Restorative Dentistry
Diseased and damaged teeth can be painful when you chew and bite. And if they’re chipped or broken, they can cause you to be self-conscious with your smile. But here at Solid Rock Dental Care Millville or Voorhees practices, Dr. Fuming Li is determined to restore broken teeth with beautiful new dental crowns to have you smiling bright and healthy again.
What is a Dental Crown?
Dental crowns are artificial teeth that act like caps. They fit over an existing tooth to cover up unsightly flaws and provide additional strength that may have been lost when the tooth was damaged. At Solid Rock Dental Care, we use highly quality materials to give patients the most natural looking restoration possible. While most of our crowns are constructed from porcelain, but they can be made of gold, acrylic resin, or amalgam (silver).
Porcelain crowns generally have the most realistic appearance, and although they aren’t as durable as other options, most of our patients find that porcelain crowns suit their restoration needs.
Do I Need A Dental Crown?
There are 2 primary reasons that patients get crowns on their teeth:
- Cosmetic Overhaul
- Damaged Teeth: You can cover a chipped, cracked or decayed tooth with a crown to revive the look of your smile.
- Stained Teeth: Stains and discolorations that won’t go away with traditional whitening treatments can be masked with crowns.
- Functionality
- Weakened Teeth: If your enamel has been weakened due to acid corrosion or damage, a dental crown can add a layer of protection to your tooth to ensure that no further damage ensues.
- Heavily Filled Teeth: If one of your teeth needs a large filling or has been filled multiple times, its overall structure will be weaker. Dental crowns work to provide extra strength to compromised teeth.
- Root Canal Treatment: Your teeth become weaker and brittle following root canal treatment. Dental crowns can protect them and restore their strength.
The Dental Crown Process
Getting your dental crown placed is relatively simple and usually requires only 2 visits.
Visit 1 – Examining and Preparing the Tooth
At your initial visit, you may need x-rays so that your dentist can check the roots and surrounding bone of your tooth. If the tooth has extensive decay or is at risk of infection, you may need a root canal prior to receiving your crown.
Before Dr. Li begins making your crown, he will numb the tooth and neighboring gum tissue. He will then file your tooth down along the chewing surface and sides to make room for the crown. After reshaping, he will make an impression of your tooth and then send the impressions to the lab.
Dr. Fuming Li will place a temporary acrylic crown on your tooth and send you home until your permanent crown is ready.
Visit 2 – Crown Placement
At the second visit, Dr. Fuming Li will remove the temporary crown and check the fit and color of your new permanent one. If everything is correct, he will numb your tooth with local anesthetic and permanently cement your crown in place.
Is A Dental Crown Right For Me?
Are you unsure if a dental crown is what you need? Call and schedule a consultation with Dr. Li at his practices in Millville or Voorhees. During your visit, we’ll evaluate your smile and uncover which treatments would work best to achieve your dream smile.
A broken or chipped tooth brings a lot of discomfort. You may find it difficult to eat, speak or smile, which is both uncomfortable and inconvenient. Sometimes, all you need to restore your smile to perfection is a dental inlay or an onlay. Read more to find out if these options suit your needs.
What are Dental Inlays?
Inlays repair the surface of your teeth. You receive them if you have decay within the cusps of your teeth or the bumps on your molars. Inlays are made of porcelain, composite resin or even gold.
Inlays vs. Fillings
Sometimes, dental inlays offer more advantages to your oral health than metal fillings:
- Inlays preserve more of the natural structure of your teeth.
- Porcelain inlays look natural.
- Your teeth become stronger with inlays, whereas fillings weaken teeth.
- Porcelain inlays will not contract and expand with hot or cold foods, which means that they won’t crack your teeth.
- Inlays provide higher durability than traditional fillings.
- Inlays offer perfect contours for healthy gums.
What are Dental Onlays?
Onlays are similar to inlays, except they cover the biting surface of your teeth rather than fitting between the cusps. They’re sometimes called partial crowns, as they cover an extensive portion of your teeth. Like inlays, they can be crafted from porcelain, composite resin or gold.
Onlays vs. Crowns and Fillings
- Easier Cleaning: Dr. Fuming Li tailors inlays to fit perfectly with minimal preparation. This makes them easier to clean than a crown.
- Color: Dental onlays are less likely to discolor than tooth-colored resin filling.
- True Size: Composite fillings can shrink while they cure, but gold or porcelain onlays won’t.
- Tooth Preservation: Dental onlays allow you to preserve healthy tooth structure while restoring damaged or decayed areas. This increases functional longevity.
- Stability: Dental onlays are strong and stable—their superior fit and resilient material make onlays an excellent option for tooth restoration, often strengthening a damaged tooth.
Get Dental Inlays and Onlays from Dr. Fuming Li
If you want to learn more about inlays, onlays or any other restorative dental procedure we offer, contact Dr. Li’s offices in Millville or Voorhees today. We are happy to help you achieve the beautiful, healthy smile you’ve always wanted!
Even though technological advancements have created more and more restoration options for patients with missing teeth, dentures, partial dentures and dental bridges have long been the time-tested method to replace an arch of teeth. Let’s take a look at these three treatments, how they work and if they’re right for you.
What are Dentures?
Patients with a whole row of missing or damaged teeth can benefit from a set of traditional dentures. While many people associate this restoration treatment with elderly people or their grandparents, dentures offer an array of benefits for patients in need of tooth replacement.
