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What Is Restorative Dentistry?

Restorative dentistry is an area of specialization in dentistry where the main focus is treatment, management, and repair of teeth, damaged by disease. It also covers diseases that afflict the supporting structures of teeth. Ultimately, the goal of this specialization is to rehabilitate the teeth of individuals to make them fully functional, and aesthetically presentable in accordance to the requirements of the patient.

The specialization encompasses three other major specializations in the study of dentistry, namely: prosthodontics, periodontics, and endodontics. The multifaceted coverage implies that the discipline is meant to be studied for the treatment of complex dental issues. Indeed, restorative dentistry studies how the other three major specializations are related with one another so that complex dental cases that require multifaceted care can be treated more effectively.

Seeking Advice

Determining the right treatment for tooth problems is a difficult task. It is always important to seek advice for the proper restorative procedure before making a decision. Ask the opinion of your dentist in Sterling, VA about the right treatment, but you may also need additional guidance from other dentists, depending on the complexity of your case.

For Partially Damaged Teeth

Teeth are some of the most complex materials to treat. Their structure, when damaged, is not the easiest thing to restore. In the past, gold and silver were used as restorative materials for partially damaged teeth. Advanced methods used in current practices have gotten rid of gold and silver in favor of the more reliable methods that use âbonding.â Bonding makes use of materials that are able to stick with what is left of the damaged tooth structure. These filling materials properly fill the spaces within teeth and are aesthetically beneficial because they better match natural tooth color.

Causes of Damaged Teeth

For teeth damaged by diseases, the restorative procedure requires finding the origin of infection, controlling the infection, and determining the best oral care for the patient.

Sometimes, the problem is not related to an infection. If there is no infection, the dentist will check for structural problems that are otherwise naturally occurring in the patient. An example would be malocclusion where the jaw and teeth have improper alignment. The approach for this problem is to correct the misalignment first.

There is also the case where there is excessive wearing of the teeth. This can happen to people who do not have a straight bite.

Restoring Options

You have several options for restoration. For a single damaged tooth, the dentist may just require you to undergo an implant procedure. The dentist will put an implant in the location of the missing tooth and then top that implant with a prosthetic crown later. The same can be done with two or more teeth missing in a row.

For people who are missing most or all of their upper or lower teeth, a common restorative dental procedure involves creating a prosthetic denture. Implants are also used in this procedure, but only four or six will be used just to create a sufficient amount of support for the new denture.

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