Sometimes referred to as tooth colored or white fillings, composite fillings are widely accepted to be the material of choice when a filling is needed for a number of reasons. The most obvious one is they look great. The advances in shade and polishability make it possible to blend these fillings in with the natural tooth enamel. Composite filling material is used with dentin and enamel bonding techniques that make the fillings adhesive to tooth structure. This often means less drilling as the mechanical retention features of an amalgam filling are no longer required. The dentists at All Smiles Dental routinely use a desensitizing agent under all fillings and crowns to lessen the chances of sensitivity after the procedure.
This is a procedure of covering a tooth with an artificial protective shell. Where necessary the dentist reduces the tooth surface so that when the crown is added the resulting tooth is the desired size and shape. After the tooth is reduced an impression is taken and a temporary crown is fabricated. Permanent crowns are available in a variety of materials for various situations. All tooth colored crowns are custom shaded to match your natural teeth. At All Smiles no crown is permanently cemented without your inspection and approval.
Bridge is a term used when one or more false teeth are permanently attached to the adjacent natural teeth. This is most commonly done using crowns on the teeth supporting the bridge. The false tooth is made of the same material as the adjacent crowns and the bridge is fabricated as a single unit but shaped to give the illusion of individual teeth. The false tooth can also be shaped and positioned to give the illusion of a tooth with a root imbedded in the gums and jawbone, just like a natural tooth. Dentists use the term fixed to describe something that is permanently attached. A fixed bridge therefore is not removable for cleaning and must be brushed and flossed in your mouth, just like your teeth. A bridge is one of the ways your dentist can use to replace that missing tooth.