Dentures are a set of removable false teeth that replace those lost to decay or trauma. Constructed from a combination of acrylic and porcelain, dentures look and feel natural in your mouth. You place them over your gums and secure them with an adhesive paste.
These full mouth restorations allow patients with missing teeth the freedom to consume a lot of their favorite foods again, as well as have a confident and healthy smile.
What are Partial Dentures?
Patients who are missing only a few teeth may benefit from partial dentures. When you’re missing a few teeth, the spaces in your mouth can cause your other teeth to shift out of alignment and disrupt the health and function of your jaw. Partials can prevent shifts and interruptions from occurring.
Like their full mouth counterpart, partials are completely removable and made of acrylic and resin. Your partial dentures will closely resemble your natural teeth, restoring your confidence to your smile.
What are Dental Bridges?
A dental bridge replaces missing teeth by using the surrounding teeth as a foundation. This creates a literal bridge between existing and missing teeth. Patients with only one or two missing teeth may benefit from a dental bridge.
Dental bridges require additional preparation than dentures and partials. As this tooth replacement option is supported by neighboring teeth, patients visit our Millville or Voorhees offices first to have the neighboring teeth altered to fit the anchor crown. After your bridge has been made, you’ll return to our office for placement. As bridges are permanently fixed to teeth, many patients missing multiple teeth prefer bridges to dentures or partials as they’re less likely to slip, move or become dislodged
Contact Dr. Li for Restorative Dentistry in South Jersey
If you need to replace missing or severely damaged teeth, finding a replacement option is critical to protecting the health and function of your smile. Please visit our Millville or Voorhees dental offices for an evaluation. We can have a set of beautiful dentures, partials, or a bridge made for you in just a few simple appointments. Contact us to learn more about this unique treatment through a consultation with Dr. Li today.
Have your teeth been damaged by tooth decay? Or are your old silver or amalgam fillings making you feel self-conscious? Tooth-colored fillings might be your best bet. White fillings offer many advantages over the traditional silver or mercury fillings, restoring your decayed teeth to optimum health.
How Do Tooth-Colored Fillings Help My Teeth?
A special type of dental resin makes up tooth-colored fillings. Dr. Fuming Li will apply the resin to the surface or inner structure of the tooth, depending on which part is suffering from decay. Dr. Li ensures that the resin closely resembles the color of your surrounding teeth, allowing it to blend with the existing structure.
Fillings treat cracks, cavities and deep holes that can form in your teeth. They do as their name suggests—fill in the spaces where enamel and dentin have been lost.
Advantages Of Composite Fillings
White fillings come in an array of different shades, allowing Dr. Fuming Li to match them closely to the color of your teeth. Our patients tend to prefer them to the traditional silver fillings, as they enjoy being free from a silver smile.
Some other advantages of tooth-colored fillings include:
- No increase in temperature sensitivity
- Prevents further damage to teeth
- Strengthen damaged teeth
- Metal and mercury-free
Can I Replace My Current Silver Filling With Tooth-Colored Fillings?
Yes! Until fairly recently, dentists filled cavities with a mercury and silver amalgam. While this material is effective in replacing decayed dentin or enamel, they often weaken the tooth because they require the dentist to remove a large portion of the original tooth prior to filling.
Mercury was and still is a popular choice for dental amalgam fillings due to its durability. But many patients feel uncomfortable with the idea of having any amounts of mercury in their mouths, given some recent discoveries on the dangers of the material. Dr. Li wants you to feel comfortable with your smile, which is why he can remove old mercury fillings and replace them with composite, tooth-colored fillings.
Find Out Your Candidacy For White Fillings
You may qualify for tooth-colored fillings to restore your tooth to its natural shape and strength. Contact our practices in Millville or Voorhees today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Fuming Li and discover if white fillings are the solution you need to rejuvenate your smile.
The thought of oral surgery can be scary. Dr. Fuming Li and the teams at Solid Rock Dental Care can alleviate your dental anxiety with friendly faces, personalized care and expertise.
Surgical Extractions
If you have impacted wisdom teeth, severely broken or infected teeth or curved roots, you may need a surgical extraction. Dr. Li will ensure that you’re comfortable and free from pain throughout the entire procedure.
Bone Grafting
Bone grafting is a procedure used to help the body regenerate new bone by replacing missing bone with a graft. In dentistry, a bone graft is generally used to provide adequate bone mass in the jaw to support other oral surgeries, like dental implant surgery.
Frenectomy
A frenectomy is a simple oral surgical procedure that Dr. Fuming Li performs to eliminate the presence of the frenum (the muscular attachment between two tissues). Sometimes patients have a frenum that is too long or improperly attached, making speaking and eating difficult and uncomfortable.
Soft Tissue Grafting
Soft tissue grafting is a conservative but permanent treatment for gum recession. Dr. Fuming Li performs soft tissue grafting to cover exposed roots, make long teeth appear shorter and improving gum health.
Find Out More About Oral Surgery From Dr. Fuming Li
Dr. Fuming Li’s knowledge and expertise ensure that each of his patients is in good hands. If you need an oral surgical procedure, contact our office to set up your first consultation.
We also accept a variety of dental insurance plans
Our friendly staff will be more than happy to assist you with understanding your coverage or provide information on our financing options if you don’t have dental insurance. Give us a call to any of our Solid Rock Dental Care Offices in Millville or Voorhees.