A New Mouth

You can have a new, healthy mouth with restorative and preventative care.
Dental restoration is the repair of natural teeth that have been badly damaged and the replacement of lost teeth. Some of the procedures are:
· Crowns
· Tooth colored fillings
· Bridges
· Dentures
· Full mouth reconstruction

Crowns
When a tooth has a very large filling which could cause it to crack, or if it already has a hairline crack, a crown is a way of holding it, protecting it, and preventing further damage.
All metal crowns

Gold is used for crowns because it lasts longer and is hypoallergenic. It can be mixed with other metals, but pure gold is the best type of all-metal crown.
Porcelain fused to metal

This type has porcelain baked onto an alloy shell, usually with a high gold content. Some people prefer this to an all-metal crown because the porcelain looks like their other teeth, whereas the gold stands out as different.
All-porcelain

This type can be either cemented or bonded to the tooth. Bonding is often preferred because it gives the crown a translucent look similar to natural teeth.


Tooth-colored fillings
Also known as white fillings or composite fillings, these can replace old amalgam fillings. Your dentist can match their color to your surrounding teeth for best effect.

There’s controversy over whether the mercury in the amalgam fillings is toxic or not. Some think that those fillings release toxic elemental mercury vapor, which is absorbed continually by the mouth tissues and builds up in brain tissue, the adrenal glands and elsewhere.

In all cases, amalgam fillings look very unlike the natural teeth. And further to their discredit:
· They’re not bonded to the tooth
· They gradually weaken the surrounding tooth structure
· They eventually lead to cracks and even fractures

A composite filling is bonded to the tooth, so that it structurally supports the tooth and strengthens it. They’re best for smaller repair work. If a larger tooth area needs repair, other options can be considered, such as a porcelain onlay or a crown.

Bridges
If you’ve lost a tooth, a bridge is the way to fill in the space, preventing neighboring teeth from shifting out of position. When teeth drift out of position, the whole area becomes more susceptible to decay and gum disease.
Traditional bridge
· Consists of a pontic, or artificial tooth, to replace the missing one, plus
· Two crowns, which are bonded one to each neighboring (abutment) tooth

This trio of elements is cemented into place (a fixed bridge), so that all the neighboring teeth are stabilized by having the empty space filled, and your bite is maintained.

Maryland bridge
When the missing tooth is a front one, and the neighboring teeth are healthy, a Maryland bridge can be used. In this method, instead of crowns on each side, there are metal bands which are fused to the pontic and bonded to the abutment teeth.
· These metal bands can’t be seen, as they’re behind the front teeth


Cantilever bridge
“Cantilevered” means jutting out from a main structure with support only on one side, like a balcony. This type of bridge is needed when there are no teeth on one side of the empty space. The pontic is anchored on the side where there are teeth.

· If the teeth on that side are weak or for some reason can’t be a strong anchor, an implant can be surgically embedded into the jawbone and capped with a crown. This provides a strong support for the bridge.

Dentures
A denture is an option for someone who has lost many teeth, perhaps even all of them. Dentures can be full or partial. They’re made of acrylic resin and some have a metal component too.

· Dentures take several appointments, over a period of about a month
· Your dentist first makes an impression and a wax bite, to obtain exact dimensions for the denture
· There’ll be a temporary denture and adjustments can be made for better color and fit


There’s an adjustment period when you first have the final denture in, while you get used to the different feel and the adjustments you have to make in speaking and eating.
· Dentures need to be removed and cleaned every day
· Use a special denture brush and cleanser
· If it’s a partial denture, remove it before you brush your natural teeth, because traditional toothpaste is too harsh for the denture surfaces
· Most dentists recommend removing dentures at night, to give the gums a rest

Full mouth reconstruction
If your teeth have many large fillings, if your bite is causing headaches, if you withhold your smile from friends because of yellow or crooked teeth, missing teeth, blackened teeth, then perhaps the time has come for a full mouth reconstruction.

Your cosmetic dentist will do a full examination and discuss the possibilities. Together you can arrive at a feasible and affordable plan.
· First good gum health is established, because this is the foundation
· Then your customized combination of treatments can be completed,

such as:
· Porcelain veneers – to restore evenness and good proportion
· Dental implants – to replace missing teeth and strengthen the jaw
· Porcelain crowns – to encase teeth which can’t be maintained by fillings
· Composite fillings – to replace old metal fillings and strengthen those teeth
· Tooth whitening – to brighten the new smile
· Dental bonding – to fill in little chips and misalignments with a white matched to your new smile

Preventive care
Good daily dental care is the best and least expensive way to maintain your dental health for life. Dental insurance companies know this. That’s why the co-payment for preventive care is low or none. But it increases for the more complex dental treatments, so that you might pay about 20% for a filling and 50% for a crown or bridge.

They also have annual maximum amounts, beyond which they’ll pay for nothing. But the amounts are high enough to cover a year’s worth of good preventive care.
So it’s in our best interest from both a health perspective, and a financial perspective to do our preventive care:
· Daily brushing and flossing
· Regular dental checkups and X-rays
· Regular professional cleaning

We may not be able to prevent sudden medical illness, but we can largely prevent sudden dental problems. By finding a good dentist and spending enough time and money on ongoing preventive care, we can avoid those appalling high bills and the pain and embarrassment that so often goes along with dental illness.

Click here to contact a cosmetic dentist for more information and services.