How a Cosmetic Dentist Can Repair Damaged Teeth

Cosmetic dentists are the professionals to call when you want to restore a healthy-appearing smile. This type of restoration can involve repairing damaged teeth to help address both the appearance and function of a tooth. Here are five ways a cosmetic dentist can repair your natural teeth.

1. Composite bonding

Composite bonding, sometimes referred to simply as bonding, uses composite resin materials to conceal chips in a tooth or misshapen teeth while preventing further damage to its inner structures or layers. The cosmetic dentist can perform this procedure in one appointment.

First, they prepare the damaged tooth by roughening its surface and applying a conditioning solution. Next, they bond the tooth-colored, composite resin materials over the impurity, shaping the flexible material to its desired shape. The dentist then hardens the material using a special curing light before polishing the tooth to help it look and feel natural.

2. Dental crowns

Dental crowns may be one of the most common cosmetic dentist restoration methods. They are also referred to as caps due to their ability to completely engulf a damaged tooth, protecting all its layers and preventing further damage. Crowns are also the only restoration on this list to protect all layers.

Unlike dental bonding, cosmetic dentists require two appointments to create and place crowns. The first appointment involves preparing the tooth, which may include removing decay, infection, or too-brittle structures. The cosmetic dentist will also take images of the tooth and surrounding areas using 3D technology and then send the information to an offsite lab for crown fabrication. Once the lab fabricates the crown, they return it to the office, allowing the second and final appointment to commence, during which the dentist bonds it onto the damaged tooth.

3. Dental fillings

Dental fillings are a restorative that the cosmetic dentist uses to repair holes left behind from decay. Decay or cavities can completely ravage multiple layers of a tooth, making big or small holes. Fillings address the small holes, protecting the tooth's inner structures and restoring its function. Fortunately, the dentist can complete this procedure in one appointment.

This non-invasive appointment begins with removing all traces of decay and too-brittle structures. The dentist then uses the same composite materials used in bonding to fill the space left behind from the decay until it reaches the tooth's surface. The cure and polish the tooth so the material blends with the tooth.

4. Dental inlays

Dental inlays are similar to fillings, being that they fill holes within a tooth. However, they address much larger spaces than fillings can. Additionally, inlays are fabricated outside the mouth before being bonded into place. Therefore, depending on the dental office, patients may require one or two appointments. The appointment(s) involves preparing the tooth by removing any threats, such as decay, infection, or too-brittle structures. They will also use 3D technology to take measurements of the exact size and shape of the newfound space before fabrication of the inlay. We then bond the inlay into place.

5. Dental onlays

Dental onlays are similar to crowns in that the cover fractures or breaks a tooth's cusp. However, instead of engulfing the entire tooth, they cover the damaged cusp only. Like inlays and crowns, onlays are fabricated outside the mouth in a lab, making it possible to require one or two appointments.

During the appointment(s), the cosmetic dentist will remove threats to the tooth just as with the other restorations on this list before using 3D technology to acquire the exact measurements of the damaged cusp to fabricate the onlay. The dentist will then bond it into place.