Family and Cosmetic Dentistry
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry
Tooth colored fillings that give back your natural tooth appearance and feel, instead of the old silver amalgam fillings. Cured with ultraviolet light and ultra-strong, these are not only better looking but better for the strength of the remaining tooth. If you want to restore your comfort without sacrificing your smile, ceramic composites are a great option.
Once mainly metal-based, crowns can now be made out of all-ceramic materials. This gets rid of the black-line that is sometimes evident with these restorations due to the metal substructure showing. This gives your smile a natural, youthful look without forfeiting any strength or restoration longevity.
Bridges are a treatment that replaces a missing tooth by attaching crowns to 2 or more adjacent teeth along with a tooth in the space missing the tooth. This procedure is used when:
Bridges have been used in dentistry for over 100 years, and have a very good success rate, depending the on oral hygiene of the patient. With bridges, the teeth are still viable(alive) and need to be cared for just-like or better than natural teeth. Most bridges have a 7-15 year life-span depending on how well the patient maintains their mouth with 2x daily brushing, flossing and dental check-ups, along with their eating habits. Bridges are a very good alternative for replacement of a missing tooth or teeth, and the care-gives at Dr Kosek and Kreagers’ can help you determine if this is a good option for you.
Veneers can be done with two different types of materials: Composites or Porcelain. Composite veneers are done at chair-side and do not involve the use of any laboratory procedures or return visits. They give a new, fresh look to the smile, though their longevity (1-2 years) is much less than what porcelain veneers can provide.
Porcelain veneers provide some of the best looking and longest lasting “state-of-the-art” restorations available today. They allow for a much longer service life of approximately 7-10 years (and sometimes longer), though they necessitate the use of laboratory services. The procedure is to prepare the teeth by removing a small amount of the facial(front) surface of the tooth, then make an impression of the prepared teeth, that is sent to the lab to fabricate the veneers. After lab fabrication, the porcelain veneers are bonded very tightly to the tooth surface, providing a long lasting and beautiful smile.
Dental implants have over 30 years of use in dentistry. Implants allow for the replacement of lost teeth, badly broken-down, non-restorable teeth, or teeth that have had failed root canal therapy. The procedure involves replacing the area in the bone where the root of the tooth was, with a bio-compatible , inter-osseous (within the bone), implant. This can be done with minimal pain since the bone does not have any nerves. Most patients say they love their implants because they look and feel like natural teeth, are cared for like natural teeth, and are even cleaned by your hygienist like natural teeth! Implants are fast becoming the treatment of choice for tooth replacement.
Implants can also be used for those patients that wear an ill-fitting complete denture. Implants can be placed and the complete denture can be made to attach to them. This gives a snug denture that does not move when in use, doing away with sore spots or embarrassing loose dentures.
Root Canal Therapy (RCT) can save the root of the tooth and crown of the tooth in order to maintain its proper spacing and function in the mouth. RCT is the removal of the nerve and blood vessels from the canals within the tooth, and replacing them with a biocompatible sealer and a rubber material called gutta percha. Although the tooth no longer is viable(alive), it still functions in the mastication (chewing) of food just like a viable tooth. Root Canalled teeth must be restored with a full coverage crown, either porcelain fused to metal or all-ceramic (no metal) crown. Root canals have a good success rate (approximately 85-90%). This can be compared with implants which now are having a 92-97% success rate. Either treatment can maintain your chewing efficiency and quality of life.
Dr. Kosek has had many years of experience in treating teeth with root canal therapy and has great success with this procedure. He or Dr. Kreager would be happy to discuss your options and what would fit best for your particular situation.