Restorative Dentistry

Direct restorations are what is more commonly known as “ Fillings”.

There are two main materials used in direct restorations or fillngs. They are the Amalgams or Silver fillings and the Composites or the White or Tooth Colored bonding filling material. Neither of them are perfect and listed below are the pros and cons of each.

There is a third type of filling material called Glass Ionomer. It is tooth colored , has some self-adhesive properties, and is the only filling material that has the ability to release fluoride with time. Its down side however is that it cannot withstand chewing forces so it cannot be used for fillings on the chewing areas of teeth.

Indirect restorations are restorations that are fabricated outside the mouth usually involving a dental lab. It involves first, preparing the tooth, second ;taking an impression or mould of the preparation, third; fabricating the restoration, and fourth; delivering and cementation/bonding of the restoration. Indirect restorations include crowns, partial crowns, veneers etc…….

When there is more filling material than tooth structure in a tooth, then a crown needs to be done. A crown should be thought of as a rigid helmet for the underlying tooth.

It is similar to a partial helmet to protect the underlying tooth structure. Its main advantage is the possibility of preserving more tooth structure than a full crown.

Crowns and Partial Crowns can be metallic ,partial metallic , or metal free ranging from full gold , porcelain fused to metal with various degree of porcelain coverage, zirconium , e-max to hardened composites. Many factors have to taken into consideration before deciding which material to be used in what situation.