Restorations: Fillings and Crowns

 

It’s great news that the incidence of tooth decay has significantly diminished due to an increase in patient awareness. However, teeth are still susceptible to decay, infection, and breakage. Through improved techniques and modern technology, we are now able to offer more options for restoring a tooth back to its normal shape, appearance, and function.

 

Should your teeth ever require a restorative treatment, you can rest assured knowing we will always discuss the available options with you and recommend what we believe to be the most comfortable and least invasive treatment. Providing you with excellent care is our number one priority when restoring your beautiful smile.

Reasons for Restorative Dentistry

  • Enhance your smile

  • Fill in unattractive spaces between teeth

  • Improve or correct an improper bite

  • Prevent the loss of a tooth

  • Relieve dental pain

  • Repair damaged and decayed teeth

  • Replace missing teeth

  • Replace old, unattractive dental treatments

  • Restore normal eating and chewing

 
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Porcelain Composite Fillings

At Russo Dental Care, we only use porcelain-composite fillings, also known as composite or white fillings. The material is a non-toxic and composed of porcelain and resins that matches the color of the tooth.

 

Composite fillings can be used in teeth that are under great chewing pressure such as molars and bicuspids, and now thanks to improved technologies such as directed shrinkage of the ceramic polymer material used to fill cavities, these composite fillings are reliable and are fast becoming the standard of care for forward-thinking dentists and cosmetic dentists.

What Are the Pros for Porcelain–Composite Fillings?

1. More Natural Appearance

The largest benefit of using porcelain ceramic fillings is the completely natural appearance of the repaired tooth. Many patients are so happy with the appearance of their treated teeth that they eventually have all their old fillings removed and replaced with ceramic fillings.

2. Durability & Longevity

Another strong advantage of porcelain-composite fillings is that the material is very durable, rugged and capable of lasting longer than amalgam fillings. On average, composite fillings last from 10 to 20 years, while amalgam fillings last from 5 to 10 years.

 

3. Less Toxic

Safety of materials is a positive focus when discussing ceramic fillings. Particularly with amalgam fillings and their mixture of silver and mercury, there is always the possible allergic reaction to one of the metals being used.

In the past, mercury was an accepted material in-use within amalgam fillings. Mercury has proven to be toxic as well as allergenic to some patients. Additionally, mixing capsules which may contain mercury residue are extremely harmful to our environment. Porcelain-composite fillings offer none of these potential dangers.

4. Improved Stain & Abrasion Resistance

Lastly, composite fillings are more resistant to stains and abrasions than conventional fillings, and do not run the risk of developing micro cracks and fissures as amalgam fillings do. These cracks and fissures in the fillings can lead to further decay within the sealed tooth where the cavity had existed.

 

Full Zirconia (Porcelain) Crowns

A crown is a covering that encases the entire tooth surface, restoring it to its original shape and size.

 

A crown is most commonly used to protect and strengthen a tooth structure that cannot be restored with fillings or other types of restorations. However, crowns can also be used to cap teeth for cosmetic reasons.

Porcelain crowns are made to match the shape, size, and color or your teeth giving you a natural, long-lasting beautiful smile. They are highly durable and will last many years.

Reasons for Crowns

  • Broken or fractured teeth

  • Cosmetic enhancement

  • Decayed teeth

  • Fractured fillings

  • Large fillings

  • Final phase of root canal therapy

 

What Does Getting a Crown Involve?

Getting porcelain crowns usually requires two appointments. Your first appointment will include taking several highly accurate impressions or iTero digital scans that will be used to create your custom crown. If you are getting your crown for cosmetic reasons, the dentist can adjust the mold slightly to ensure that the finished crown will look better than your original tooth. This mold will also be used to create a temporary crown, which will stay on your tooth for approximately two weeks until your new crown has been fabricated by a dental laboratory.

At your second appointment, your temporary crown will be removed, the tooth will be cleaned, and your new crown will be carefully cemented to ensure the spacing and bite is accurate.