Restore and Repair

Dentists use crowns, bridges, implants, root canals, and dentures to restore and repair teeth that are missing, damaged or misaligned.

Crowns

	Crowns are used on teeth with advanced decay (shown) and badly damaged, discolored, chipped, or misaligned teeth. Crowns are routinely prescribed to prevent the fracture of the remaining tooth structure especially when cavites are too large leaving thin walls of enamel.
	After the tooth is shaped into a base for the crown, an impression is made of the tooth, and a temporary crown is put in place.
	On your return visit, the new custom-made crown is cemented onto the tooth. Most crowns are made of metal (gold), porcelain, or porcelain fused to metal (shown). Crowns for severely damaged teeth may need a post.

Bridges

	Bridges are usually 2 or more crowns that have a fake crown connected to it and are cemented as one unit in your mouth. The underlying teeth are prepared as single unit crowns. Since all of the teeth in a bridge are connected, you cannot floss between the teeth. A bridge can only be flossed from underneath with the aid of a floss theader.
	A bonded or Maryland bridge has a fake tooth with retainers connected to it so that it can be attached to teeth without the removal of tooth structure of a crown preparation for the adjacent teeth. This type of bridge only works in areas that do not endure heavy biting forces since they can dislodge easily.

Implants

	Implants are great technological innovations for dentistry. Without destroying perfectly sound adjacent teeth, implants allow for the replacement of teeth. Titanium (now used in hip/knee replacement therapy in medicine) implants are placed into bone, and later act as new roots of teeth for implant crowns to attach to. The ability to floss normally is still maintained. Implants will never develop cavities since they are metal based.
	Implants can be used to restore a smile when the natural tooth cannot be saved
	X-ray photograph of implant
	An incision is made at the site of the implant.
	The site is prepared and the fixture is screwed or pressed into place in the jawbone.
	The site is covered for three to six months to allow the bone to grow around the implant.
	The top of the fixture is then exposed and the abutment is attached.
	A crown (shown), bridge, or denture is attached.

Root Canals

	Pulp becomes damaged and infection spreads to the bone and tissues. An abscess forms at the root.
	After the affected tooth has been numbed, the pulp is removed and the chamber and roots are cleaned out, enlarged and shaped.
	Once the tooth is clean and free of infection, the pulp chamber and root canals are filled with a rubberlike material, and the tooth is filled.
	Sometimes the tooth may also need to be crowned. Some crowns may need a post and core (shown).

Dentures

	Full dentures are plastic appliances that can be placed easily in and out of your mouth. They seat on top of your gums. With full dentures you do not have the full capabilities of biting into food as you do with bone supported teeth. Food impaction, speech alteration, discomfort, and dentures falling out seem to be recurring problems.
	Partial dentures are usually made of plastic and metal. Partial dentures have some tooth support for added stabillity. However the same problems as full dentures will occur.