Dental Restorations

Tooth restorations are the various ways your dentist can replace or restore missing teeth or missing parts of the tooth structure. Tooth structure can be missing due to decay, deterioration of a previously placed restoration, or fracture of a tooth. Examples of restorations include the following: 

• Fillings are the most common type of dental restoration. Teeth can be filled with gold, silver amalgam, or tooth-colored, plastic and glass materials called composite resin fillings.  Due to the high strength and esthetic value of the newest generation of composite restorations, we only offer this high quality form of fillings in our office.
  
  
• Crowns are a tooth-shaped "cap" that is placed over a tooth to restore its shape, size, strength, appearance, and/or to hold a bridge in place.  They are also used to cover a dental implant.
  
  
• Bridges are false teeth that are designed to "bridge" the gap created by one or more missing teeth. Bridges can be anchored on either side by crowns and cemented permanently into place.
  
  
• Implants are replacement tooth roots. Implants are actually a small post made of titanium that are placed into the bone socket where teeth are missing. The implant is covered with a replacement tooth called an abutment and a crown.  These are typically placed by an oral surgeon.  The replacement tooth system (abutment and crown) is placed by our office.