Restorative Dentistry

There are two main types of restorations

Direct Restoration

Direct restoration includes placing a soft or a malleable filling into a prepared tooth and it will build up the tooth before the material sets. A common advantage is you can have this done with only a single appointment. The most common procedure includes fillings.

Indirect Restoration

Indirect restoration occurs when the team formulates the restoration outside of the mouth using a dental impression of the prepared tooth. The most common indirect restorations consist of inlays and onlays, crowns, bridges, porcelain veneers and implants.

When the tooth is ready to be restored back to a suitable form and function it requires two steps: first they must prepare the tooth for the placement of the restoration material or materials, and secondly the placement of the material and materials. The dentist will use special tools to make enough space for the restorative materials; likewise they will remove any dental decay and any part of the tooth that is physically unsound. Temporary restoration may be performed if permanent restorations cannot be carried out.

Preparations may be: Intracoronal (holds restorative materials within the confines of the structure of the crown on the tooth; and Extracoronal (serves as a core or base to which the restorative material will be placed to bring the tooth back into a functional or aesthetic structure. Examples of this are crowns, inlays and dental veneers).