Fillings, crowns, & bridges in Miami, Florida

Not all tooth damage is visible. You might have felt one or more teeth wiggle. Maybe some of your teeth are now sensitive to hot, cold, or sweet food or beverages. That could mean the outer enamel covering the nerves in those teeth might be receding, cracked, or compromised because of dental decay.

Perhaps you’ve felt a sharp pain in your mouth when you bite. Such symptoms need attention. They might seem like just small inconveniences, but tooth problems that aren’t identified and repaired only become worse. For instance, tooth decay that’s ignored, can lead to infection in other parts of the body – it’s bacteria, after all.

Severely damaged or decayed teeth often need to be extracted, which affects your self-esteem as well as how you speak and the kinds of foods you can eat. Missing teeth also can cause your surrounding teeth to shift out of position, impacting your bite and triggering other problems.

Fortunately, our dentists in Miami, FL, can address all of these issues and help restore your smile again.

Dental Fillings

As we keep our natural teeth longer, we become more prone to cavities. More than 90 percent of Americans has had a cavity, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and 1 in 4 adults has untreated cavities.

Aside from signaling tooth decay, painful cavities make it tough to sleep, eat, or concentrate. The good news is, a dental filling is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to repair tooth decay.

The days of drilling away healthy tooth structure to fit a silver-colored filling are over. Our dentist in Miami uses tooth-colored material called composite fillings that requires the dentist to remove only the decayed area.

Composite fillings look natural and are quite durable. What’s more, they bond chemically to your tooth, making it stronger.

What Is a Tooth Crown?

Dental fillings treat decay that affects only a small part of a tooth. If you have a large amount of decay or a tooth that’s so damaged that there’s not enough healthy enamel to attach a filling, the dentist likely will recommend a crown.

A dental crown acts as a cap for your tooth, reestablishing its function. Custom made from dental porcelain, it completely covers the tooth down to the gums, matching the color, shape, translucency, and feel of your other teeth.

Best of all, it strengthens the underlying tooth, so you can eat foods again that might have been problematic.

The Dental Crown Procedure

Crowning or capping a tooth usually takes two visits. First, our dentist must prepare the tooth to fit inside the crown, either by building up the remaining natural tooth material to support the crown or removing some tooth enamel (at least 2 mm).

Once the tooth is prepared, the dentist will create an impression of your tooth to send to the dental lab. Then the dentist will attach a temporary crown to your tooth to protect it until your next appointment, when the permanent crown will be ready to adhere in place.

What Is a Dental Bridge?

Fillings and crowns fix problems in damaged teeth. But if your tooth must be extracted, or if you already have a space in your smile because of a missing tooth, you may need a dental bridge.

The Dental Bridge Procedure

A dental bridge is similar to a partial denture in that it replaces missing teeth, restoring your smile’s beauty and function, but it’s fixed in the mouth.

A bridge includes two crowns that fit over the healthy teeth on either side of a gap in your bite. These crowns then attach to an artificial tooth called a pontic that fills in for the missing tooth. A pontic is made of the same dental porcelain as a crown, so it blends in naturally with the rest of your teeth.

Bridges are designed in varying lengths, depending on your needs. A three-unit bridge (two crowns and one pontic) can fill the gap and restore your bite if you have one missing tooth. If you have two missing teeth, you’ll need a four-unit bridge consisting of two crowns supporting two pontics.

If you have additional questions about fillings, crowns, or dental bridges, call our office in Miami today at (305) 403-9348. We’re glad to help you schedule an appointment.