Have you ever looked at someones smile and immediately noticed that they had dark rings or black around the necks of the teeth?  Maybe you have noticed this on yourself around older dental work.  Many people are under the impression that those dark rings are cavities or or some other problem, but many times it is nothing other than metal.  Metal?  Yes.

In the past few decades, alloys that have platinum, gold, nickel, and other metals in them have been used as substructures for dental work.  Dental labs build the foundation of metal and then bake tooth colored porcelain on top of them.  These restorations are then put on the teeth in the form of “crowns” or “bridges”.  Unfortunately in the early days, these dental restorations didn’t really look very natural and many times the metal was actually designed to show around the necks of the teeth.  Just like in the picture below…

Today, techniques are vastly improved. And, even though we sometimes use alloys under crowns and bridges, the technicians at the laboratories have become masters at masking it out. However, the most natural looking dental crowns and bridges are made from all porcelain without metal. Below is an example of a 3 unit all porcelain bridge, without metal, that we put in today.

A bridge is a dental restoration that replaces a missing tooth by using teeth on either side of the space for support. It is kind of like 3 crowns in a row and the middle crown is sitting on the gum tissue. The most challenging part of this procedure is to make it look like the “fake” tooth is coming out of the gums naturally. Can you guess which tooth is the one that is fake?

Dr. Hufanda and I just returned from a dental conference in Denver for a refresher on advances in cosmetic and sedation dentistry. It is amazing how many people are looking for a more comfortable alternative to having their dentistry done. Well, why not? Most people wouldn’t consider going for a colonoscopy or some other minor medical surgical procedure without having a little pharmaceutical help on board. Why should getting dentistry be any different.

The days of drill and fill are quickly ending as baby boomers enter into that stage in their lives where their dentistry from the early days is falling into disrepair. Todays children do not need as much dentistry due to advances in technology and preventative awareness. So the majority of dentistry we see today is to “fix” broken down, worn out teeth, or replace dentistry that is failing or has outlived it’s usefulness.

Many of these procedures are more complex than just drilling for cavities and require more skill from the dentist and often more time. But, that does not mean that it has to be uncomfortable. Sedation dentistry protocols are better than ever and allow almost anyone to have a dental experience that is free of pain and worry.

If it has been a while since you saw a dentist and you know its time, consider coming in to see how different things are now.