Repair Damaged & Decayed Teeth
Bring Your Teeth Back to Their Natural Strength and Appearance
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Our dental restoration treatments will allow you to:
- get back to enjoying a healthy and functional smile
- improve your self-esteem and confidence in your appearance
- protect your natural teeth from further damage
You may need a restorative procedure due to different dental issues such as decay, partial or complete tooth loss, a tooth that is broken or has a large crack, or after undergoing a recent root canal.
Dr. Tufa and her team are highly trained and experienced in providing restoration treatments that will bring out the best in your smile, whether it is:
- tooth-colored fillings that blend right in,
- inlays and onlays that fit perfectly or
- crowns with core buildup using highest quality materials
Tooth-Colored Composite Fillings
Composite fillings are mercury-free, made of resin material that is colored to blend with your natural tooth enamel and surrounding teeth for a seamless result. They are an esthetic and safe alternative to amalgam fillings and restore the tooth to its natural strength and appearance. They are used to repair minor cavities, chip, crack or other damages and can help prevent further complications with your tooth.
Composite resins are bonded to the tooth, thus reinforcing it and giving it greater strength. This makes them suitable for repairing teeth with craze lines, chips or cracks and allows the dentist to be extremely conservative and preserve tooth structure with minimal drilling. Composite fillings are solidified by a special curing light to its full strength, which minimizes postoperative restrictions, so that you can chew and drink soon after the restoration is placed.
If you need to have a dental cavity filled or a chipped tooth repaired, schedule an appointment with Dr. Tufa at our Acton, MA practice to learn if a tooth-colored dental filling can meet your needs.
Posterior Composite Filling Video
See how composite filling restores a damaged or decayed back tooth.
Composite Filling on Front Tooth
See how composite filling restores a damaged or decayed front tooth.
Tooth Crown
Dental crowns are type of dental restoration that completely caps or encircles a tooth or a dental implant. A crown may be needed when a large cavity or a fracture threatens the health of the tooth and its structural integrity. This is especially true if there are one or more cusps fractured or decayed, or the size the existing restoration is extensive and compromises the tooth strength. Sometimes when there is not enough of the natural tooth remaining to support a crown, a procedure called core buildup is performed using composite to add back enough structure so the tooth can be crowned and preserved. Pins are frequently used in these situations to help anchor and retain the core to the tooth. Dr. Tufa has extensive training and experience creating crowns with core buildups.
Dental Crown - Preparation with Core Buildup
See how how a dentist adds structure to a damaged tooth, so it can be successfully crowned and preserved.
Crowns are an excellent treatment option when it comes to increasing the longevity of weak and extensively broken-down teeth. The treatment usually starts with taking an impression or scan of your tooth to ensure that your custom designed crown is the perfect size and shape for you. This is then sent to a lab for fabrication. A temporary crown will be designed at our practice while the custom crown is being made. Once ready, the permanent crown is then fitted over the original tooth and is typically bonded to the tooth by dental cement. Dental crowns can be made from various materials and are used to improve the stability or appearance of your teeth. If you are looking for top-notch restorative dental crown service, give us a call and schedule your appointment with Dr. Tufa.
Dental Inlay and Onlay
Dental Inlays and onlays are used to treat tooth decay damage that is too extensive to support a basic filling but not as much to require a crown. They are highly custom, lab made restorations that are typically fabricated out of ceramic, metal, or gold. The key difference between them is the amount and part of the tooth that they cover.
An inlay is used to correct the top surface and will incorporate the pits and fissures of a tooth around the chewing surface between the cusps. When repairing a small cavity, an inlay can restore the tooth in a more durable manner than a traditional filling. An onlay is used to address damage on larger portions of the tooth (one or more cusps) but not the entire surface. This treatment helps to restore optimal shape and function while saving as much of the natural tooth as possible. If all cusps and the entire surface of the tooth need to be covered then a dental crown treatment would be recommended.
Inlays and Onlays require two appointments to complete the treatment. First, Dr. Tufa would remove of all decayed tooth structure then take an impression of the prepared tooth to ensure custom fit. The impression is then sent to a dental lab for fabrication. A temporary filling may be used to protect the tooth while the inlay or onlay is being made at the lab. Once they are ready and fit correctly, she will bond them to the tooth with a strong resin and polish the area. If you need to repair damaged teeth, give us a call and schedule an appointment with an experienced restorative dentist.
Dental Inlay Procedure
See how an inlay can be used to restore a decayed or damaged tooth to its proper function.
Dental Onlay Procedure
See how an onlay rebuilds a tooth that has damage to one or more cusps and restores it to optimal shape and function.
Ready to Restore Your Smile?
Get in touch with us if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment.