Prosthodontist

Prosthodontists specialize in replacing missing teeth, repairing damaged teeth, and enhancing smiles. So, it makes sense to see a prosthodontist if you’ve suffered tooth loss or have decayed or otherwise damaged teeth, particularly if these problems are spoiling your smile. Prosthodontists also specialize in surgical procedures to correct issues that impact oral functionality and facial appearance.

What’s the Difference Between a Prosthodontist and a General Dentist?

Like general dentists, a prosthodontist spends four years at dental school learning how to perform routine oral health care procedures. Unlike a general dentist, prosthodontists then undertake at least a further three years of extensive advanced training.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recognizes prosthodontists as specialists with a high level of skills in tooth replacement and restoration, full mouth rehabilitation, complex procedures such as jaw surgery, and cosmetic dentistry.

Your Plymouth prosthodontist, Metropolitan Prosthodontics, offers comprehensive prosthodontic services that can resolve even the most challenging dental health issues. We also improve smiles, which results in greater self-confidence.

Prosthodontic Procedures to Replace Teeth

Metropolitan Prosthodontics replaces missing teeth with dental prostheses including dentures, dental bridges, and dental implants.

Dentures

Removable dentures can replace all or several of your upper or lower teeth. Advances in denture technology have made today’s dentures more comfortable and natural looking. Most dental offices outsource the fabrication of dentures to a denture lab. Our Plymouth prosthodontists have their own in-office lab to make dentures. This enables more control over quality of materials, and patients get their dentures faster. Traditional dentures are held in place by natural suction, possibly with the help of denture adhesive. Alternatively, dental implants can be used to anchor dentures.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are the state-of-the-art solution to tooth loss. Treatment entails surgical insertion of a titanium rod into the socket of a missing tooth. This fuses with jawbone to create an artificial tooth root. This doesn’t happen with conventional dentures and bridges. The synthetic root promotes bone growth, which helps maintain facial structure and appearance. Implants can be used with a dental crown to replace a single tooth or to support a denture or bridge if more teeth are missing.

Dental Bridges

A dental bridge fills the gap left by loss of a single tooth or section of teeth. Bridges are fixed in place permanently. This provides more convenience than having to constantly take out dentures for cleaning and soaking overnight. If one or two teeth are missing, a bridge can be attached to dental crowns placed on teeth either side of the gap. If you’ve lost three or four teeth in a row, dental implants can be used to support a bridge.

Prosthodontic Procedures to Repair Teeth

Metropolitan Prosthodontics restores damaged teeth to health with procedures including root canal treatment, dental crowns, and fillings.

Root Canal

A root canal ends the misery of toothache by repairing damage caused by deep decay. And it can avoid the need to extract a badly infected tooth. The procedure removes diseased tissue from the pulp chamber – the soft, central area of a tooth, containing nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. A dental crown can be placed on a tooth after a root canal. This gives the tooth additional protection and is particularly important with back teeth, which need to withstand the force necessary to grind food.

Dental Crowns

As we’ve seen, dental crowns can protect a tooth after root canal therapy or be used with dental implants and bridges. A crown can also repair and strengthen a decayed or otherwise damaged tooth when a filling would be insufficient. Crowns encase the entire surface of a tooth to improve function and enhance appearance by restoring natural shape, size, and color.

Dental Fillings

Dental fillings to repair cavities halt the progression of tooth decay and restore functionality and appearance of the tooth. Fillings can also repair a chipped or fractured tooth. White composite fillings look more natural than silver amalgam fillings in more visible areas of the mouth.

Cosmetic Dentistry and Prosthodontics

Cosmetic dental treatments at Metropolitan Prosthodontics include teeth whitening, dental veneers, and tooth bonding.

Teeth Whitening

Professional teeth whitening by your Plymouth prosthodontist is safer, faster, and more effective than over-the-counter teeth bleaching merchandise. Our custom whitening trays for use at home can get teeth several shades whiter, because we can safely use higher concentrations of bleaching agent than storebought whitening products. Our whitening trays lighten staining of both the outer, enamel layer of teeth and the underlying dentin.

Dental Veneers

Porcelain dental veneers are ultra-thin shells that are bonded onto the front of teeth. They conceal dental imperfections such as stained or chipped teeth and are custom made to match the shape and color of surrounding teeth. Veneers can also reshape or resize teeth to make them look straighter and improve appearance in cases of small gaps between teeth or minor teeth crowding. Advances in dental veneer technology have made veneers even thinner. So only a tiny amount of dental enamel needs to be trimmed from the tooth in order to place veneers.

Dental Bonding

Dental bonding, like veneers, addresses aesthetic concerns such as stained or chipped teeth. But it’s a faster procedure and more affordable. During the process, tooth-colored composite resin is applied to the tooth and shaped to enhance appearance. A laser or an ultraviolet light hardens the bonding material, which is then trimmed and polished to match the rest of the tooth surface.

Maxillofacial Prosthodontics

Our maxillofacial surgeons in Plymouth reconstruct areas of missing bone and soft tissues in the face, jaw, mouth, and neck. They use prostheses to correct congenital irregularities and issues caused by disease or injury, such as facial disfigurement and difficulties with speech and eating. Maxillofacial prosthodontists work in collaboration with general dentists and specialists such as neurologists and plastic surgeons.

Benefits of Seeing a Prosthodontist

When you see our Plymouth prosthodontists, you can be assured of the highest standard of aesthetic oral health care. And we provide the best solution if you need complex oral or facial surgery. Our advanced skills mean a better patient experience, and we form long-lasting relationships with our patients, offering personalized treatment in a comfortable setting. If necessary, we can work with other specialists or your general dentist to maintain your oral health and facial appearance.

Contact us if you’d like to know more about the benefits of seeing a prosthodontist.