This post from Premier Dental & Oral Health Group in Lake Ozark looks at one of the miracles of modern dentistry, the dental restoration.
Let’s pretend you are a biomedical engineer working in the field of dentistry before the conception of dental restorations. The men and women of your generation who have missing or damaged teeth want to repair or replace them with a man-made substitute. You have been hired to find or create a material that can be used to create fillings, crowns, and dental bridges.
Consider the physical and chemical requirements of this incredible item. It must tolerate forces of 162 pounds per square inch, hundreds of times a day – day after day, year after year. It must be resistant to cracking and chipping. But there’s a catch regarding its strength; it must not damage the enamel on opposing teeth. This material must also maintain its size and shape and be resistant to shrinking.
It must be bondable to living tooth structure as well as other materials necessary for specific appliances. It must be biocompatible with the soft tissues in the mouth as well as tooth enamel, dentin, and bone. It can’t trigger allergic reactions in the wearers. It must be corrosion-resistant to the chemicals in saliva, foods, and beverages. It must resist infection regardless of ever-present bacteria in the mouth. And it can’t contain toxic chemicals that could be absorbed into the bloodstream.
And we haven’t even talked about the esthetics yet. Ideally, this incredible material would look exactly like actual teeth in color, opacity, and translucence.
Of course, we know that such a material exists because dental restorations have been around for a long time. Currently, there are numerous materials used alone or in combination including porcelain, ceramic, and metals such as gold and silver amalgam. Though the metals are immensely strong and malleable, they don’t meet some patient’s esthetic requirements and are used mainly for back teeth.
At Premier Dental and Oral Health Group in Lake Ozark, dental crowns are one of our restorative dentistry procedures. Call our office to schedule an appointment today.
Contact Premier Dental & Oral Health Group:
573-365-0220
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
24 North Shore Dr.
Lake Ozark, Missouri
65049
