Restorative Dentistry

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Restorative Dentistry

Restorative Dental Care

For patients with oral concerns like broken, chipped, cracked, or missing teeth, restorative dental procedures can help restore their smile back to health. At Dugger Dentistry, your West Linn Family dental care choice, we offer a range of restorative dental procedures that include:

Composite Fillings

Tooth-colored composite resin fillings offer patients the durability and resistance needed to repair small- to mid-sized fillings that must withstand the pressure that comes from the constant stress of chewing. Dr. Dugger can place composite fillings in both front and back teeth, and they make a great choice for patients who prefer their fillings to have a more natural appearance.

Composite fillings contain no mercury, bond directly to the tooth to provide better support to the tooth structure and help to better protect teeth from fracture when compared to traditional amalgam fillings.

Porcelain Crowns

Porcelain crowns make an ideal choice when recreating the function and form of a damaged tooth because the crown essentially replaces the entire exposed portion of a tooth all the way down to the gum line. In addition to replacing a tooth, Dr. Dugger can use porcelain crowns to create a better-looking aesthetic appearance.

Crowns can help strengthen a tooth that has had large fillings with subsequent fracturing or when not enough of the tooth’s original structure remains to hold a filling. Crowns also function in attaching bridges, protecting weak teeth from breaking, and restoring the health of teeth already broken. Porcelain crowns are a great choice for covering teeth that have become discolored or poorly shaped and for covering dental implants.

Root Canal Therapy

Root canal therapy helps to treat patients suffering from a tooth that has become infected or badly decayed. The procedure is performed once the nerve of a tooth has become infected or the pulp damaged. During the procedure, the pulp and nerve of a tooth are removed, and the interior of the tooth is then thoroughly cleaned and sealed, thereby saving the tooth and preventing the spread of the infection. While root canals have the reputation as being extremely uncomfortable, most patients report the sensation they experience as similar to having a filling placed.

Dental Bridges

Dental bridges literally bridge the space created by one or more missing teeth. A bridge consists of two or more dental crowns for the teeth that sit on either side of the space and are bridged with a replica of the missing tooth that fits into space between. Dental bridges can help improve your smile, restore your ability to speak and eat properly, maintain the contour of your face, properly spread out the force of your bite, and prevent remaining teeth from drifting out of position.

Dentures – Complete/Partial

A removable replacement, dentures fill in for missing teeth and the surrounding gum tissue. Depending on the state of their oral health, patients may need complete or partial dentures to restore their smile. Complete dentures are used when a patient has no natural teeth remaining, while partial dentures are used when some natural teeth remain.

Periodontics

Our highly skilled hygienists can help treat patients suffering from periodontal disease, an advanced form of gum disease, and the leading cause of adult tooth loss.