If your smile is less than perfect, you may fear you will never get the beautiful smile you have always wanted. However, with more cosmetic dental options becoming more affordable, you have plenty of options to restore your severely damaged teeth. If you are ready for your smile restoration, check out these three surprising ways a dentist can help your teeth.
1. Composite Bonding
Composite bonding uses a hard and durable material called composite resin. This resin goes directly on the teeth, and the dentist molds and shapes the resin as necessary to repair teeth. For example, if you have a gap between your front teeth, the dentist can mold the resin into the gap to make your teeth look flush.
Besides fixing gaps, the resin can fill in chips and cover cracks. Not only does this give you back a beautiful smile, but the resin protects the underlying layer of dentin (and the tooth's pulp) from decay and infection.
The resin can also match the color of your teeth, creating a seamless finish. If you need composite bonding on all your front teeth, your dentist may be able to use it to give you a whiter smile too. The resin is highly resistant to staining. However if it does stain, the stains are permanent.
2. Gold Crowns
Crowns commonly help strengthen teeth because the crowns give the tooth a new external shell. However, many types of crowns exist, including porcelain and gold. Many people shy away from gold crowns because of the color, but gold crowns have many benefits over porcelain crowns.
First, if you like the look of gold teeth, gold crowns can be a better long-term option. This is because they cannot stain or chip like porcelain. If porcelain does stain or chip, as with composite resin, it is permanent until you replace the crown.
The biggest advantage gold crowns have over porcelain is their strength. The strong metal is excellent at withstanding lots of wear and tear. On the other hand, simply grinding your porcelain crowns can wear them down fast. The downside is that gold crowns will irritate gums more than porcelain, so you need to take excellent care of your gums.
3. Post and Core Buildup
Crowns are common for after root canal therapy or placing a big filling. They may also be useful for teeth with lots of cracks or smaller fillings to prevent the tooth from shattering in the future. If the tooth has shattered, however, another option exists beside extraction.
The dentist can insert posts into the tooth to serve as anchors to rebuild the tooth. Naturally, as with big fillings or root canal therapy, the rebuilt tooth is incredibly weak. For this reason, your dentist will also suggest a crown. The location of the tooth plays a huge role in determining which type of crown you should consider.
Many people like the aesthetics of porcelain crowns on their front teeth, which is fine after a post and core buildup because your front teeth are only responsible for biting, which doesn't create much pressure. On back teeth, however, a gold crown may be a better option because it will better protect the underlying damaged tooth.
Even broken teeth can be repaired with the right tools, such as gold crowns. If you would like to know more about how to improve the look and strength of your smile, or if you want a quote on some gold grills, contact us at Gold Teeth Baton Rouge today. We look forward to speaking with you about all of your specific dental questions and concerns.
