Restorative Dentistry

• Restore your smile
• Restore the ability to properly chew and speak
• Maintain the shape of your face
• Distribute the forces in your bite properly

Preparing the tooth for a crown can irritate the teeth and cause sensitivity. In about 6% of cases, this sensitivity results in the tooth requiring further treatment. The crown can chip or fracture over time.
If the crown is porcelain, it can be a good colour match with your natural teeth, but less of a match as your natural tooth ages.
Crowns do not eliminate the possibility of decay. You can still develop a cavity around the margins of a crown.

Our dentists would be happy to discuss all of your options with you. Unfortunately, in some cases, fillings cannot be used because they do not improve the strength of broken down teeth. If your tooth is too compromised, only a crown will be an appropriate treatment.

• Restores your smile.
• Restores the ability to properly chew and speak.
• Maintains the shape of your face.
• Distributes the forces in your bite properly by replacing missing teeth.
• Prevents remaining teeth from drifting out of position.

• The teeth on either side of the space must be prepared for crowns. This can irritate the teeth and cause sensitivity. In about 6% of cases, this sensitivity results in the tooth requiring further treatment.
• The bridge can chip or fracture over time.
• If the bridge is porcelain, it can be a good colour match with your natural teeth, but less of a match as your natural tooth ages.

• Implants can be used to replace missing teeth.
• A removable partial denture can also be used to replace missing teeth
• Leave the space as it is.

Tooth coloured materials are made of resin for colour and clear glass particles for strength.

• They come in many shades to very closely match the colour of your natural tooth.
• They require the removal of less healthy tooth structure than silver fillings.
• They are bonded into place.

They seal the tooth, but do not prevent it from breaking.
The larger the filling, the more likely they are to fracture.
Your tooth can decay along the edges of the filling. Bite problems may lead to the filling or tooth breaking. Placing the filling can irritate the tooth and cause sensitivity for up to 3 months. In less than 1% of cases, this requires additional treatment.

• Having a silver filling placed.
• Having a gold or porcelain restoration placed.
• No treatment.

A filling may have a good colour match with your natural tooth when it is placed but less of a match as your natural tooth ages. Tooth coloured fillings can collect stain over time from coloured foods.

Tooth coloured fillings may chip or break if used for abnormal activities
(eg. biting fishing line, sewing thread, biting finger nails or opening bottles).

These type of restorations are used to repair decayed or damaged teeth. They are recommended to better when your tooth needs more support than a regular filling.

Inlays are recommended to replace the inside biting portion of a tooth when the healthy structure remains on the outside biting portion of the tooth.
Onlays are used to replace broken cusps or to add strength to compromised areas around the perimeter
of the tooth.

A large dental filling can weaken the remaining healthy structure of the tooth, causing the tooth to break, crack or eventually need root canal therapy. The forces of your bite can perpetuate this damage because a filling can simply not withstand these forces over time.

The materials that are used are the same as the ones used to make dental crowns. They can be made with highly aesthetic and reinforced dental ceramic or gold. Dr. Hildebrand will discuss your options with you.

• Like any restoration, inlays and onlays can irritate the tooth and cause sensitivity. In some cases, this requires additional treatment.
• Inlays and Onlays can crack and decay along the edges.

Complete dentures are a removable dental appliance designed for a person who has no teeth in one or both of their arches. They are made from a durable acrylic material and designed to look like natural teeth.

By wearing a complete denture one can enjoy eating, chewing and talking with greater ease than without.
The denture will also provide structure to the face where a ‘sunk in’ appearance might be evident if one is not worn. They restore function and also provide a beautiful confident smile.

A complete denture can require maintenance to achieve optimal fit and comfort.
Your dentist or denturist can offer suggestions and adjustments to suit your needs. It is also critical that you remove the dentures regularly to brush them and keep them (and your mouth) clean.

The alternative is to not have teeth if none are present in the mouth. If there are a few teeth that are healthy enough your dentist may recommend a partial removable denture instead.

Not always. Sometimes a transitional denture can be made if you are having several teeth extracted at one time. This will give the time for the bone to remodel and reshape while your mouth is healing. This can take up to 6 months. After this time a permanent denture can be made that will fit you beautifully and comfortably.

Please see our information sheet for details regarding care and maintenance of your complete denture.