Types of Dental Restorations – Dr Genchevi Dental Care

Restorative dentistry deals with replacing missing teeth or restoring damaged ones. There are the following types of restorations: fillings, crowns, bridges, dentures, and implants. You will find more information about fillings in the section on General Dentistry. Here, we go over the remaining types of restorations.

Crowns

A crown is a single, tooth-shaped cap used in restorative dentistry. A crown is placed over a damaged tooth, after it has been properly treated and prepared, to resemble your natural teeth in shape, size, strength and color. Different materials accomplish this to a different extent. Crowns are also used to support dental bridges and as the top part of dental implants.

Bridges

Bridges, as the name suggests, bridge the gap opened by missing teeth. Bridges are anchored on either side usually by crowns (but also by other techniques such as the Maryland bridge system and the ZX-27 glass abutment system) and cemented permanently into place. Just as crowns they are made to resemble your natural teeth in shape, size, strength and color. Different materials accomplish this to a different extent.

Dentures

Probably you have seen dentures already. They are the replacement teeth attached to a pink plastic base that seniors keep in glasses of water on their nightstands.

Like crowns and bridges, dentures serve as replacement for missing/damaged teeth. Unlike the previous two restoration methods, dentures are (mostly) removable. They can replace some of your teeth (partial dentures) or all of your teeth (complete dentures).

Implants

Implants are the titanium pins placed firmly into the jawbone in places where teeth are missing. Shortly after, abutments (small connector posts) are placed over the pins to securely hold the replacement teeth. Crowns are placed on top of them to complete the procedure of restoring your sparkling smile. Sometimes, instead of crowns, bridges or removable dentures are placed on the implants.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of dental restorations?

Note: In large part, the advantages and disadvantages of dental restorations are based on the materials used. Please refer to the information contained in Types of Materials.

Different types of dental restorations are suitable in different cases. To find out what is best for you, you need to see a dentist.

In general, crowns are used for single constructions, bridges and dentures – for long-span constructions and implants can be used in both cases. Dentures are the budget solution and they are less comfortable and less aesthetically pleasing than the other options. Crowns and bridges require the presence of some of your natural teeth or their remains. Implants are free of this limitation.