Cosmetic quality dental restorations can make a difference in how you feel about your smile.  When a tooth is damaged, it will most likely need one of two restorative dentistry treatments: a crown or a filling. Which one depends on the extent and type of damage.  Fillings are typically used to restore a tooth when you have a cavity that has affected less than 50% of your tooth.  Crowns are used in response to a number of problems – including very large cavities, broken teeth, or even missing teeth.  In the old days, you had to choose between dental restorations that revitalized your oral health, and restorations that blended in naturally with your smile. Thanks to metal-free restorations, that’s no longer the case.  With porcelain for crowns and tooth-colored composite resin for fillings, Dr. Galaif provides you with restorations for your health along with a pleasing cosmetic look.

Benefits of Metal-Free Restorations

• Natural-looking smile:  Restorations are made of 100 percent tooth-colored materials, so they’re indistinguishable from your natural teeth.
• Long-lasting:  With proper care, metal-free restorations can last ten years or even longer. They are also much more resistant to stains than natural enamel, so you won’t have to worry about discoloration.
• Hypoallergenic:  Patients with allergies to metal don’t have to worry about having an adverse reaction to these restorations.

Types of Metal-Free Restorations

Thanks to metal-free restorations, Dr. Galaif can restore structure and function to a variety of different dental problems:

• Fillings:  When you hear the dreaded words “you have a cavity,” you know that a filling comes next.  However, there’s no need for people to notice your dental work, as Dr. Galaif can flawlessly treat your cavity with tooth-colored filling material, which will blend in with your other teeth and produce a completely white smile.  While metal fillings leave dark spots on your teeth that others might notice, no one will know you’ve had tooth-colored composite fillings done.   Dr. Galaif will numb your tooth, remove any decay, then make sure the tooth is thoroughly cleansed.  The composite resin material will then be placed in the cavity. The filling will be polished, and you’re ready to go.  A filling procedure can be completed in one appointment in most cases.
• Bridges:  If you’re missing a few teeth in a row, you might benefit from a fixed bridge.  This restoration involves several crowns combined, placed on either side of the gap in your smile to literally bridge the space together.
• Inlays & Onlays:  Sometimes a tooth is too damaged to be treated with a simple filling, but not enough for a full-fledged crown. That’s where Inlays and Onlays can be used.  An Inlay fits within the tiny points, or “cusps,” of a back tooth while an Onlay covers the top of one or more of these cusps.

Porcelain Crowns

Crowns can be used for a number of reasons, including:

• Broken teeth
• Decay that has damaged more than 50% of the tooth
• Replacement of large fillings
• Post-root canal protection
• Broken or fractured teeth
• Cosmetic reasons

In cases such as these, a crown goes over the damaged or decayed tooth.  The crown is made to look and function just like a real tooth, complete with crevices along the chewing surface.  Crowns can also help when replacing missing teeth, either as anchors for a fixed bridge or as restorations for dental implants.  Porcelain is used for its cosmetic qualities as well as its strength – it offers both durability and beauty for restoring damaged teeth.  Porcelain looks almost exactly like tooth enamel, even reflecting light in a very similar way.

CAD-CAM Technology

Daniel N. Galaif DDS is one of few local dentists offering same day crowns through CAD-CAM, a groundbreaking digital dental technology.

Tooth colored restorations mean no more silver fillings discoloring your smile.  And our state-of-the-art CAD-CAM technology eliminates the need for us to create temporaries or take impressions, then send them to a lab.  So the traditional second office visit to seat your crown has been eliminated, which means your damaged tooth can be replaced in one short appointment!

Call us to find out more, and make your appointment today.

(818) 789-6789
info@DrGalaif.com