RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY
Your smile today may not be as healthy as it once was. Years of wear, tear, injury, or poor care can hurt the look and function of your teeth. With restorative dentistry, Dr. Stromboe can restore your mouth’s excellent dental health using implants, crowns and bridges, and other treatments designed to give you freedom from pain, discomfort, and future problems. Ask Dr. Stromboe to create a customized treatment plan just for you!
Q: What are my options for replacing a missing tooth?
A: By replacing missing teeth either with a bridge or implant, you will alleviate the problems associated with missing a tooth and will give your smile back its beautiful, full appearance. A bridge is one solution for replacing a tooth. By using neighboring teeth as the supportive structure, Dr. Stromboe places a porcelain restoration into the vacant space, restoring the functionality and look of your smile. A dental implant is also an excellent solution. Dental implants involve the placement of a titanium post directly into the jawbone. Once the post has bonded to the bone, it can act as a new, solid support for a natural looking, porcelain restoration. Implants can replace a single tooth or an entire set of teeth, offering more function and permanence than traditional dentures.
Implants
Missing teeth cause loss of bone and muscle in the face, which dramatically reduces your ability to chew. Lost bone and facial muscle tone not only affect function, but also make you look and feel older. When permanent teeth are lost, regardless of the reason or number of teeth, dental implants can offer a new lease on life. Implants are superior to other choices because they are solid, secure, and aesthetic. Dental implants involve the placement of a surgical grade titanium post directly into your jawbone by one of the doctor’s trusted specialists. As the bone bonds to the post, it forms a secure foundation for the attachment of a crown or a prosthetic tooth that is custom created just for you. Implants are sometimes used instead of bridges to maintain the integrity of the teeth on either side of a gap.
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Patient Talk
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Implant-Supported Dentures
While 10% of Americans who need dentures can’t wear them, 40% of partial-denture patients don’t wear them. Typical dentures shift and sometimes require the use of denture adhesives to keep them in place. They can be a challenge to clean as well. But, there is a solution! Implant-supported dentures fit solidly, reducing the problems associated with traditional dentures, such as gum sores, difficulty speaking, and difficulty chewing. Implant-supported dentures distribute your biting pressure more like natural teeth than traditional dentures, stimulating the supportive structures of your teeth and preventing the bone and soft tissues from shrinking away. You can replace an entire set of teeth with beautiful, natural-looking implants. From then on you care for them just like your natural teeth.
Dentures
Your confidence fades, and your appearance transforms after tooth loss. With dentures, you can regain your confident, normal life even after the loss of your teeth. Offering only the most advanced, removable dentures to best fit you, Dr. Stromboe will guide you every step of the way. Our team creates custom dentures made especially for you and even helps you select the shade and shape. You walk away with great fitting dentures that look just like real teeth. Your new smile is just the beginning!
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are used if you have several teeth missing that cannot be replaced with a bridge. A partial denture is created to replace those teeth. The denture is removable and is designed to fit comfortably and to blend in with any remaining teeth. This type of denture is made from a synthetic material that is supported with a lightweight metal. It mimics your gum tissue and teeth to create a natural looking smile, while still remaining functional. The partial is important once the teeth have been removed to preserve the bone and to keep existing teeth from tilting and growing in towards the gaps.
Q: What is a crown, and why do I need one?
A: If Dr. Stromboe has recommended a crown for you, it is likely either to correct a broken tooth or to repair a tooth that has deteriorated due to cavities (decay). The decay in your tooth eats away healthy tooth structure much like rust eats away at metal, and if not removed, that decay will deteriorate the tooth to the point where extraction is the only viable treatment option. Sometimes, the decay is removed while still leaving healthy tooth structure, but not much of it. A crown can then be placed, restoring the look and function of your tooth while allowing you to keep your natural, underlying tooth structure. Most crowns are precision-milled porcelain or full metal (gold) and are individually customized for each patient, giving you a natural, long lasting smile.
Crowns
A porcelain crown is the solution for broken, damaged, or severely decayed tooth. Porcelain crowns bring back your healthy, natural-looking smile! A filling can restore a small defect in a tooth, but a crown is the most durable way to restore any tooth with extensive damage. Additional benefits of crowns are: correcting bite problems, closing spaces between teeth, and changing the angulations of teeth. After shaping the tooth and taking some measurements, Dr. Stromboe creates a custom-milled, porcelain crown that is exactly the right size, shape, and shade to match your smile. Then, Dr. Stromboe sets the crown permanently into place, restoring beauty and function to your smile. In just a couple of appointments, you have your smile back, better than ever!
Bridges
When teeth are missing, or must be removed, your mouth must compensate for the lack of chewing power in that area in order to function normally. The chewing force may shift to another part of the mouth, which can cause unwanted spaces and changes in your smile. Porcelain bridges can rejuvenate your smile, restoring form and function. A bridge is created by utilizing the existing teeth on either side of the gap in your smile as the supportive structure. After some tooth preparation, customized porcelain crowns are permanently placed over the neighboring teeth. Between these crowns, a prosthetic tooth, also made of porcelain, is suspended, “bridging the gap” in your smile. You get proper function back in that area of your mouth, and your smile will look great as well.
TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder)
You may suffer from headaches, a popping jaw when you open or close your mouth, and pain in your jaw joints and muscles. TMD or Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, is a condition many people suffer from, but the good news is – it can often be treated. Based on the severity of your condition, we can recommend a course of treatment that will help alleviate your pain and make your day-to-day activities more pleasant. Ask Dr. Stromboe today if you might benefit from this treatment.
