Restoring Self-Confidence with Oral Surgery

Restoring Self-Confidence with Oral Surgery

Since a person’s smile is one of the first and most prominent things another person sees about them, it’s important that a smile be bright and welcoming. A ragged smile with broken, missing or discolored teeth can turn off not just a potential friend, but a potential employer, despite any other good qualities the person has.Fortunately, there are many procedures that can restore a person’s smile. Among them are dental crowns, inlays, and onlays, veneers, and implants.

Implants 

An implant is a months-long, multi-stage procedure where a crown is placed on a post that’s been fused into the bone of a patient’s jaw. A person who wants an implant has to have enough healthy bone and gum tissue to be able to hold the post in place, but the technology of the procedure has advanced to the point where the crown can be the exact color of the rest of the patient’s teeth. No one but them and their dentist need know that the tooth isn’t even real.

Inlays and Onlays 

Inlays and onlays are excellent substitutes for the metal that used to fill dental cavities, because, like an implant, they can be made with materials that are the exact color of the person’s teeth. The inlay is made to fit inside the tooth cavity an oral surgeon has made for it. An onlay fills the cavity and covers the cusps of the teeth as well. An oral surgeon will often apply an onlay to a tooth that’s in danger of fracturing, to make it stronger. Applying inlays and onlays is also a multi-step process, but it doesn’t take as long as an implant.

Dental Crowns

Dental crowns can be part of several dental procedures, but often they’re used in partial dentures to bridge the gap between two of the patient’s natural teeth. Dental crowns can be made of metal, porcelain, resin or a combination of materials.

Veneers 

Veneers are very thin shells made out of porcelain that are applied directly to a person’s tooth. They hide any chips or discolorations that can mar the appearance of the tooth. They’re also used when the teeth are crooked, worn or have unsightly gaps between them. Again, veneers are custom made so that they match the rest of the patient’s teeth perfectly.

One drawback of restoring a person’s smile is that many of these procedures are expensive. The patient should check to see if their insurance covers the procedures, or they can speak to their dentist to see if some kind of financial aid can be had, or if they can set up a payment schedule.

This is a guest post by Becky W.