You can’t underestimate the value of a healthy, confident smile. Your smile can make an excellent first impression, foster deeper relationships, affect self-confidence, and even determine what you eat daily. But, unfortunately, life can throw challenges our way. From chipping a tooth to losing one entirely from advanced decay, being able to rebuild your smile affects every aspect of your life.
That’s where restorative dentistry comes in. McOmie Family Dentistry in Chattanooga offers a variety of options to restore and rebuild smiles to their natural beauty. Sometimes even better. You can regain the confidence and comfort of a healthy, happy smile through our restorative dentistry treatments.
The Importance of Early Dental Treatment
The first step towards rebuilding a healthy smile is taking proactive steps to treat issues while they’re small. When teeth are structurally compromised, they tend to wear down, break, or decay at an even quicker rate than before. Earlier treatments preserve as much healthy, sound tooth structure as possible. This approach to care limits the need for more advanced procedures and reduces the total cost of your dental treatment in Chattanooga.
Aesthetics: Matching Your Smile
One of the benefits of restorative dentistry is the ability to restore your smile to its proper function and natural beauty. The team at McOmie Family Dentistry takes pride in our ability to match the color, texture, and appearance of your teeth to create a seamless and natural-looking restoration you can feel confident about showing off. From dental fillings to implant-supported bridges, we focus on restoring your smile to its original beauty while providing lasting durability.
Dental Implants for Missing Teeth
Tooth loss is a serious issue that can affect your confidence, diet, and smile alignment. Dental implants are one of the most popular and effective solutions for missing teeth. This innovative treatment involves implanting a small titanium post into the bone to create a durable foundation or “artificial root” for a replacement tooth we attach on top of it. Dental implants are designed to look, feel, and function like natural teeth, providing one of—if not the—best solutions for someone with missing teeth. The dentists at our implant provider practice are skilled in dental implant surgery, offering safe, effective treatment to restore your smile and confidence.
Advantages of Dental Bridges
For our Chattanooga patients who prefer a traditional alternative to dental implants, bridges can be an effective option for restoring the appearance and function of one or two missing teeth. Especially when the teeth on either side of the missing one(s) also need crowns. Dental bridges are essentially a pair of functional dental crowns that support an artificial “tooth” between them. When we place the bridge on top of the adjacent supporting teeth, it provides reinforcement to those teeth while also filling in the open space in your smile.
Broken Teeth: Dental Crowns
Dental crowns, also known as “caps,” are predictable and durable covers used to repair teeth with significant wear, breakage, or structural damage. Our Chattanooga dentists custom design each crown so that it restores the tooth’s shape and overall appearance. You may need a dental crown if you fit one of the following criteria:
- You recently received a root canal on a tooth
- We are replacing a single tooth with a dental implant
- There is an extensive, old filling that needs to be replaced
- The tooth is significantly broken or worn-down
- You’re concerned with the aesthetics of a tooth, but a veneer isn’t appropriate
Chattanooga dental crowns come in a variety of materials. But at McOmie Family Dentistry, we offer custom-matched cosmetic dental crowns designed to blend seamlessly with your natural smile.
Inlays and Onlays (“Three-Quarter Crowns”)
In some cases, a dental filling may not be appropriate to repair a tooth, but a full dental crown isn’t quite called for. Instead, an inlay or onlay, also known as a “three-quarter crown” or “lab-made filling,” may be a more appropriate treatment option. Inlays and onlays provide a middle-ground alternative with more protection than fillings while minimizing how much tooth is affected, compared to what you typically see with a full crown.
An inlay is a small filling placed within the cusps of a tooth, while an onlay covers the cusps and extends over one or more of the tooth’s edges. These restorations are typically made from porcelain or ceramic material, providing a more conservative option for restoring damaged teeth.
We’re one of the few dentists in Chattanooga to offer routine dental inlays and onlays at our office.
Dental Fillings for Smaller Cavities
Dental fillings are among the most common restorative dental procedures we perform at McOmie Family Dentistry. Fillings are recommended for repairing the damage caused by smaller cavities. Our dental fillings are made from tooth-colored materials that blend in with your natural teeth, making them virtually undetectable whenever you’re smiling or talking. Today’s white fillings are minimally invasive and help you preserve as much healthy tooth structure as possible. The procedure is simple, painless, and can be completed in just one visit.
Which Treatment is Right for Me?
At McOmie Family Dentistry, we understand that every patient is unique, and we work with each individual to create a customized treatment plan that meets their specific needs. Our Chattanooga dental team will present all viable restorative options to you and talk through the pros and cons of each one. We want you to have a direct role in planning your smile’s restorative needs, so feel free to ask any questions you have along the way.
Reserve a Consultation
If you’re ready to take the first step towards a healthier, more confident smile, contact McOmie Family Dentistry today to reserve a restorative dentistry consultation. Dr. McOmie will examine your teeth, discuss your goals, and develop a personalized care plan during your visit.
Call our Chattanooga restorative dentists today to schedule.
