What Is Restorative Dentistry? (Definition, Procedures, Benefits)

The woman is visiting her dentist regularly.

Knowing the different procedures is a great approach to answer the question of what is restorative dentistry? Generally, this dental specialty helps restore missing or damaged teeth, which is essential to your oral health. Typical restorative dentistry for older patients includes dentures, implants, or bridges and crowns. Visit your dentist to check the best treatment option for you.

What is Restorative Dentistry?

Restorative dentistry is a field of dentistry that aims to replace injured or missing teeth. All the more explicitly, these dentists mostly remove and fix cavities and give treatment to other dental conditions. They additionally have practical experience in treating patients who require dental repairs because of injury or wounds.

Moreover, restorative dentistry consolidates procedures from other dental specialties, such as prosthodontics, periodontics, and endodontics. This happens because several patients require diverse dental care, meaning they may require dental treatment from more than one trained professional.

Dental Materials in Restorative Dentistry

Restorative dental supplies are the basis of teeth construction replacement. Specifically, they manufacture cavity fillings, dental implants, crowns, dentures, and other restorations. For instance, standard materials include:

Metals
Glass Ionomers
Ceramics
Composites
Amalgam Alloys
Polymers
Denture Base Resins
Noble and Base Metals

What is the Difference Between Restorative Dentistry and Cosmetic Dentistry?

Restorative and cosmetic dentistry use similar materials and process codes. Nevertheless, if treatment is necessary due to a disease, it is viewed as restorative. Regardless of whether the final outcome is an enhanced appearance, it is still a restorative strategy.

Furthermore, cosmetic dentistry improves a person’s smile and self-image. Instances of cosmetic procedures include teeth whitening and dental veneers. These are cosmetic treatments because they are elective and medically required. Instead, cosmetic dentistry is usually an option to improve appearance.

Restorative Procedures and Treatments

What is restorative dentistry? If you are looking for a teeth replacement option, this specialty offers many different techniques. Restorative treatments include dentures, dental implants, fillings, bonding, inlays, onlays, and bridges and crowns:

Dentures

This teeth replacement option is a standard solution when you lose all of your teeth, mostly from advanced gum disease or tooth decay. Then you can choose either removable or fixed dentures to replace your multiple missing teeth.

Moreover, there are five different forms of dentures to look over. For instance, popular kinds of fake teeth incorporate removable partial dentures, fixed partial dentures, complete dentures, implant-retained dentures, and immediate false teeth.

Dental Bonding

This method contains composite resins or tooth-shaded fillings made of plastic and glass. Generally, dental bonding can repair chipped or cracked teeth, fill cavities, and cover the layers of stained teeth. They additionally fill tiny holes between teeth, which can be valuable for those with diastema.

Depending on the patients, three diverse dental bonding procedures accessible, such as indirect dental bonding, composite bonding, and composite veneer bonding.

Dental Implants

Dental implant surgery is a permanent solution to replace missing teeth. Usually, the dentist suggests this teeth replacement option after a dental extraction.

During the treatment, a dentist or oral surgeon surgically places an artificial tooth root or implant into the patient’s jawbone. Additionally, dental implants reflect the form of a screw and fuse with the natural bone.

Dental Crowns

They are tooth-shaded or metal reclamations. In other words, dental crowns replace a considerable amount of missing tooth structure brought about by root canal treatment, tooth decay, or dental fractures. They also fill in as full-inclusion caps or covers that reestablish a tooth’s natural shape, size, and function.

Dental Bridges

Bridges and crowns are both full-coverage restorations that can cover one or more missing teeth. However, dental bridges use two natural teeth to bridge the gap on the two sides of the missing teeth.

Dental bridges are more inexpensive than dental implants, and the recovery process is quicker. However, they can appear atypical in your mouth. Also, they are more inclined to break and decay than implants.

Inlays and Onlays

This is incomplete tooth-hued or gold restorations that reestablish more modest spaces of damaged or missing tooth structure. Inlays and onlays are a little less aggressive than bridges and crowns and comprise indirect restorative resources. In short, dental lab professionals make the repairs outside of the mouth.

Advantages of Restorative Dentistry

Restorative dental methods have numerous advantages, which is why they are the absolute most commonly performed systems by dentists.

Improve appearance

Restorative treatments can restore your teeth and improve them to smile with confidence.

Restore function

The most significant benefit of restorative dentistry is that the usefulness of your teeth is reestablished. Hence, you can talk and eat without any difficulty since your teeth are healthy.

Prevent further dental problems

Addressing a dental issue right away can keep it from deteriorating or causing more dental complications. Getting a dental filling as soon as your dentist sees a cavity can prevent it from needing a root canal treatment. An ignored cavity for a really long time can lead to dental extraction and replacement.

Eliminate pain

Suppose you have an infected tooth or a deep cavity. In that case, you will need a root canal, which may bring severe pain identified with these issues. Restorative strategies dispose of that pain by treating the problem or eliminating the infection.

Preserve jaw bone density

Substituting a missing tooth with an implant preserves the bone in your jaw. If you have a missing tooth, the jaw area that once supported it in place will begin to debilitate and ultimately disintegrate. Afterward, to proceed with implant surgery, a bone graft technique will be required first. It is ideal to replace missing teeth immediately to stay away from bone loss.

Most people will require some sort of restorative dentistry sooner or later in the course of their life. It is vital to save your teeth whenever possible and replace them when necessary. By keeping up with your routinely appointments your dentist can carefully monitor your oral health. What’s more, they can identify any issues quickly so they can be treated and prevent the need for expensive dental restorations.