Dental Restorations in Rochester - A Healthy Smile Can Be Life-changing
If you have a cavity, dental injury, or missing teeth, you know how deep an impact these issues can have on your life. A well-made restoration can revive your smile and help you enjoy it to the fullest.
At East Avenue Dentistry, our talented team of professionals is committed to helping our Rochester patients enjoy their healthiest smile possible. With our custom restorations, you no longer have to feel embarrassed or frustrated by your smile.
Find out more about how our restoration services can help you smile freely again.
What Is a Restoration?
Dental restorations include treatments designed to repair, replace, or revitalize a tooth. At our office, we provide the following restoration services:
When Do I Need a Dental Restoration?
If you have a tooth that’s been damaged, decayed, or lost, the right dental restoration can restore your smile to health. These services help to protect your remaining smile and ensure that you can eat, speak, and function without pain or worry.
Why Am I Losing Teeth?
Contrary to popular belief, tooth loss is not a normal part of aging. In most cases, tooth loss is the result of disease, and could be prevented with quick and decisive treatment.
Gum disease is the number one cause of tooth loss. Severe gum infections cause the gums to shrink and recede, exposing the tooth root and leaving teeth unsecured. Eventually, decay or wear causes teeth to fall out or need extracting. Periodontics (gum treatment) could help to restore the gums to health and prevent further tooth loss.
Other causes of tooth loss include:
- Smoking
- Severe tooth infections or decay
- Diabetes
- Pregnancy hormones
- Osteoporosis
- Teeth grinding
Why Am I Getting Cavities?
Cavities happen when bacteria in your mouth turn food debris (especially sugary foods) into acidic plaque, which eats away at your enamel. Poor oral hygiene makes it easier for this to happen, but other factors contribute as well.
Dry mouth – which is a side effect of many medications – also raises your risk for cavities, as does exposure to acid from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Some people even have genetic factors that make them more likely to develop cavities.
To reduce your risk of cavities, it’s important to keep your six-month dental appointments. These regular exams allow the dentist to spot problems and reduce your risk of cavities.
Missing Teeth? Why You Should Consider Dental Implants First
Patients today with missing teeth are becoming more and more interested in dental implants, thanks to their numerous benefits for health and convenience. Dental implants are the only tooth replacement that replaces the entire tooth, including the root. This allows them to look, feel, and function just like a natural tooth.
When it comes to dental implants, the sooner you start the process, the better the results will be. When teeth are lost, the jaw bone loses the natural pressure received from a tooth root. Over time, the body stops supplying nutrients to the bone, gradually leading to bone loss. If the jaw bone shrinks too much, it won’t be strong enough to support an implant without additional treatment, such as a bone graft.
How Many Teeth Can Implants Replace?
Dental implants can replace a single tooth or all of your teeth, with any possible combination in between. The implants themselves are titanium posts inserted into the jaw, which are then topped by restorations to replace the missing teeth.
Implants can support crowns, bridges, and dentures, completing your smile in the way you need it most. Our office provides custom restorations made of porcelain and other high-quality materials to create a natural look and feel for our patients.
Who is Eligible for Dental Implants?
Many people are eligible for dental implants as long as they have adequate jawbone density. When you come in for a consultation, the dentist examines your dental health, including how many teeth are missing, where they’re located, and whether your jaw can support implants.
The dentist also checks for signs of health complications such as gum disease, which could destabilize an implant and cause it to fail. If gum disease is present, it will need to be treated before implants can be placed.
What Kinds of Implants Do You Provide?
Our office works with a skilled periodontist who is certified and experienced in placing implants. This allows us to keep your entire implant treatment in one convenient location.
We provide the following implant-supported restorations:
- Crowns: A porcelain crown provides an effective replacement for a single missing tooth.
- Bridges: Porcelain bridges can replace up to three teeth and are typically supported by two implants.
- Partial Dentures: A partial denture can be designed to fit any configuration of teeth, even fitting around remaining natural teeth as needed.
- Full Dentures: On average, a full dental arch can be supported on as few as six carefully-placed implants.
- Overdentures: A removable over-denture snaps into place over the gums and implant supports.
What’s the Difference Between Implants and Mini Implants?
You may have come across mini implants while researching implants and wondered if they were a good option for you. While both options provide support for restorations, mini implants are used in very different circumstances.
Normal implants require significant bone density for support, so patients with jaw bone loss may not be eligible for implants. Mini implants are much smaller and don’t require as much jaw bone strength, making them viable for a wider range of patients.
This also means that mini implants are not as strong standard ones, and eventually fail. For this reason, mini implants are most often recommended as an option to temporarily stabilize a denture rather than as a permanent solution.
Do I Need a Crown After Root Canal Therapy?
Root canal therapy helps to save an infected tooth from extraction. Once the infected tissue has been removed, a filling is placed inside the tooth. Since these fillings are typically large, the tooth can be fragile after treatment. A dental crown provides support and protection for the tooth and restores its functionality to normal.
