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The general condition directly depends on the health of the oral cavity. In addition, the appearance of the teeth also plays an important role in human life. The crown part of the tooth – that is, its visible part – is most susceptible to destruction. Caries and other pathologies provoke a change in color and structure. Today there are many ways to restore the crown part, each of them has its own characteristics and advantages. Let us consider in more detail all the available restorative techniques.
How is the restoration of the crown part of the tooth
Speaking about the procedure for restoring the crown part, we can confidently state that more often specialists have to restore the front teeth. The choice of restorative technique depends on the degree of damage to the enamel and on which particular tooth requires treatment. Let’s take a closer look at each of the methods.
With the use of composite materials
Restoration of a tooth using composite materials is distinguished by its affordable cost and simple technique. Almost everyone has encountered this restoration – in other words, this is a filling. This method of restoration is used in the case when no more than 30% of tooth enamel has been destroyed.
The filling installation technique consists in cleaning the damaged area from sharp chips and caries, and slightly expanding the hole. Additionally, the condition of the nerve endings and pulp is necessarily assessed. If they are damaged, the person may experience severe pain. To prevent the appearance of discomfort inside the restored tooth, the dentist may decide on depulpation. In a doubtful situation, a temporary filling is installed for the patient before the removal of the nerves – if there is no pain during the test period, the removal of the nerves is considered inappropriate.
After stripping the damaged area of the enamel and making a decision on the need for a depulpation procedure, the creation of a crown part from the composite follows. If we are talking about the restoration of the front teeth, it is recommended to use a light composite – such a material has the maximum similarity with natural dental tissue.
Advantages of a light composite – the material gains strength after exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Thanks to this, a specialist can form a crown of the desired shape and only then achieve its hardness using a special ultraviolet lamp.
With the use of metal ceramics
This technique for restoring the crown part is used when more than 30% of the enamel is destroyed. In order to be able to install a prosthesis to replace the lost part of the tooth, it is necessary to have a healthy and intact root. Otherwise, it becomes necessary to remove it, which excludes the possibility of installing a metal-ceramic crown.
Advantages of ceramic-metal restoration:
- restoration of a tooth even with very severe damage;
- strength and durability – the service life of one crown can reach 15 years;
- maximum similarity of the prosthesis with natural teeth;
- material safety – cermet has excellent compatibility with living tissues and does not cause allergic reactions.
Can a tooth root be restored?
There are situations when the crown part of the tooth is completely destroyed, but the root is not affected. In this case, the installation of a ceramic-metal prosthesis is associated with many risks – the root may not withstand the load and the artificial crown will simply fall out. To avoid such situations, the root can be reinforced with an anchor pin, which is attached to glass ionomer cement, a substance that has 100% biological compatibility with living tissues.
An alternative to a metal pin is a fiberglass pin. It is more durable and does not affect radiology or MRI. But such material is among the expensive ones, so it is used quite rarely.
Another method of restoration of dental tissue is based on the combination of several methods of restoration at once – the installation of stump linings. Special metal pads are installed in the root canal and “masked” with a composite material. This technique makes it possible to completely eliminate small defects on the walls of the teeth.
For those patients who dream of a “Hollywood smile”, frontal linings can be offered. Thin ceramic plates are installed on the teeth located in the visible zone and hide their defects.
Which specialist to contact
To eliminate problems with damage to the dental tissue, the patient should contact an orthopedic dentist. The main functions of this specialization are the diagnosis, detection and elimination of diseases and pathologies of the chewing and speech apparatus. It is orthopedists who are engaged in prosthetics and restoration of the crown part of the tooth.
When should you seek help from this specialist? If the tooth enamel is damaged due to caries, there are mechanical damage, the enamel has become thinner. The orthopedist not only eliminates the existing defects of the teeth, but also prevents the further development of the pathology. In addition, the patients of an orthopedic dentist can be people who want to give their smile an aesthetic appeal.
Advantages and disadvantages of restorative techniques
If the destruction of tooth enamel exceeds 30%, most often a metal-ceramic prosthesis is installed for the patient. This method has a lot of advantages – from durability and accessibility to external attractiveness and resemblance to “native” teeth. But there are also disadvantages of metal-ceramic prostheses.
To install a crown, the tooth is heavily grinded and the nerve endings of the root are necessarily removed. That is why, if possible, restoration with composite materials is preferred to cermets.
The teeth adjacent to the prosthesis are subjected to greater stress, and the enamel may be destroyed. The reason is the high hardness of ceramics in comparison with natural dental tissue. Sometimes the gum near the tooth on which such a crown is installed may drop slightly, and then the metal base becomes noticeable.
Ceramic-metal prostheses require careful care – if they darken, it is no longer possible to whiten them.