Modern Restorative Dentistry in Durango, CO

“Restorative dentistry” is the term dental is the used for fixing missing or broken teeth. Fillings, crowns (“caps”), bridges and implants are common restorative treatments. Our goal is to bring back your natural smile, restores your oral health, and prevent future issues.

Why Restorative Dental Procedures are Important

Several reasons include:

  • Filling empty spaces in the mouth helps keep the teeth properly aligned, and less chance for shifting, causing issues with biting
  • Replacing teeth makes it easier to maintain good oral care habits, and helps prevent plaque build-up and the problems that come along with plaque
  • Missing, damaged, or broken teeth can affect your health, appearance and confidence

Home Care Tips for Taking Care of your Restorative Dental Work

  • Proper Brushing – Make sure you brush your teeth thoroughly twice a day.
  • Electric toothbrushes – Compared to manual brushing, electronic toothbrushes can help remove plaque from your teeth and restorative work.
  • Flossing – Make sure to floss around your teeth, dental implants, crowns, and bridges every day.
  • Avoid Sticky Foods – If possible, try not to chew on hard or sticky foods. These can damage your implant, bridge, or crown.
  • Mouthwash – Use an antibacterial mouthwash help fight plaque bacteria around restorative work.

Often used to improve the appearance of your teeth and enhance your smile. As the name indicates, composite material, either a plastic or resin, is bonded to an existing tooth. Unlike veneers or crowns, composite bonding removes little, if any, of the original tooth.

Tooth bonding is the application of a tooth-colored resin material using a high intensity curing light. Typically used in cosmetic dentistry, for cosmetic purposes, tooth bonding literally bonds the materials to the tooth. Applications for tooth bonding include;

  • To fill the spaces between teeth
  • To make teeth look longer
  • To change the shape of a tooth
  • To change the color of a tooth
  • As an alternative to amalgam dental fillings or to protect a tooth with exposed gum or nerve
  • To repair decayed teeth
  • To repair chipped or cracked teeth

Tooth bonding, also called dental bonding is a procedure that takes very little time to prepare. Typically, unless the bonding is used on exposed nerves or to fill a decayed tooth, dental bonding does not require the use of anesthetics, making it a fast and comfortable procedure.

Direct Bonding

The process where a dentist uses tooth-colored composites to fill cavities, repair chips or cracks, close gaps and build up worn down teeth. These materials may also be directly applied and sculpted to the surface of teeth in order to maximize the enhancement of a smile.

Adhesive Bonding

Caring for bonded teeth is the same as caring for natural teeth. Brushing twice a day, flossing, and routine check-ups, as directed by your dentist, will help to maintain the bonded teeth and make them last a long time. One thing to avoid with bonded teeth is biting hard objects such as fingernails, ice, or hard types of food.

Dental bonding is a good choice that can solve a number of dental health problems. It is typically the most common and least expensive cosmetic dentistry procedure. Overall dental bonding is a relatively short procedure and requires little to no removal of tooth enamel. It is also relatively pain free and seldom requires the use of anesthetics, making for a short and comfortable dental appointment.

It’s a known fact that people who smile more often throughout the day are happier overall. Taking that one step further, fifteen minutes of hardy laughter each day can improve your overall health. So go ahead, smile and laugh today!

If you’re not happy with your smile, we can help with that. Enhancing your smile through cosmetic dentistry can be as simple as whitening your teeth or as involved as placing implants. Whatever level of service required to give you the smile of your dreams, our office is qualified and ready to turn those dreams into reality.

Teeth Whitening

One of the most commonly prescribed cosmetic dental procedures. Although there are many whitening options available, we have found The Zoom Professional Teeth Whitening treatment to be the most effective treatment on the market. The Zoom Professional Teeth Whitening treatment consists of a gentle hydrogen-peroxide whitening gel activated by a special, patented light operating in the gentle “blue spectrum”. The gel and light were both developed by Philips Health Care Company and are available exclusively at this office. Unlike traditional bleaching methods, with Zoom, the entire teeth whitening process is done in our office, allowing you to not have to worry about the hassle of take home methods. All you have to do is sit back and relax while we do the rest.

