Dr. Jeffery Van Treese

Tooth Colored Fillings
Composite fillings are what people think of when they say "white fillings" or "porcelain fillings". We call them tooth colored fillings to distinguish them from amalgam, gold and temporary filling materials. There are a number of different formulations of composite filling, but the type most commonly used today is made of microscopic glass, or porcelain particles of varying shapes and sizes (depending on the intended use) embedded in a matrix of acrylic. The glass particles account for between 60% and 80% of the bulk of these materials, so these restorations could more properly be called porcelain fillings.

Crowns
What are crowns and why are they used?
A crown is a restoration that covers, or caps a tooth to restore it to its normal shape and size. Its purpose is to strengthen or improve the appearance of a tooth. A crown is placed for a number or reasons:

• To support a large filling when there isn’t enough tooth remaining

• To attach a bridge

• To protect weak teeth from fracturing

• To restore fractured teeth

• To cover badly shaped or discolored teeth

• To cover a dental implant

What will the finished crown look like?
One of our main goals is to create crown that look like natural teeth. To achieve this, a number of factors are considered such as the color, occlusion or “bite”, shape and length of both your natural teeth and of the artificial crown. Any one of these factors alone can significantly affect your appearance. (Insert photos) Onlays………………… Made of a strong, natural-looking material, usually porcelain, onlays are larger restorations, extending over one or more sides of your tooth, and can be used similar to a crown or cap. A conservative procedure that requires far less tooth removal than it’s metal counterpart, an onlay increases tooth strength and provides enduring protection for the tooth. Unlike metal fillings, an onlay can often be used to repair only the damaged portion of the tooth, leaving much more of the original tooth structure intact.

Onlays
Made of a strong, natural-looking material, usually porcelain, onlays are larger restorations, extending over one or more sides of your tooth, and can be used similar to a crown or cap. A conservative procedure that requires far less tooth removal than it’s metal counterpart, an onlay increases tooth strength and provides enduring protection for the tooth. Unlike metal fillings, an onlay can often be used to repair only the damaged portion of the tooth, leaving much more of the original tooth structure intact.

When an individual has a fixed dental bridge, the two crowns that hold the false tooth are attached to healthy, adjacent teeth. A fixed bridge is designed to remain in the mouth and cannot be removed and replaced like partial dentures. A fixed dental bridge may be used to replace just one tooth or several.

Another type of dental bridge, called a cantilever bridge, is used to replace a missing tooth in an area of the mouth that receives less physical stress. For example, a cantilever bridge may be used to replace a missing front tooth. This type of dental bridge is used when just one side of the empty space caused by an absent tooth has remaining healthy teeth. With a cantilever bridge, the false tooth is anchored to one or more natural teeth.