Restorative Dental Materials Health Article

Definition

Restorative dental materials are substances that are used to repair, replace, or enhance a patient's teeth. These materials include metals, porcelains, and composite resins (often made from plastics).

Purpose

Restorative dental materials are used to create fillings, bridges, crowns, and inlays in order to restore a tooth's appearance, structure, or function.

Description

The end of the twentieth century witnessed a dramatic decline in dental caries and an increased interest in dental health and enhancement. Smaller cavities are being discovered in the general population and in children, with over half of those aged five to 17 having no tooth decay at all. At the other end of the spectrum, older Americans are retaining more and more of their natural teeth and are beginning to seek out dentists for restorative work.

Visits to prosthodontists (dentists who specialize in mouth reconstructions, such as crowns, fixed bridges, dentures, and implants) and cosmetic or esthetic dentists (those who repair and enhance teeth through whitening, veneer application, or attachment of permanent restorations) increased from the 1990s into the twenty-first century. An American Dental Association (ADA) survey in 2000 indicated that 84% of responding dentists reported offering some form of cosmetic services to their patients.

In 2001, dentists have more tools with which to diagnose a patient's unique problems, and they are able to find more creative, conservative solutions for them. The dentistry of the 1970s provided limited options. A patient had a tooth filled or extracted, had teeth straightened with braces, or had a crown or bridge installed. Often, the crown cracked and had to be replaced, or the bridge that was fitted was a plastic tooth set in a maze of wires.

Thirty years later, dentists can whiten teeth, alter their shape, fill gaps between them, or build up a tooth that is cracked. Dentists can fill a cavity with a tooth-colored filling that appears invisible to the naked eye. They can replace a missing tooth with a porcelain bridge or a resin implant. Even crooked teeth can be greatly improved with veneers and bonding or invisible plastic braces.

Cosmetic dentists and prosthodontists create restorations in order to repair, replace, or enhance a patient's tooth or teeth.

Restoration types

All restorations perform one of three main functions. They repair, replace, or enhance. Among the types of restorations that repair are fillings. These are used to restore tooth damage that occurs as a result of dental caries (tooth decay). Metal amalgams or composite resins are used to fill cavities and restore the function and esthetics of a tooth. Inlays and crowns, used to repair damage to the teeth, replace tooth structure lost to decay or injury, protect what remains, and restore the tooth's shape and function. Inlays are more durable than amalgam fillings.

Crowns may be necessary when a tooth cracks, has its entire structure weakened by decay, or becomes brittle after a root canal. Crowns can also cover dental implants or abutment (adjacent) teeth when fitting a bridge.

Bonding and contouring

Bonding is a low-cost alternative to crowns or veneers. A tooth-colored composite resin is molded over the tooth, exposed to a special light, and then polished. It is used to restore chipped or slightly ill-shaped teeth. It is less durable and subject to chipping. Bonding is also limited to areas of the mouth that do not experience strong chewing forces, such as the front teeth.

Contouring is done to correct the shape of a tooth. This is mainly an extractive procedure because small amounts of tooth enamel are removed. This technique can be combined with bonding or veneer application.

Restorations that replace

BRIDGES. Bridges fill in a gap left by missing teeth, preventing the remaining teeth from shifting and providing a more stable surface for chewing. Bridges consist of a metal framework and one or more artificial teeth anchored to adjacent teeth (abutment teeth). Sometimes, a two-implant bridge is required. It is then cemented into place.

IMPLANTS, DENTURES, AND PARTIAL DENTURES. Implants, dentures, and partial dentures also replace missing teeth. Individual artificial teeth may be implanted or inserted into the patient's jaw. Partial dentures are dental appliances that have more than one artificial tooth inserted into a metal framework. They are usually removable and can be designed for one or both sides of the mouth.

Restorations that enhance

Crowns are used less frequently to enhance stained or damaged teeth. Newer techniques, such as bleaching or veneer application, are less invasive, save more original tooth structure, and cost less than crowns.

Veneers are ultra-thin coatings used to close gaps between teeth or cover discolored teeth. They are also used to fill in spaces between teeth, repair broken or chipped teeth, and straighten out misshapen or crooked teeth.