Restorative Dentistry In Roanoke
Safeguard Your Family’s Oral Health
At We Care Dental Care, Dr. Burkitt is an experienced family dentist, and can provide your loved ones with the care they need to restore their smiles. Even if you do your best to keep their smiles healthy, your family may end up with a cavity, an infected tooth, or even a broken tooth.
We’re here to help! Dr. Burkitt provides gentle, expert restorative care in a safe and comfortable environment. Contact us online to schedule a consultation in Roanoke today, and get the help you need to restore your smile.
By Calling 540-427-7274
What Is Restorative Dentistry?
Restorative dentistry is an area of dentistry that’s focused on restoring damaged teeth, as well as missing teeth. There are a few common ways that teeth become damaged.
Dental trauma is quite common, especially for kids. But patients of any age may fall, sustain a head or facial injury, or experience trauma while playing a contact sport like football or soccer. Dr. Burkitt is here to help, and can repair and restore teeth to keep smiles healthy and strong.
Another common problem is tooth decay. Weak, decayed teeth can cause pain and discomfort, and even lead to tooth infections. For this reason, it’s important to treat cavities with fillings and crowns to keep teeth healthy.
fillings for cavities
If you suspect a cavity, Dr. Burkitt can help. We offer tooth-colored fillings at We Care Dental Care. These fillings are free of metals including mercury, and are completely safe and non-toxic. They look and feel just like natural enamel, too, so they provide a totally natural-looking restoration.
During the filling process, Dr. Burkitt will gently remove decayed enamel, then rebuild and reshape the tooth with composite material. This eliminates the cavity and prevents further decay, keeping the tooth intact for years to come.
dental crowns for damaged teeth
For children, we offer stainless steel crowns as well as tooth-colored zirconia crowns from NuSmile. Both of these types of crowns are pre-fitted, so they can be placed in just one appointment. For adults, crowns are usually placed in 2 appointments over a period of a few weeks.
Crowns cover up, protect, and restore damaged enamel. They are typically used for large cavities, and to repair teeth that have been damaged by dental trauma. With one of our dental crowns, teeth will remain healthy and strong.
dental sealants for cavity Prevention
We offer dental sealants to help prevent cavities. During this treatment, Dr. Burkitt will apply a thin layer of dental resin directly to your child’s rear teeth. Then, he will harden this liquid resin using UV light, forming a strong and durable barrier.
This barrier prevents acid, bacteria, and food particles from directly contacting the enamel. In turn, this stops cavities from forming. Sealants provide long-lasting protection, and can prevent the formation of cavities for 5 years or longer in most kids.
Why Is It Important to Get Treatment?
Whether you have dental trauma, tooth decay, or an infection, you must get treated as soon as possible. Tooth decay can quickly worsen and go from a minor cavity to deep decay that will require a very large filling or even a dental crown.
If the tooth decay reaches the soft inside layer of your tooth known as the dental pulp, you’ll experience inflammation and infection. This can also be caused by dental trauma. At this point, you have very limited time before the infection spreads, affecting your other teeth and putting your health at risk. The only cure for a tooth infection is to remove the infected pulp.
If the infection spreads to your bloodstream, it can cause sepsis, which can be fatal. Yes, putting off restorative treatment can, in rare cases, be a matter of life and death. If you have any damage to your teeth, such as enamel erosion, chips, cracks, or broken teeth, you should look into dental bonding or dental crowns right away.
The damage will weaken your teeth, putting them at risk for more breakage which will cause pain, make it difficult to eat, and jeopardize the health of your teeth.
Are Restorative Treatments Covered By Insurance?
Yes, restorative treatments, including dental fillings, crowns, sealants, and root canal therapy are all widely covered by dental insurance. Most restorative treatments are covered up to 50% but fillings may be covered up to 80 to 100%.
Contact your insurance provider to find out what they specifically will cover and to what extent. You may need to meet certain requirements before they will start paying for treatments.
How Can I Prevent the Need for Future Restorative Treatments?
Oral Hygiene - Brush your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. Electric toothbrushes with small heads are the most effective at removing plaque. Floss at least once a day to remove food particles and plaque buildup from between your teeth. Neglecting to floss is a big cause of interproximal cavities.
Diet - Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. Fluoride is really important to strengthen your teeth and protect them from cavities so check if your water contains fluoride. Limit sugary drinks and foods like soda, candy, and cookies. Sugar increases your risk of developing cavities. Acidic foods and drinks should also be limited because acids can cause enamel erosion.
Dental Visits - The ADA recommends going to the dentist every 6 months for a dental cleaning and oral exam. Early detection and prevention is the best way to maintain good oral health.
Protection - Do you grind your teeth? You should wear a mouthguard at night to prevent serious damage to your teeth, including chips, cracks, and more serious fractures. Mouthguards should also be worn if you play contact sports.
Prevention - Don’t do things with your teeth that they’re not meant for, like opening packages, chewing on nails or objects, or even ice cubes. Use your rear molars to chew food. These can withstand a lot more force than your front teeth. If you have any dental work, you may want to limit your consumption of hard, crunchy, and sticky foods.