When teeth become dam­aged due to decay, there are dif­fer­ent treat­ment options avail­able. Gen­er­al­ly speak­ing, the least inva­sive den­tal restora­tion for tooth decay is the tra­di­tion­al den­tal fill­ing. For major tooth decay and dam­age, den­tal crowns are the best pos­si­ble option.

Dental Fillings

Den­tal fill­ings are used to fill cav­i­ties (aka den­tal caries). Many peo­ple get fill­ings at some point dur­ing their lives. The pro­ce­dure for get­ting a fill­ing involves the prepa­ra­tion of the tooth. This includes the removal of dam­aged or decayed tooth mate­r­i­al by drilling into the cav­i­ty. Once that process is com­plete, the fill­ing mate­r­i­al is set into place.

Dental Crowns

For cas­es of severe tooth decay and tooth dam­age, the best option is to get den­tal crowns. A den­tal crown is a cap that fits right on top of the affect­ed tooth after the dam­age has been repaired. Once the decayed and oth­er­wise com­pro­mised tooth struc­ture has been removed, an impres­sion of the tooth is made and the cus­tomized den­tal crown is placed over the prepped tooth and secured. The den­tal crown pro­tects the tooth from fur­ther dam­age decay with  an aes­thet­i­cal­ly pleas­ing appear­ance and elim­i­nates the pain and dis­com­fort asso­ci­at­ed with tooth sensitivity.

Den­tal crowns can actu­al­ly be used to cap den­tal implants as well. Den­tal implants are arti­fi­cial tooth roots that are sur­gi­cal­ly anchored into the jaw­bone and soft tis­sue. They are an ide­al option if you are miss­ing a tooth or mul­ti­ple teeth.