Dr M. Guram DDS & Associates

Call Us: (972) 870-5800

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Specials at Home Town Dental
Cosmetic Tooth Colored Restorations

Bridges

If you're missing one or more teeth, you may notice a difference in chewing and speaking. A bridge may be used to replace missing teeth, help maintain the shape of your face, and alleviate the stress in your bite. There are two types of tooth replacement: fixed bridge and implant. A fixed bridge replaces missing teeth with artificial teeth, looks great, and literally bridges the gap where one or more teeth may have been. The restoration can be made from gold, alloys, porcelain or a combination of these materials and is bonded onto surrounding teeth for support. An implant attaches artificial teeth directly to the jaw under the gum tissue. A small titanium fixture may be used to surgically place the implant in the upper or lower jawbone to replace the root of your missing tooth and provide an anchor for a crown. The success of any bridge or implant depends on its foundation "the other teeth, gums, or bone to which it is attached. So it's very important to keep your remaining teeth, gums, and jaw healthy and strong.
Fillings

Restoring Your Smile: Dental Filling Choices

Advances in modern dental materials and techniques have provided new ways to create more pleasing, natural-looking smiles. As a result, dentist and patients have several choices when it comes to selecting materials used to repair missing, worn, damaged, or decayed teeth. Traditional dental restoratives include gold, porcelain, and composite. The strength and durability of traditional dental materials continue to make them useful for situations where restored teeth must withstand extreme forces that result from chewing, such as in the back of the mouth. Newer dental restoratives include ceramic and plastic compounds that mimic the appearance of natural teeth. These compounds, often called composite resins, are often used on the front teeth where a natural appearance is important. They can be used on the back teeth as well depending on the location and extent of the tooth decay. Composite resins are usually more costly than the older amalgam fillings.
What's right for me?

Several factors influence the performance, durability, longevity and expense of dental restorations. These factors include: the components used in the filling material; the amount of tooth structure remaining; where and how the filling is placed; the chewing load that the tooth will have to bear; and the length and number of visits needed to prepare and adjust the restored tooth.

With so many choices, how do you know what's right for you?

The ultimate decision about what to use is best determined by the patient in consultation with the dentist. Before your treatment begins, discuss the options with the doctor. To help you prepare for this discussion it is helpful to understand the two basic types of dental restorations: direct and indirect. Direct restorations are fillings placed immediately into a prepared cavity in a single visit. They include dental amalgam, glass ionomers, resin ionomers and composite (resin) fillings. The dentist prepares the tooth, places the filling and adjusts it during one appointment. Indirect restorations generally require two or more visits. They include inlays, onlays, veneers, crowns and bridges fabricated with gold, base metal alloys, ceramics or composites. During the first visit, the dentist prepares the tooth and makes an impression of the area to be restored. The dentist then places a temporary over the prepared tooth. The impression is sent nto a dental laboratory, which creates the dental restoration. At the next appointment, the dentist cements the restoration into the prepared cavity and adjusts it as needed.

Veneers and Porcelain Crowns

Veneers

There's no reason to put up with gaps in your teeth or with teeth that are stained, discolored, badly shaped, chipped, or crooked. Today, a veneer placed on top of your teeth can correct nature's mistake or the results of an injury and help you have a beautiful smile. Veneers are a highly popular solution among dental patients because of their life-like tooth appearance.

Veneers are thin, custom-made shells crafted of tooth-colored materials (such as porcelain) designed to cover the front side of your teeth. To prepare for veneers, your doctor will create a unique model of your teeth. This model is sent to the dental technician to create your veneers. Before placing your new veneer, your doctor will remove a small amount of your tooth to make room for the veneer.

When placed, you'll be pleased to see that veneers look like your natural teeth and even resist staining. Though veneers are stain resistant, your doctor may recommend that you avoid coffee, tea, red wine, and tobacco to maintain the beauty of your veneer.

Crowns

A crown covers a tooth and restores it to its normal shape and size. A crown can make your tooth stronger and improve its appearance. It can cover and support a tooth that has a large filling. It can be used to attach a bridge, prevent a weak or brittle tooth from breaking, or restore one that's already broken. A crown is a good way to cover teeth that are discolored, badly shaped, or out of position. Crowns are also used to cover dental implants.

A crown may be made of gold or porcelain. It is made to fit the tooth precisely. It looks somewhat like a thimble and is cemented onto the prepared tooth. If the doctor recommends a crown, it's probably to correct one of these conditions. The doctor's primary aim, like yours, is to help you keep your teeth healthy and your smile bright.