Common Dental Restorations

Dentists are crucial to every aspect of oral and dental health, including restorations. While many people assume that daily dental hygiene is enough to protect their oral health, this is not always the case. In addition to having a great daily dental routine, you also need to make it a routine to visit your dentist every six months.

Here are some things your dentist does during your appointment

• Examine teeth: First things first, your dentist will carefully examine your teeth for suspicious signs.
• Examine gums: The next thing your dentist will likely evaluate is the gums. Healthy gums should be a coral pink color, so your dentist will pay close attention to the color of your gums.
• Examine jaws: Next, your dentist will examine your bite for any signs of an overbite, underbite, crossbite, or open bite.
• Oral cancer screening: To screen for oral cancer, your doctor will evaluate the soft tissues of your mouth, such as your lips, inner cheeks, gums, tongue, and palates.
• Smell breath: They are also inadvertently smelling your breath. Believe it or not, the smell of your breath can be a potential symptom that dentists use for diagnosis. If your breath has an odor, it could indicate gum disease, tooth decay, infection, or dry mouth. Strong breath odor may also be caused by medical conditions such as bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infections, acid reflux, kidney problems, liver problems, or diabetes.

Dental restorations are the ways your dentist can restore or replace any missing tooth sections or even whole teeth. These restoration efforts are to prevent or remove tooth decay and aches they may bring.

Types of dental restorations

• Fillings: The dentist fills the cavity in your teeth with several restoration options. Gold, silver, plastic, or glass materials can be used to fill and make new teeth.
• Crowns: These are a tooth-framed “cap” placed over a tooth to restore its size, appearance, shape, and strength. They are also used to cover a dental implant or to hold a bridge in place.
• Implants: Small anchoring posts are made of metal (usually of titanium or a titanium mixture) placed into the bone socket where teeth are missing.
• Bridges: Fixed partial dentures are false teeth designed to “bridge” the gap made by one or more missing teeth.

Understanding periodontal diseases

There are many reasons that a person may need tooth restoration. Sometimes we see this after the impacts of disease. These are severe gum infections that, if left untreated, may destroy the soft tissues and bones supporting the teeth. The types of periodontal diseases include chronic periodontitis, aggressive periodontitis, and necrotizing gum disease.

To diagnose diseases, dentists use a dental probe to examine any pocket that may be present. They place it beside the tooth under the gum line at different points in the oral cavity. The pocket is expected to be between one and three millimeters in a healthy mouth.