Bonding

Do you have chipped or cracked teeth that stand out when you smile? Do you have old fillings on your front teeth that have discolored throughout the years from coffee, tea or soda? Bonding is a procedure using enamel like material to match, blend and sculpt onto your existing tooth to give it a natural look. Once it is placed, it is hardened by a special light and polished for an ideal smile.

Implants

Are there missing teeth in your mouth? Are you wearing a partial denture or a full denture that just never fit right or moves around so you can’t chew properly? You may be eligible for dental implants. Made of titanium, dental implants are a stronger, more attractive option for replacing missing or lost teeth. The dental implant is like an anchor that is gently placed into your jaw. A life-like ceramic restoration is then built around it and matched to the original tooth color. Based on your health concerns and your needs, you may be an eligible candidate for this procedure.

Veneers

Are your teeth so discolored that whitening did not respond well? Do your teeth look crooked or chipped to you? Veneering is an increasingly popular procedure that consists of ultra thin ceramic material being placed over your teeth resulting in an extreme smile makeover! See “Cosmetic Porcelain Veneers” for more details.

Crown and Bridge Treatment is a long-term method of replacing missing teeth or badly broken teeth. A crown is placed over an individual tooth, molding to the surrounding bone structure. This method is used when there is no longer sufficient tooth structure left to place a filling. A bridge spans a space where one or more teeth have been lost in the dental arch. The teeth on either end of the span are crowned and are referred to as abutments or anchors. The false teeth in a bridge that join the abutments are referred to as pontics.

Crowns and bridges are made from superior biologically compatible materials, precious metals (gold), ceramics, composites, or a combination thereof. Most dental restorative methods require more than one visit to the dentist. Esthetics, biocompatibility, function, and long term predictability are considered when selecting the dental material most suitable for you. In our practice, getting a crown is done in one visit! Patients do not need to wait in order to have a permanent crown made at a lab, they are made right in the office of biocompatable ceramic materials containing no metal using the CEREC cadcam process.

Missing teeth can also be restored with dental implants, which are made of titanium, and have a long-term record of success and also seem to have a high level of biocompatability.

Dental implants are a great way to replace missing teeth and also provide a fixed solution to having removable partial or complete dentures. Implants provide excellent support and stability for these dental appliances.

Dental implants are artificial roots and teeth (usually made of titanium or zirconia) that are surgically placed into the upper or lower jaw bone by a dentist or Periodontist – a specialist of the gums and supporting bone. The teeth attached to implants are very natural looking and often enhance or restore a patient’s smile!

Veneers, usually customized from porcelain, are thin, semi-translucent “shells”, permanently bonded to your teeth. While they are not suitable for every patient, veneers are a cosmetic alternative for a variety of dental conditions of the front teeth, including:

  • Diastemas (spaces between the teeth).
  • Broken or chipped front teeth.
  • Unsightly, stained or washed out fillings.
  • Permanently stained or discolored teeth.
  • Misshapen or crooked teeth.

There are many options to enhance your smile. For further, more personal options, please contact us for an appointment or consultation today.

We can reverse the discoloration of tooth enamel to create a whiter, more aesthetic appearance without altering your natural tooth structure. And, there is no anesthetic required! The two major types of tooth whitening systems available are In-Office (active) or Passive (conducted by the patient at home while closely supervised by the dentist.)

Self-treatments as advertised on television and on the internet can be dangerous! The chemicals involved can be toxic!

At this office we recommend the highly acclaimed Zoom in-office whitening procedure. In a little over an hour your teeth will whiten an average of 9 shade differences! The Zoom procedure is fast, biocompatible and painless! Imagine, in a little over an hour you can make big changes your smile!.