Restorations

Dental Restoration in Bellingham, WA

The goal of restorative dentistry is to return destroyed or lost tooth structure to full form and function. If you have a filling, crown, or dental implant, you have already benefited from restorative dentistry.

Today’s dentists have many successful options of repairing decayed teeth. Besides traditional silver amalgam or gold alloy fillings, composite resins and dental ceramics have come on the scene that are beautiful. These materials can be used to create tooth restorations that are virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth.

Here are some of the restorative procedures we provide to help you achieve the strongest and best-looking teeth possible:

Fillings

Fillings do just what the name implies — seal a small hole in your tooth, i.e., a cavity, caused by decay and is the least expensive initially. This prevents the decay (a bacteria-induced infection) from spreading further into your tooth and entering the sensitive inner root canal — a condition that requires root canal treatment.

To fill a tooth, we first clinically examine it and review x-rays to determine the extent of the decay. Then we remove the decayed area of the tooth, usually with a dental drill or another handheld instrument. Your tooth will be anesthetized first, so you won’t feel anything. If numbing injections normally provoke anxiety for you, please let us know; we can discuss medication that can help with this. If you feel more comfortable, we can discuss more sedation options to help with anxiety.

Fillings can be divided into two broad categories: metal and tooth-colored.

Metal Fillings

Amalgams

The classic “silver” filling in use for more than a century, dental amalgam is actually an alloy made up of mercury, silver, tin, and copper. The mercury combines with the other metals in the amalgam to make it stable and safe. This type of filling has a medium longevity.

Cast Gold Inlays

Longest lasting restorative dental material. Cast gold combines gold with other metals (but no mercury) for a very strong filling. Dr. Yaremko has seen gold inlays that were 50 years old and still completely sealing the previous cavity and in great shape.

Tooth-Colored Fillings

Composite

A popular choice for those who don’t want their fillings to show, composites are a mixture of resin and quartz, which actually becomes bonded to the rest of the tooth. Their longevity can be shorter when compared to other dental filling materials.

Porcelain Inlays

These high-tech dental ceramics are strong, lifelike, and don’t stain as rapidly composites can. They are also bonded to the tooth. You can expect a medium longevity with this type of filling.

Inlays & Onlays

When the damage done to a tooth by decay is too extensive to be treated with a simple filling, yet not significant enough to need a full-coverage crown, the best solution may be an onlay. These fillings are fabricated outside the mouth (usually by a dental laboratory) and then bonded to the tooth by the dentist. It is considered an “inlay” when the filling fits within the little points or “cusps” of a back (premolar or molar) tooth. It is an “onlay” if it covers one or more of these cusps.

In order to receive an inlay or onlay, the tooth and surrounding area must be numbed with a local anesthetic and the decay removed. Sedation is available for those that are anxious about the procedure. We then take an impression of the tooth with a putty-like material and send it to our dental laboratory, where the inlay or onlay will be made. We will cement a temporary filling to your tooth to protect it until the permanent restoration is ready. At your next visit, the permanent inlay/onlay will be cemented to your tooth with either a resin that hardens under a special curing light, or a type of permanent cement. Inlays and onlays are strong, long-lasting, and require no greater level of care than any other tooth. Onlays also act to hold the tooth together, to provide fracture resistance for a weaker tooth.

Schedule an appointment today!

Call (360) 734-6620 or click here to book an appointment with Dr. Yaremko.