What are Dental Restorations?
Dental restorations are used for cosmetic and structural dental problems. Modern dentistry has enabled our top Chicago dentists with many ways to replace and restore missing teeth or missing parts of the tooth structure. Some of these procedures include fillings, crowns, dentures, and even implants.
When tooth decay or oral disease causes the loss of teeth or damage to teeth structure, our dentists may suggest different types of dental restorations to help restore the structure and aesthetics of your teeth and smile.
What are the reasons people choose dental restorations?
Dental restorations can be used to:
- Improve your smile
- Fill in gaps between teeth or from missing teeth
- Correct your bite
- Prevent tooth loss
- Relieve dental pain
- Repair decayed or damaged teeth
- Restore the structure of your mouth
- Replace old dental treatments
Some of the dental restoration procedures we offer are:
- Fillings are the most common type of dental restoration. There are many different types of filling material available to our patients such as gold, silver, silver amalgam, tooth-colored plastic and glass composit resin fillings.
We offer different types of materials. One of our top Chicago dentists will discuss the various materials that we recommend.
- Crowns are a tooth-shaped “caps” that we place over an existing tooth that has been treated with a root canal or an implanted post. Crowns can restore the integrity of your mouth or bite, to hold a bridge in place, or “cap” a dental implant structure.
- Dental Bridges are replacement teeth that “bridge” gaps where one or teeth are missing. They are permanent fixtures usually anchored by crowns.
- Dental Implants are “tooth anchors” or posts that are surgically implanted into the jaw bone. Usually they are constructed of titanium because it’s been found to be the most biocompatible metal. Most implants require abutments, which act as connectors between the implants and the teeth placed on top of them.
Once the implants have healed, the doctor will attach either the dental crown, bridge, or full dentures, depending on your individual needs.
- Dentures are a removable replacements for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. Full dentures replace all of the teeth. Partial dentures are used when the patient just needs to replace some of the teeth, but still has some of their own natural teeth.