Scott Dexter, DDS restorative dental procedures include:

Fillings

• Strengthens the tooth by keeping most of tooth’s original shape.
• Preferred because of natural tooth color and are generally more comfortable for the patient.
• Hot and cold sensitivity is greatly reduced with composite material.
• Restorations with composites require less removal of tooth vs. silver amalgams.
• White fillings are healthier because no traces of mercury are used.

Dentures

A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. Two types of dentures are available - complete and partial dentures. Complete dentures are used when all the teeth are missing, while partial dentures are used when some natural teeth remain.

Crowns/ Bridges

Both crowns and most bridges are fixed prosthetic devices. Unlike removable devices such as dentures, which you can take out and clean daily, crowns and bridges are cemented onto existing teeth or implants, and can only be removed by a dentist.

A crown is used to entirely cover or "cap" a damaged tooth. It is used to:

• Protect a weak tooth from fracturing.

• Restore a fractured tooth.

• Attach a bridge.

• Cover a dental implant.

• Cover a discolored or poorly shaped tooth.

• Cover a tooth that has had root canal treatment.

A bridge may be recommended if you're missing one or more teeth. Gaps left by missing teeth eventually cause the remaining teeth to rotate or shift into the empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance caused by missing teeth can also lead to gum disease and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.

Bridges are commonly used to replace one or more missing teeth. They span the space where the teeth are missing. Bridges are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space. These teeth, called abutments, serve as anchors for the bridge.  A replacement tooth, called a pontic, is attached to the crowns that cover the abutments. As with crowns, you have a choice of materials for bridges. Your dentist can help you decide which to use, based on the location of the missing tooth (or teeth), its function, aesthetic considerations and cost. Porcelain or ceramic bridges can be matched to the color of your natural teeth.

While crowns and bridges can last a lifetime, they do sometimes come loose or fall out. The most important step you can take to ensure the longevity of your crown or bridge is to practice good oral hygiene. A bridge can lose its support if the teeth or bone holding it in place are damaged by dental disease.

Veneers

Dental veneers are wafer-thin, custom-made shells of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front surface of teeth to improve your appearance. These shells are bonded to the front of the teeth changing their color, shape, size, or length.

Veneers are routinely used to fix teeth that are:

• Discolored - either because of root canal treatment; stains from tetracycline or other drugs, excessive fluoride or other causes; or the presence of large resin fillings that have discolored the tooth.

• Worn down

• Chipped or broken

• Misaligned, uneven, or irregularly shaped

• Have gaps between them