Restorative Treatments
As the name suggests, restorative dentistry involves restoring decayed teeth to bring them back to their normal function. The main goal is to improve oral health and allow the withstanding of normal biting force for efficient and effective chewing.
Amalgam Restoration
Used by dentists for more than a century, Dental Amalgam is the most thoroughly researched and tested restorative material among all those in use. It is durable, easy to use, highly resistant to wear, and relatively inexpensive in comparison to other materials. For those reasons, it remains a valued treatment option for dentists and their patients.
As Amalgam fillings can withstand very high chewing loads, they are particularly useful for restoring molars in the back of the mouth where the chewing load is the greatest. They are also useful in areas where a cavity preparation is difficult to keep dry during the filling replacement, such as in deep fillings below the gum line. Amalgam fillings, like other filling materials, are considered biocompatible. They are also well tolerated by patients with only rare occurrences of allergic responses.
Disadvantages of Amalgam include possible short-term sensitivity to hot or cold food after the filling is placed. The silver-coloured filling is not as natural looking as one that is tooth-coloured, especially when the restoration is near the front of the mouth, and can be seen when the patient laughs or speaks. To prepare the tooth, the dentist may need to remove more tooth structure to accommodate an Amalgam filling than for other types of fillings.
Composite Restoration
In the past, dentists could only treat cavities and tooth ailments with silver and mercury fillings. Modern restorative dentistry has replaced these unsightly fillings with tooth-coloured composite fillings made of porcelain or resin. These fillings are sealed to the surface of the tooth, creating a strong bond that prevents future decay.
Crown Post FIlling
Post-crown filling is essentially the same as crown filling except that this is done in cases where only part of the root is intact. When teeth are heavily broken down, a crown on its own may not be enough to restore the tooth. Teeth that have been root-filled commonly fit in this category. To help retain the crown, a post is placed inside the root canal.
GIC Restoration (White Filling)
Glass ionomers are translucent, tooth-coloured materials made of a mixture of acrylic acids and fine glass powders that are used to fill cavities, particularly those on the root surfaces of teeth. Glass ionomers can release a small amount of fluoride that may be beneficial for patients who are at high risk for decay. When the dentist prepares the tooth for a glass ionomer, less tooth structure can be removed; this may result in a smaller filling than that of an Amalgam.
Root canal Treatments (RCT) - Nerve Filling
Possibly one of the most feared and widely misunderstood procedures in all of dentistry. Root Canal Therapy is usually not painful. RCTs help save badly decayed teeth and help relieve the pain. Often Root Canal Therapy is the only alternative to extracting a tooth.
During the root canal filling, we numb the tooth with local anaesthesia, remove all diseased tissues inside the tooth, and fill the root canal with medicated material. RCT can be usually done in one or more visits but this can vary from patient to patient. An uncomplicated root canal treatment often can be completed in one visit. Some teeth may be more difficult to treat because of where they are situated in the mouth or also have more roots than other teeth. Treating a tooth with many roots takes longer and some teeth have curved root canals that are difficult to find.
If you have an infection before an RCT, you will be required to visit the dentist several times so that the dentist can make sure that the infection is gone. Once the RCT is finished, you will need to see whether you need to have a crown or filling placed on the tooth. You are likely to receive a crown if the tooth is discoloured or if it is used mainly for chewing. The purpose of the crown is to prevent the tooth from breaking down in the future.
