For those who have never had more work done at a dentist than a basic cleaning, the various procedures required to prevent and fix dental problems can feel intimidating. Knowing what to expect can help to alleviate patients’ fears and ensure that everything goes smoothly. Read on to find out about common procedures performed by a Dentist in Idaho Falls and what to expect from them.
Detecting and Filling Cavities
Some cavities are discovered during routine dental exams, while others only appear on x-rays. Recently developed, surface-level cavities are the easiest to treat. All dentists need to do is figure out where the cavity is, remove any decayed tooth tissue, and fill the remaining hole with a metal or composite material.
Filling the cavity will stop it from growing any larger and seal the tooth to prevent the introduction of other bacteria and decay agents. While fillings are most commonly used to treat small cavities, dentists can also use this technique to address some types of oral trauma, including small cracks and minor broken teeth.
Root Canals
There are few other dental procedures that elicit the kind of base fear associated with the term root canal, but in fact, this procedure is designed to alleviate patients’ pain. It involves removing infected or inflamed tissue, or pulp, from the inside of a tooth. The patient’s mouth will be numbed throughout the whole procedure, so it will be painless.
Pulp inflammation and infection can occur as a result of deep decay, faulty crowns, cracks, chips, and repeated dental procedures performed on the same tooth. In all of these cases, it can be quite painful and, if left untreated, can result in a dangerous abscess. Root canals prevent all those potentially negative consequences.
Dental Crown Placement
Dental crowns, also sometimes referred to as caps, are designed to permanently cover existing teeth. Dentists use them when a tooth is broken, chipped, or decayed to the point where a root canal becomes necessary. Crowns can be made of porcelain, metal, or a combination of materials.
Placing new dental crowns usually takes two visits. During the first visit, the dentist colorado springs co will shape the patient’s tooth to make enough room for the crown, if the tooth is intact, or use filling material to build it up if it’s damaged, then take a mold. The mold will be sent to a dental lab for use in manufacturing a crown, which will be set and permanently cemented in place during a second visit.
Bridge Placement
Bridges are dental prosthetics designed to replace missing teeth. They’re also referred to as fixed dentures because they are designed to be worn 24/7, while ordinary dentures are designed to be removed each night.
Dental bridge placement usually involves multiple visits. The dentist must use the remaining teeth as anchors then have a prosthetic manufactured that will look and function just like the missing teeth. In most cases, a patient will be sent home with a temporary bridge to wear until the permanent one is finished.
There’s No Need to Be Frightened
Lots of people experience anxiety when they head in for their first dental procedures, whether they involve fillings or root canals and the placement of crowns. The bottom line here is that there’s no need to be frightened. Dentists always use topical anaesthesia to numb patients’ mouths for potentially painful procedures and take every precaution to ensure their comfort.
