step is to polish the tooth for a brighter smile. The same material can also be used to mask cosmetic imperfections like teeth stains, or to fill in gaps between the teeth and repair minor injuries.
Custom Dental Crowns
For a more substantial dental injury, we could create and place a dental crown. The restoration will cap the tooth and address multiple cosmetic issues all at once. Our team will gently numb the tooth and then remove the outer structure from it to make room for the restoration. Next, we take detailed digital images and impressions of your bite from mule angles, using this in a lab setting to design and craft your crown from durable and lifelike materials such as porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, or zirconia. We then attach your crown with a powerful bonding agent.
Our team can use a crown to repair major cracks or chips, reshape malformed teeth, and improve chewing function and bite balance. We can also place them to address esthetic issues with a tooth and take on more severe cases of tooth decay. They can even complete a root canal for an infected tooth! If you have tooth loss, then one or two could support a new bridge, or one could restore a single tooth dental implant.
Root Canal Therapy
If we find that your tooth is infected, then our team can offer relief with a root canal procedure. This can stop discomfort and prevent your tooth from being lost. After we numb the tooth, and offer sedation for anxious patients, we will open the tooth to remove the tissues from within. We then clean the side of the tooth thoroughly and add a special restorative filling material. The last step is to cap the tooth with a dental crown, which protects the remaining structure and offers a lifelike appearance.
Tooth Extraction
Many of our procedures are designed to help save the tooth and keep it intact. But sometimes issues arise that cannot be treated with a filling or crown, and instead we need to remove the tooth to safeguard your overall oral health. For example, if an infection is so severe that it will spread to other teeth, or if a tooth is damaged beyond the ability to be repaired with a crown. We could also extract a tooth to improve bite function or aid in orthodontic treatment. The procedure could also help pave the way for dentures or even prevent wisdom tooth impaction from occurring. We will plan the process in detail and then use sedation and local anesthesia to ensure you remain comfortable throughout the process. The extraction could take as little as a half hour, and you will usually return to your normal routine after a day or two of rest.
If you have any questions about restorative dentistry, then contact our team today to learn more.
Learn More About Restorative Dentistry
We want to help safeguard your smile with custom restorations. When you are ready to schedule your appointment for restorative dentistry, then contact Pecan Tree Dental in Grand Prairie, TX at 972-262-5111.
