Ceramic Dentistry

Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007 to PROCEDURES > Smile

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Ceramic restorations have many benefits that make for better dentistry as explained by Beverly Hills and Encino cosmetic dentist David Frey DDS to Jodi Thiessen.

Modem dentistry has advanced to the pOint where metals are needed less and less to restore teeth. Unsightly mercury fillings are a thing of the past. They are now being replaced by ceramics which are beneficial in terms of efficiency and strength and also in appearance.

Instead of crowns or silver fillings (which are actually comprised of 50% mercury, 35% silver and 15% other trace elements) ceramic restorations are taking over. It is called a ceramic "restoration" because it is not a filling, rather it is a "restoration" of the tooth back to its natural appearance.

Benefits of Ceramic Dentistry

Conserving Tooth Structure

"With ceramic restorations you keep all the good solid tooth structure; the only part that is restored is the decayed or missing tooth structure. Whether there was a mercury filling before or part of the tooth has broken off, you just take an impression of that little area. You don't need to remove sound tooth structure," explained Dr Frey."The alternative is a crown or cap, and that process requires the tooth to be ground down into a stub, like putting your tooth into a pencil sharpener, and any sound tooth structure has to be drilled down. Typically, metal crowns have to be buried under the gums. Even with porcelain fused to crowns you can see the metal line and it can give the appearance of black gums."

Undetectable From Original Tooth

Ceramic restorations, unlike metal-based crowns and caps, are not buried under the gum line. This makes them healthier for the gums and more attractive.

When caps are buried underneath the gum, they can create inflammation and redness around the gum. The metal also creates a shadow around the gumline creating a purple or reddish discoloration.

"When a ceramic restoration is placed on the tooth, they should blend into the tooth structure, they should mesh right in, so you should not see any edges and they become undetectable," said Dr Frey.

Tooth Strengthening

Ceramic restorations will strengthen your teeth because they actually become one with the existing tooth structure. "Using space age technology, these restorations are adhesively bonded. The mercury fillings have no adhesive bond between the metal filling and the tooth. This is why so many patients fracture and crack teeth with these fillings. The ceramic fillings are holding the tooth structure. This will prevent teeth from fracturing," explained Dr Frey.

Stopping Decay

Another benefit of this type of meshing and bonding is the fact that these restorations are completely sealed. No bacteria or germs can get in. "With mercury fillings there is no seal at all," said Dr Frey, "I routinely find decay living under these mercury fillings"

Preparation for Metal Free Dentistry

If a mercury filling needs to be replaced the process is equally very simple. "Replacing a mercury filling is quick. You take an impression of it and the patient wears a temporary for a week until the restoration comes back from the laboratory," explained Dr Frey."At this stage, you take out the temporary, fit in the new restoration and make sure it fits correctly. The same process of etching it, putting the adhesive down and slotting in the restoration occurs." The adhesive resin is cured and hardens quickly from the light of an argon laser.

If there is a hole in the tooth, a ceramic restoration is also used. It is treated like a puzzle piece slotting into the tooth perfectly. The tooth is clean.ed microscopically then it is etched with an acid etch, to roughen the surface of the tooth. "We are working on a microscopic level. The surface of the tooth is equivalent to, say,the surface of the moon, it has craters and mountains," said Dr Frey.The restoration that's going to slot into the tooth is the same, so the two rough surfaces come together. "We flow a resin in between the two surfaces, the resin gets caught in the nooks and crannies of the two rough surfaces and it hardens, creating a mechanical lock," explained Dr Frey. "This mechanical lock is not a chemical lock, it is at one with your tooth; it is the tooth and the filling meshed into one another. This strengthens the tooth."

If there is a chip in the tooth, the rough jagged edge is removed and an impression made over the tooth. This impression is sent to a laboratory where a dental technician replaces the chip out of a piece of porcelain. The porcelain can be matched exactly in color to the original tooth color. Dr Frey explained: "We use color matching by taking a shade guide in a photo for the laboratory and they can match it exactly."

Many people are replacing their old mercury fillings and metal based crowns and caps with new ceramic restorations because of these benefits. Teeth can be restored to not only look better but be stronger and healthier as well.

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