Restorative Dentistry For Kids

Sometimes, children’s teeth need a little dental work performed in order to improve or restore overall oral health. Some children face higher natural risk factors for tooth decay, damage, or disease than others. Dr. Tom and Dr. Lulu are experienced, patient, and gentle enough to restore any child’s precious smile.

Restorative dentistry refers to the prevention and treatment of diseases of the teeth in order to restore or bring them back to their best health. Restorative dentistry also includes the repair or replacement of damaged or defective teeth.

Restorative dentistry procedures performed at Tooth Town Pediatric Dentistry include:

We are happy to discuss which option best fits your child’s needs.

Restorative Dentistry For Kids

Sometimes, children’s teeth need a little dental work performed in order to improve or restore overall oral health. Some children face higher natural risk factors for tooth decay, damage, or disease than others. Dr. Tom and Dr. Lulu are experienced, patient, and gentle enough to restore any child’s precious smile.

Restorative dentistry refers to the prevention and treatment of diseases of the teeth in order to restore or bring them back to their best health. Restorative dentistry also includes the repair or replacement of damaged or defective teeth.

Restorative dentistry is an important branch of dental services that helps restore the function, health, and appearance of the teeth. Children who have suffered from dental trauma, tooth decay, or gum disease will need to have their teeth treated to restore them to their optimal condition. 

This can range from filling cavities and protecting weak teeth with crowns or treating diseased or severely decayed teeth with root canal treatment. Your child’s comfort is our priority which is why we offer dental sedation for children who have dental anxiety, special needs, or who have a hard time cooperating during dental appointments.

If your child has a damaged, infected, decayed, or diseased tooth, contact us at ToothTown Pediatric Dentistry today. Schedule a restorative dental appointment with Dr. Tom or Dr. Lulu and get your child’s oral health back on track.

Composite Fillings

Fillings are used to fill cavities by removing the decayed portion of the tooth with a drill (under local anesthesia) and filling the structure of the tooth back up with a dental filling material. The process is quick, painless, and minimally invasive.

These fillings are made out of tooth-colored composite resin. In the old days, silver amalgam was the most common material used for fillings, but recent concerns over mercury and their discoloring effect on visible teeth have phased them out of common use in dentistry.

Composite resin fillings look like natural teeth, blending in with what’s left of your tooth’s natural structure. The material is a type of plastic that is cured with UV light to instantly harden. While amalgam fillings take about 24 hours to completely set, composite fillings are fully hardened by the end of the treatment and you will be able to eat as soon as the local anesthesia wears off.

Root Canal Therapy

A root canal is performed when your tooth’s soft center, known as the pulp, has become inflamed, damaged, or infected. This can be caused by untreated tooth decay or trauma to the tooth. When the pulp has become damaged or infected, it needs to be removed through a root canal or baby root canal treatment. 

The root canal procedure involves removing the pulp from the tooth, cleaning out the canals, and filling the tooth with a rubber gutta-percha material. This procedure, also known as a pulpectomy, would be the treatment for a damaged permanent tooth. The procedure is commonly finished off with the placement of a dental crown to protect the vulnerable tooth from further damage or reinfection.

However, if the affected tooth is a deciduous (baby) tooth, we would perform something called a baby root canal or a pulpotomy. This procedure involves removing the damaged pulp chamber and applying a medicated filling to the area but leaving the tooth’s nerve intact. The tooth is filled and sometimes requires the placement of a crown.

Anterior & Posterior Crowns

Dental crowns are used to protect damaged, fractured, vulnerable, or aesthetically displeasing teeth. When a tooth has become cracked, chipped, undergone trauma due to injury, or has been treated with a root canal due to severe decay, it’s important to protect the tooth from wear and tear. 

A tooth in this condition would be weakened and unable to sustain the same amount of force as the other teeth, which is when we place a durable cap known as a crown over the affected tooth. Crowns are strong and can look just like real teeth, allowing them to restore the structure and functionality of your tooth.

We carry two kinds of dental crowns; stainless steel and ceramic. We recommend stainless steel crowns for the posterior teeth due to their increased durability, lifespan, cost, and ability to withstand the force of chewing in the rear molars. These crowns help fully restore the function of the tooth and will fall out when the baby tooth is ready to come out.

Though stainless steel crowns are ideal for the posterior teeth in children, they can pose an aesthetic problem in the anterior teeth which are visible when the child smiles. Ceramic crowns are made of tooth-colored porcelain materials and will leave your child with a beautiful smile. Because of their increased cost and reduced durability and lifespan, they are better suited to permanent front teeth.