One in five people experiences some type of tooth trauma. This could be injury or illness, resulting in the loss of a tooth or several teeth. Thankfully, restorative dentistry can help revive the look, feel, and function of your mouth if you’ve experienced tooth loss or other oral problems. But what is restorative dentistry and how does it work?
In this article, you’ll learn more about what is considered restorative dentistry, how it works, and the treatments of restorative dentistry you can choose from.
What Is Restorative Dentistry?
Restorative dentistry refers to a field of dentistry that aims to “restore” the function and the appearance of your teeth. This typically means replacing a lost tooth due to problems like excessive decay, accidents, and so forth.
While sometimes restorative dentistry treatments can overlap with types of cosmetic dentistry, it’s important to remember that cosmetic dentistry focuses on appearance only, while restorative dentistry focuses mainly on functionality.
Benefits of Restorative Dentistry
As previously mentioned, there are health benefits to restorative dentistry that extend beyond appearance. Here are some benefits for you to consider:
Improved Function
One of the main goals of restorative dentistry is to help you improve the function of your mouth. This means activities like eating, drinking, and speaking feels more normal.
When you lose a tooth (or teeth) your jawbone begins to sink and your facial features become distorted. Replacing these missing teeth will give your face its shape and restore its function.
Health Jawbone
The job of the root of your tooth is to encourage new jawbone growth. When your tooth is lost, your jawbone cannot continue to maintain its health and strength.
By replacing the lost tooth with a false tooth, like a dental implant, you preserve your mouth and your jaw.
No More Pain
Certain tooth ailments like cavities can cause pain in your mouth when you chew or speak. Even losing a tooth may cause the surrounding teeth to feel pain as well.
When you turn to restorative dentistry, the pain will likely diminish because you have eliminated the decay and filled in the gap.
Healthier Teeth
When one tooth is missing, this typically means it’s challenging to keep all the surrounding teeth healthy as well. Cavities could turn into bigger problems when they’re ignored. With restorative dentistry, you can help maintain the health of your entire mouth.
Not only will you preserve the health of your mouth, but it can save you money as well! Some dental procedures can be quite expensive if the damage is extensive.
Restorative Dentistry Procedures
So restorative dentistry can help your mouth look and feel better, but what types of procedures are there? Do you just need one or several? Here are a few dental treatments for restorative dentistry that you can discuss with your restorative dentist.
1. Dental Implants
Dental implants are one of the top choices when it comes to filling in the gap from a missing tooth. This is because dental implants are permanently fused into your jawbone and the bone grows around the implant. They stay in place, they’re simple to care for, and they look like normal teeth.
Getting dental implants is a minimally invasive procedure and requires certain qualifications, so talk to your dentist about if you’re healthy enough for implants.
2. Veneers
Chipped or broken teeth due to injury may tarnish your appearance, but they do make it challenging to eat or talk.
Veneers are a solution to restore your tooth to its original shape and function. Veneers are thin pieces of material like porcelain, that are bonded to your teeth to hide the broken areas. While it may seem like veneers are a part of cosmetic dentistry, they can be considered restorative because cracked or broken teeth do not provide much functionality.
3. Root Canals
A root canal is a procedure that seeks to save an infected tooth. While some teeth are so badly infected that extraction is necessary, this isn’t always the case. The dentist can perform a root canal which involves removing the infection from the root of the tooth and preserving it.
Once the infection is removed, the dentist fills the gap to prevent further infection.
4. Fillings
A cavity is a type of decay in your tooth and if it’s not removed it could cause more damage (which is expensive, too!). Fillings are composite materials that “fill in” the gap from where the cavity was. These types of fillings help seal the tooth and provide a more natural look for discreet purposes.
5. Sealants
Cavities are avoidable with proper brushing, flossing, and regular trips to the dentist, but sometimes your teeth need a little extra bit of protection. This is where sealants come in.
Sealants are an invisible coating that’s placed over your tooth that discourages cavities and keeps out additional bacteria. This is especially important as some people are more prone to cavities than others. It’s equally important to remember to keep up with your dental hygiene along with sealants as well!
How to Get Restorative Dentistry
If you’re considering restoring the function of your mouth, talk to your dentist about what procedures and treatments they offer. They can help you decide what treatment is best for you and your situation, as well as see which ones you’re eligible for.
Restoration in Dentistry
Hopefully, this article has answered the question, What is restorative dentistry? and has shed some light on what steps you can take to restore your mouth to its proper function and appearance.
Are you thinking about investing in the health of your mouth? We can help! Our team specializes in restorative dentistry and can schedule you a consultation with one of our dentists today.