Recently, dental research and technology have provided some amazing advancements in restoring the form and function of teeth while also preserving their appearance.
Atlanta dentist Dr. Ronak Patel and his team strive to keep abreast of the latest technologies and advancements to be able to provide their patients with the very best possible treatment dentistry has to offer.
Fillings are an essential part of dentistry to remove decay and strengthen your tooth. While silver amalgam is a perfectly worthy restorative material, it is very noticeable and can blemish the appearance of your smile. Using tooth-colored composite resin allows us to provide a solution to protect your teeth in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Another huge benefit to using composite resin is that we only need to remove the decay from the tooth because the filling material is, essentially, glued to your tooth. Amalgams are not glued so we have to create enough space for the bulk. This is important because it means that tooth-colored fillings allow us to conserve as much natural, healthy tooth structure possible.
When you have a large cavity, sometimes a simple filling just isn’t recommended because it won’t ideally strengthen the tooth. Many dentists will recommend that you cover your tooth with a full coverage crown (or cap) because that’s how it has been taught for years. However, this requires removing more tooth structure than you would ideally need to.
At Heart of Vinings Dentistry, we understand that it takes lots of time and money to stay up to date with industry-leading technology and education. We continually take the time to meticulously learn these procedures to provide our patients with the most minimally invasive treatment options for maximum patient comfort.
Inlays and onlays are a great alternative to full-coverage crowns because they provide the same protection to strengthen the tooth but require MUCH less healthy tooth structure be removed.
Inlays and onlays are pretty much fillings that are made of one large piece of porcelain instead of layers of composite resin. They are matched to the same color as your original tooth and glued to your tooth just like tooth-colored fillings.
A dental crown is essentially a cap placed over a weakened tooth to provide long-term protection. There are several reasons Atlanta dentist Dr. Ronak Patel may recommend a crown:
Dr. Patel will prepare the tooth for a crown by carefully and accurately shaping your tooth. Using a mold of the prepared tooth, a custom, natural-looking crown will be made out of porcelain by one of our trusted labs. This crown is then tried on to ensure it fits and cemented onto the tooth.
With the advancements in dental technology and materials, crowns are made of many different materials. Dr. Ronak Patel will recommend which material he believes to be the best fit specifically for your case.
Please call our Atlanta dental office today to schedule your appointment with Dr. Patel.
We’d love to meet you. Call (678) 355-8980 or request an appointment online to set up your first visit. We’ll be in touch soon.