Restorative dentistry, or sometimes referred to as prosthodontic dentistry, focuses on the management of individual tooth health and aesthetic cosmetics. Simply put, restorative dentistry ensures that all of your teeth are working together properly and are aesthetically pleasing, replacing missing teeth when necessary. From accurate diagnosis to simple restorative procedures,Dr. Christian Johnson’s dentistry for adults and children in Waldorf, MD can help bring your smile back to life with quality dental restoration work.
At Dr. Johnson’s dental practice, we believe that everyone deserves to have a healthy, radiant smile that lasts for years!Our team provides patients living in Waldorf, La Plata, Hughesville, and the surrounding areas with the dental care they need and deserve. Our procedures include cosmetic and restorative dental treatments that can replace missing teeth for a healthy, natural-looking smile.
Diagnosis & Dental Care In Waldorf, MD
No matter the case, Dr. Johnson’s main goal is to preserve the natural state of your teeth as much as possible. Taking extra time to identify the root of the problem and find the best possible solution, our staff will educate you on dental restoration prevention and best practices to maintain healthy teeth for the long haul.
For Dr. Johnson and our team to best treat our patients, it’s integral for us to successfully diagnose the underlying cause of the issue at hand. Using an intuitive approach in determining the factors playing a role in causing missing teeth, we study our patients’ upbringing, experiences, and previous life choices that might’ve lead to the poor condition of their teeth today. Even with a lifetime of proper dental care, unavoidable causes, such as accidents or genetics, can cause a need for dental restoration and tooth replacement.
Types Of Dental Restoration For Missing Teeth
With the advancement of technology in restorative cosmetic dentistry, there are many different procedures we offer to help replace missing teeth. Depending upon individual diagnosis from one of our team members, Dr. Johnson will recommend a procedure from one of two types of dental restoration: direct restoration or indirect restoration.
Direct Restoration
Completed in a single office visit, direct tooth restoration involves either placing a white composite filling into a prepared tooth cavity, or adding dental bonding to a chipped or stained tooth. As these procedures are basic in nature, our team can begin to treat the issue immediately.
Indirect Restoration
Indirect tooth restoration involves customized tooth replacements in the form of crowns or bridges. An indirect tooth restoration will require more than one office visit, as the replacement tooth must be fabricated in a lab prior to the procedure.
Crowns
Crowns are custom made caps that are designed to fit comfortably over the remaining healthy structure of the tooth. They are often used when too much of the tooth’s structure has been damaged and can no longer be restored using a standard filling. Crowns can be made of gold, porcelain, or porcelain-fused to metal.
Bridges
Dental bridges are used to restore the smiles of patients who have one or more teeth completely missing, compared to crowns that go over an existing tooth structure. Dental bridges consist of one or more dental crowns that are placed on healthy teeth at either end of the gap left by the missing tooth, and “bridges” the gap with an artificial tooth attached to the crown.
Dentures
For those missing a larger number of teeth, dentures are the perfect solution for giving you a functional and natural looking smile. When you are missing many or all of your teeth, the muscles in your face will start to droop over time and results in a more aged appearance. With dentures, our team will restore structure to your face to support these muscles, preventing them from eventually deteriorating.
There are several different types of dentures available, which allows Dr. Johnson to better cater to the varying needs of our patients.
Types of Dentures
Dental Implants
A dental implant is a small, screw-like post that is surgically placed into the jawbone, serving as an anchor for a dental crown. The titanium material that the implant is made from is designed to seamlessly integrate with the bone in your jaw, thus resulting in a stable, more natural feeling tooth replacement. Once the implant has fused properly with the bone, a crown is permanently attached to the implant that looks and feels like your natural tooth.
Dental implants are good solutions for replacing one tooth, several teeth or an entire arch of teeth. Dental implants not only look, feel, and work like natural teeth, but they also help prevent bone loss in the jaw as the implant provides the bone tissue with the stimulation it needs. Even though dental implants cost more than other tooth replacement options, they are designed to last a lifetime, making them a good investment in the long-term health.
Get In Touch With Dr. Christian Johnson Today!
Quality time spent on good oral and dental care is crucial to preventing tooth damage and decay, but sometimes certain circumstances lead to a need for dental restoration work. Dr. Johnson and our team in Waldorf, MD can help diagnose specific issues and provide accurate solutions to anyone needing tooth replacements. If you have any missing teeth and want to explore your options, don’t hesitate to contact us today to schedule an appointment! We can’t wait to give you the smile you deserve!