Restorative Dentistry

What is restorative dental treatment?

It is the branch of dentistry that restores the loss of material in teeth due to any reason (caries, trauma, abrasion, etc.) with the most appropriate and biocompatible material for the case and the tooth.

Tooth decay is an infectious disease caused by microorganisms in the mouth. As a result of this disease, a certain amount of material loss occurs on the teeth. Restorative dental treatment is the branch of dentistry that restores the material loss in the tooth with the most appropriate and biocompatible material for the case and the tooth.

What areas does restorative dentistry deal with?

• Restoration of material loss due to caries

• Restoration of material loss due to abrasion

• Restoration of tooth fractures caused by trauma

• teeth whitening (bleaching)

• Aesthetic closure of spaces between teeth (diastema)

• bonding treatments

• Applying fluoride treatment to adults

• sensitivity treatment

• inlay/onlay/overlay treatments

Tooth Sensitivity

There are three main reasons for sensitivity in teeth. These are:

• 1) Effect of caries-causing microorganisms on the living tissue of the tooth.

• 2) The emergence of canals or living tissue inside the tooth due to fracture.

• 3) Emergence of canals inside the tooth due to abrasion.

Treatment for tooth sensitivity is decided after determining the cause of the sensitivity. If:

• If the factor is number 1, the decayed tissue is cleaned and a permanent restoration (filling) is made with biocompatible materials. It is natural for sensitivity to occur for up to 2-3 weeks after this treatment.

• If the factor is number 2, the broken piece is glued back to the tooth or the tooth is repaired with a suitable restorative material.

• If the factor is number 3, a treatment plan is created starting from the least invasive method according to the degree of wear and sensitivity. This treatment plan is as follows:

Detection and elimination of the cause of the wear → application of a desensitizing agent (e.g. fluoride treatment) to the tooth for a few sessions → restoration of the tooth with biocompatible fillings → root canal treatment of the tooth → crowning of the tooth → extraction of the tooth

Are black fillings (amalgams) harmful?

Amalgam fillings have become a topic of debate today because they contain mercury. According to some researchers, as a result of amalgam fillings wearing down over time, the mercury inside them is released into the oral environment and this released mercury is harmful to human health. Although we still do not have definitive data on this issue, we strongly recommend that all old amalgam fillings that have the beginnings of decay underneath, have lost their edge harmony and may cause teeth to break should be renewed.