Fillings, Crowns & Bridges in Middletown, NY

Although sensitivity or pain is a common sign that something’s wrong, tooth decay has other, quieter signs, too. Perhaps your teeth feel fine, but you’ve seen a spot that’s white, yellow, brown, or black on your tooth – or one entire tooth is discolored.

Please don’t ignore such symptoms. Tooth problems that aren’t remedied only grow worse – typically leading to more pain and possibly losing the affected teeth. Aside from sapping your confidence, a hole in your smile impacts how you speak and what you can eat. Such a gap also can cause your surrounding teeth to shift out of position, resulting in more problems. Fortunately, our dentists in Middletown, are able to address all of these issues and restore your healthy smile again.

Dental Fillings

You might think cavities are just for kids, but they’re also a problem for adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says that more than 90 percent of Americans has had a cavity, and 1 in 4 adults has untreated cavities.

The pain of untreated cavities hampers our ability to eat, sleep, and concentrate. Fortunately, a dental filling is an easy and cost-effective fix.

Many people are nervous about visiting the dentist to treat a cavity and shudder at the thought of the dental drill. But thanks to modern dentistry, our dentist in Middletown only needs to remove the decayed area of your tooth, not create a hole big enough for the filling, as older amalgam (silver-looking) fillings required. Nowadays, dentists use composite fillings, a tooth-colored material that chemically bonds to your tooth. Composite fillings look natural, and they’re quite tough, even making your tooth stronger.

What Is a Tooth Crown?

If decay affects just a small part of your tooth, dental fillings are the best treatment. But a tooth that is severely cracked, damaged, or decayed doesn’t leave enough healthy enamel to attach a filling, requiring another option.

A dental crown acts as a cap for your tooth. Custom-made from dental porcelain, it matches the shape, color, and translucency of your other teeth. By completely covering the tooth down to the gums, it strengthens the underlying tooth and restores its normal function.

The Dental Crown Procedure

Crowning or capping a tooth usually takes two visits. First, our dentist in Middletown must prepare the tooth to fit inside the crown, either building up the part that will support the crown with the same material used for dental fillings or by shaping the healthy tooth material.

After the tooth is prepared, the dentist will make a mold of your affected tooth to send to the dental lab. The dentist then will attach a temporary crown to your tooth to protect it until your next appointment, when the permanent crown will be adhered in place.

What Is A Dental Bridge

Fillings and crowns repair problems in damaged teeth. But if your tooth must be extracted, or if you already have a missing tooth, you may need a dental bridge to restore your smile’s beauty and function.

The Dental Bridge Procedure

A dental bridge is similar to a partial denture in that it replaces missing teeth, but it’s permanently adhered in your mouth. A bridge includes two crowns that fit over the healthy teeth on either side of a gap in your bite. These crowns attach to an artificial tooth called a pontic, made of the same dental porcelain as a crown. The pontic fills in for the missing tooth and blends in with the rest of your teeth.

Bridges are designed in varying lengths, depending on your needs. For instance, if you have one missing tooth, a three-unit bridge (two crowns and one pontic) can fill the gap. If you have two missing teeth, you’ll need a four-unit bridge consisting of two crowns supporting two pontics to restore your bite.

If you have additional questions about fillings, crowns, or dental bridges, we’re glad to help. Call us at (845) 512-1246 today to schedule your appointment or book an appointment online.