Restorative Dentistry

Restorative dentistry focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the teeth. Also, restorative dentists focus on supporting structures like gums, cheeks, jaw, and ligaments. These specialists are concerned with the repair and replacement of teeth and supporting structures. They also want your smile to look the best and be the healthiest it can be!

Your dentist may have a certain specialty within restorative dentistry:

Endodontics – what’s inside the teeth, dental pulp

Periodontics – what’s around the teeth, supporting structures like gums and bone

Prosthodontics – creating new teeth, dentures, crowns, bridges, and veneers

Your restorative dentist looks for and treats common dental diseases including dental decay or cavities and periodontal disease. The health of your teeth is based on a lot of different factors. Missing teeth or cleft palate can be caused by genetics, while some tooth loss can be the result of facial trauma or infection. Luckily, your dentist looks at all of these problems relating to the whole smile.

Restorative Dental Services at Ann Arbor Smiles

Crowns & Onlays

To best restore broken or damaged teeth to natural function, we use state-of-the-art CAD/CAM and CEREC dentistry for same-day crown delivery. This avoids temporary crowns and additional visits.

Tooth-Colored Fillings/ Composites

We use composite resin dental fillings, which are carefully matched to the color of your teeth: most of the time, you won’t even know that you have one! We do not use silver (amalgam) fillings anymore, as we have found that the metal can stress the tooth over time (leading to a fracture of the tooth) more than resin fillings. Amalgam fillings do have mercury in them but, do not contribute to mercury toxicity. When replacing old silver fillings, we remove them in a safe, effective manner.

Custom Shading

We can stain and glaze your ceramic crown as soon as it is milled. This is a new, state-of-the-art technology that on the same day results in a beautiful, natural-looking crown.

Root Canals

When a tooth becomes infected, the inside nerve must be taken out in order to preserve the tooth. The treatment is called root canal therapy because inside the root are small canals that house the nerve. The pulp must be removed or the surrounding tissue will also become infected and you might lose the tooth entirely. After removing the pulp, your doctor will seal the tooth and cover it with a crown, in order to protect it from fracturing. This procedure is typically completed in one to two visits. For those who are anxious about root canal therapy, we offer many relaxing aids such as anti-anxiety medication and sedation dentistry.