Restorative Dentistry

Dental Fillings - A dental filling is when we use special dental materials to fill a hole or missing structure in your teeth. They’re most commonly used to fill cavities after drilling out the remaining tooth decay. However, they can also be used to repair missing tooth structure from oral trauma or broken teeth from teeth grinding. We use composite fillings because they’re tooth-colored and biocompatible, offering superior aesthetics and preserving more tooth structure than unsightly silver fillings. Fillings strengthen the teeth and effectively treat early-stage tooth decay, restoring the aesthetics of your smile and restoring the functionality of your teeth.

Root Canal Therapy - Tooth infections can be caused by untreated tooth decay or dental trauma. The inside layer of your tooth contains nerves and is known as the dental pulp. When this portion of the tooth becomes inflamed, you are dealing with an infection. Once your tooth is infected, it can’t be treated with a standard filling. The source of the infection needs to be physically removed. A root canal involves removing the infected pulp, cleaning the canals in your tooth, and filling it back up with a material called gutta-percha. This procedure has a 95% success rate and can save your tooth from extraction.

‍Dental Crowns - Damaged or vulnerable teeth are at a higher risk for further breakage. The best thing you can do when you have a severely chipped, cracked, or broken tooth is to cover it with a dental crown. Crowns can be made of various materials such as zirconia, metal, porcelain, or ceramic. We offer both lab-made and same-day crowns depending on the severity of the damage and your goals. Crowns also protect a weakened tooth after a root canal treatment or in teeth that have large fillings. A dental crown offers additional strength and durability to a tooth that could break from natural chewing forces without the thick layer of protection that a crown provides.

Dental fillings are usually the best way to repair decayed teeth. During treatment, Dr. Khanani will remove any damaged enamel, then fill the empty space to restore your tooth’s shape and structure. We offer both composite and amalgam fillings at our office. Composite fillings are made of dental resin that can be matched perfectly to the color of your teeth. Many patients who want to keep the aesthetics of their smile intact will opt for composite fillings.
‍
Amalgam fillings are made of a blend of metals like tin, silver, and copper. They are extremely durable and long-lasting, but they have a grayish appearance that may discolor your tooth and impact the appearance of your smile after treatment. During your consultation, Dr. Khanani will discuss your options and help you decide which treatment is right for you.

Restorative treatment is important because oral health problems do not just resolve on their own, they only get worse. When you leave a minor problem like a small cavity untreated, the decay becomes more severe and penetrates below the enamel until it reaches the tooth’s pulp. Failing to treat a cavity can cause severe tooth infection.

This will require more invasive and expensive treatment. Failing to treat an infection can cause even more serious problems, as your other teeth can become infected or the infection can spread through your bloodstream and spread through your body over a few weeks, even reaching your brain or causing sepsis.

These serious conditions can result in fatalities, all because you wanted to put off dental treatment. Restorative treatment also saves your teeth by restoring them to health. Some teeth are beyond salvaging when they’ve been left untreated for too long.

Some infections can no longer be treated with root canal therapy and will require an extraction. This comes with its own set of consequences, like bone loss and shifting teeth if you don’t replace the tooth right away.

Yes, restorative dentistry is widely covered by dental insurance at a rate of about 50 to 80%. These include treatments like fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, and tooth restorations like implants.

However, insurance will only cover treatments that are deemed to be medically necessary. Some insurance plans might not cover certain types of restorations that are made to improve aesthetics, like tooth-colored fillings or crowns unless you can prove that you have tooth decay or dental trauma that could become significantly worse without it.

Contact your insurance provider directly to find out what your insurance plan covers. We offer various financing options to help you afford dental treatment even if you don’t have insurance.

Root canal therapy is the best treatment for restoring and repairing an infected tooth. If a cavity is left untreated or if your tooth is cracked or broken by an oral injury, you may need a root canal. When the outer layers of your tooth are damaged and bacteria contacts the inner nerves, this creates an infection that must be treated right away.

Root canal therapy involves opening up a hole in the enamel and removing the infected material from the inside your tooth. Once the procedure is complete, your tooth will be disinfected and filled to preserve the remaining structure, and it will be restored with a filling or a dental crown. At our office, Dr. Khanani offers both anterior (front) and posterior (rear) root canals.