Tooth Replacements and Restorations


A tooth restoration is any artificial substance or structure that replaces missing teeth or part of a tooth in order to protect the mouth's ability to eat, chew, and speak. Restorations include fillings, inlays, crowns, bridges, partial and complete dentures, and dental implants.


Restorations have somewhat different purposes depending on their extensiveness. Fillings, inlays, and crowns are intended to repair damage to individual teeth. They replace tooth structure lost by decay or injury, protect the part of the tooth that remains, and restore the tooth's shape and function. Bridges, dentures, and implants are intended to protect the shape and function of the mouth as a whole.


Some patients are allergic to the medications used for local anesthesia in dental restorations. In addition, many people in the general population are afraid of dental work. Most dentists in present-day practice can help patients with this specific fear.


Fillings need time to harden for several hours after being placed, so the patient should chew food on the opposite side of the mouth for the first day.


An inlay resembles a filling in that it fills the space remaining after the decayed portion of a tooth has been removed. The difference is that an inlay is shaped outside the patient's mouth and then cemented into place. After the decay is removed and the cavity walls are shaped, the dentist makes a wax pattern of the space. A mold is cast from the wax pattern. An inlay, usually of gold, is made from this mold and sealed into the tooth with dental cement.


The crown of a tooth is the portion that is covered by enamel. A restorative crown replaces this outer part to protect the tooth. This protection becomes necessary when a tooth cracks or has its entire structure weakened by decay. As with a filling or inlay, the dentist first removes the decayed portion of the tooth. The tooth is then prepared for a crown. It may be tapered on the outside edges to a peg, reinforced with a cast metal core, or rebuilt with both a cast metal core and a post. A wax impression of the prepared tooth and the teeth next to it is made. The new crown is made to fit this mold. The crown may be made of gold or stainless steel alone, metal with a veneer of tooth-colored porcelain or resin, or of porcelain or resin alone. The finished crown is then placed over the prepared tooth, adjusted, and cemented into place.