Are Crowns Bad for Your Teeth?
When used and placed well, a crown has many benefits for your tooth. Crowns are typically used when a tooth is damaged, worn, or has had severe decay. Although the outer enamel must be shaped for the crown to fit, the inner tooth is unharmed and completely protected. With a crown, your tooth is stronger than it was before.
What Happens if I Need a Filling?
When tooth decay forms a cavity in your teeth, a filling is often needed to help restore the tooth and protect it from further decay. Many patients today choose composite fillings, which use a composite resin that is color-matched to your tooth.
Composite fillings blend seamlessly into your enamel, making it hard to tell that you have a filling at all. They also bond well to the tooth, so more of the natural enamel can be preserved with these fillings.
Air Abrasion For Better Cavity Treatment
Thanks to innovations in dentistry, there are now alternatives to the standard drill method of removing tooth decay. Our office provides air abrasion, a unique drill-less approach to eliminating cavities and preparing for a filling.
This technology uses high pressure to blast tiny particles that gradually remove the decayed enamel. Air abrasion offers many benefits for both dentist and patient, including:
- Noiseless treatment
- No heat or vibrations
- Preserves more of the natural tooth
- More precise and efficient
- Faster treatment
- Minimal to no anesthesia needed
- Teeth stay dry, making filling placement easier
Am I a Candidate for Air Abrasion?
Many patients may qualify for air abrasion, especially if the filling is small and easily accessible. This technique is often recommended for people with dental anxiety and children who might be frightened by a drill.
If the cavity is large or surrounded by hard enamel, air abrasion may not be powerful enough to effectively remove the decay. Be sure to ask our dentist whether you would be a candidate for air abrasion when your treatment is scheduled.
Traditional Bridges vs. Implant-Supported Bridges
If you have a gap of missing teeth, the dentist may recommend a fixed bridge. The two main types of bridges we provide are traditional bridges and implant-supported bridges. It’s important to consider the aspects of both options before making a decision.
Traditional Bridge:
- Can replace up to three teeth
- Supported by crowns placed on neighboring teeth
- Cost-effective
- Does not replace the tooth root
- Nearby teeth must be reshaped for crowns
- Good for patients with low jawbone volume
Implant-Supported Bridge:
- Can replace multiple teeth
- Supported by two or more implants in the jaw
- No impact on neighboring teeth
- Protects bone density by replacing the tooth root
- Requires sufficient jaw bone volume for placement
Getting Started with Dentures: What to Expect
When fitting a patient with dentures for the first time, we begin by making impressions of their teeth and gums. The custom dentures are then fabricated in our trusted dental lab. Once they’re complete, we have a fitting appointment, where the dentist makes any necessary adjustments to make the dentures as comfortable as possible.
It’s normal for patients to need a few days or weeks to become fully used to their new dentures. Your lips and tongue may need time to learn how to move around the dentures, but they do gradually learn to adapt. However, be sure to let the dentist know if you experience sores in your gums or soft tissues, as this could be a sign of poorly-fitting dentures.
How Do I Care for My Dentures?
Dentures require consistent care on a daily basis. Remove your dentures after a meal and rinse them to eliminate any food debris. Clean your dentures at least once a day, and soak them overnight in a special denture cleaning solution.
When cleaning your dentures, lay a towel over the counter or in the sink to catch your dentures if they fall. Rinse them in mild to warm (not hot) water, and brush them clean with toothpaste or a nonabrasive denture cleanser. Always use a soft-bristled toothbrush; hard brushes can scratch the dentures, allowing bacteria to grow in the scratches.
Be sure also to brush your gums to remove food debris and bacteria, and rinse your dentures thoroughly before putting them in your mouth.
Is it Okay to Sleep with Dentures In?
Most people can sleep with their dentures in, but it isn’t recommended to do regularly. Dentures apply pressure to the gums and jawbone throughout the day. Removing the dentures at night allows your mouth to rest, encouraging better health. Dentures also require plenty of moisture, so denture wearers who tend to snore or breathe through their mouth risk the denture becoming warped.
Whether you wear them to sleep or not, it’s important to always clean your dentures and gums thoroughly. To keep your dentures from warping when not wearing them, be sure to soak your dentures in a denture solution.
What If My Dentures Don’t Fit Well Anymore?
The shape of the jaw changes over time, especially for those without teeth. As the jawbone shifts, dentures stop fitting as well as they did when they were made. Denture wearers will eventually need new dentures to be made to accommodate these changes.
It’s also possible that the dentures need maintenance, such as a relining. If your dentures feel uncomfortable, make an appointment to visit the dentist and have your dentures assessed.
Don’t Settle for an Incomplete Smile
At East Avenue Dentistry, we’re passionate about helping patients enjoy a full and healthy smile. If you have pain or discomfort from an untreated dental issue, don’t suffer in silence! Contact our office and schedule a consultation today.