Everyone is entitled to nice and attractive teeth. We all love those pearly whites. Cosmetic dentistry focuses on this. But one advice I can give is that you should prioritize health and function before aesthetics. Most dentists will tell you so. In the first place, teeth are there more for function rather than form. But wouldn’t you agree that white teeth are great?
Olympic swimmer Inge de Bruijn has all-ceramic veneers
Missing a tooth can cause your teeth to move, your jawbone to shrink, make you look older and affect your self-confidence. NobelSmile offers teeth enhancement and replacement with the use of an all-ceramic dental crown or bridge, going beyond porcelain fused to metal (PFM) and saying goodbye to gray lines because of metal. Procera all-ceramic solutions are bio-compatible and do not cause allergic reactions. Because there is no metal, no temperature sensitivity or metal taste is experienced. Implant crowns and bridges, and dental veneers and dental crowns can be made of Procera. They can be made to perfectly match the color of your teeth, making it impossible to tell your Procera and real teeth apart.
Image from www.nobelsmile.us
After tackling a controversial issue in the dentistry world, let’s go to something more safer: dental composites. As mentioned in an earlier post, this is just one of the direct restorative materials used today. Unlike the dental amalgam, this does not contain mercury, rather it’s made up of high molecular weight misnomers that when cured create a rigid cross-linked polymers: plastic.
Plastic needs a lot of support, for this reason certain modifiers and fillers have been added in to improve its basic components. Just some of the add-ons are: quartz, zinc, glass, zirconium, silica, barium, and stronium. Without these your teeth will break apart while chewing gum.
It’s not as tough as the amalgam, but it’s safer.
We mentioned in the last post that dental amalgam is one of the best direct restorative material as of today. However, we also posted here, and here, the possible dangers presented by one of the main ingredients of the amalgam: mercury. Now we’re going to update you on new information regarding this subject.
Norway has taken a stand against dental amalgam. They have totally banned its use across the country as they reasoned that safer alternatives are available. This not only includes dental fillings but also measuring instruments. They consider the mercury as “…among the most dangerous environmental toxins. Satisfactory alternatives to mercury in products are available, and it is therefore fitting to introduce a ban.”
Will the world soon follow suit or will this be disproved? Watch this blog for more details soon.
As mentioned in the previous post, we will first discuss materials used for direct restorations. An amalgam is a mixture of different metals; wherein the primary one used is mercury. As of present, amalgams are 40% mercury and 60% powder of the following combined metals (Silver/Copper/Zinc).
It is truly considered as one of the excellent and versatile restorative material around. Here are the pros of amalgam:
inexpensive; can pack any irregular volume; water moisture tolerant; and lasts more than any direct restorative material;
It is for these reasons that an amalgam is considered as an effective and superior direct restorative material.
We will discuss the dental amalgam controversy in the next post.
Dental Restorations are used to restore damaged and decayed teeth to normalcy. If it can be restored it no longer needs to be taken out.
As mentioned in the About pages, there are two types, direct and indirect restorations. The first type, is placed in the tooth itself. Materials used for this type are the following: amalgam, dental composite, or restorative materials. The second type of restoration is usually created in a laboratory. Materials used for those are the following: inlays and onlays, crowns, bridges, and veneers.
We will first discuss all the types of direct restorations in the next posts.
Dental inlays and onlays are regularly used to restore damage to the tooth’s biting surface which may have resulted from mild to moderate tooth decay. Dental inlays and onlays can be made from porcelain, gold, or composite or ceramic resin. Patients often choose porcelain inlays and onlays since porcelain is more durable and can be made to match the color of the patient’s teeth.
Direct restorations are the most common restorations. They refer to fillings that are consisted of dental amalgam or silver fillings, glass ionomers and resin ionomers or white fillings. These are then placed into a prepared cavity. This procedure is done in only one visit to the dentist. On the other hand, Indirect restorations are custom made fillings in dental laboratories, according to the prescription made by the dentist. The actual procedure may be finished in two visits. Indirect restoration is more expensive than direct restorations since the former consists of a more complex (at least for me) layer of inlays, onlays, dental crowns, and bridges.