Dental Restorations
At Lawrence West Dental in North York, our goal is to help you maintain optimal oral health. We understand that even with the best home care regiments and healthy lifestyles, cavities, accidents, and injuries to teeth and mouths do occur. Fortunately when a tooth is damaged, we have a variety of treatment options to restore your smile for health and beauty!
White Fillings in North York
Do you already have silver fillings in your smile?
Do you have a cavity that needs to be filled?
Amalgam or metallic filling were the standard practice until not so long ago in dentistry. The amalgam was needed for its strength, especially on chewing surfaces and for large cavities. While these fillings made the cavity completely obvious, the material which they are composed of can corrode and leak, blackening the silver, and often the tooth.
If you're unhappy with the silver in your smile, talk to us about white fillings.
White or Composite fillings are made of a material that actually bonds to the tooth for a tight seal. The material is strong enough for chewing surfaces and lacks the sensitivity associated with amalgam fillings. Cosmetically, white fillings are colour-matched to your natural tooth making them almost invisible.
Inlays & Onlays in North York
Dental inlays and onlays occupy a middle ground in tooth restorations. If you have a mild to moderate amount of decay or a cracked/fractured tooth that is not damaged severely enough to require a crown then we will use an Inlay or Onlay to restore your tooth.
Inlays - Dental inlays are used to treat teeth that have decay or damage within their top surfaces. Their placement usually requires two visits. On the first visit we will take a moulding of your teeth, and place a temporary onlay. This mould is sent to a dental laboratory to create a restoration that is custom fit to your tooth. On your second visit we will cement the inlay into place and you can go on with your day!
Onlays - Dental onlays are used to treat decay that extends further into the tooth. Onlays are placed in a very similar way to Inlays requiring two visits.
Dental inlays and onlays are made from a durable, tooth coloured material that offers long lasting and natural looking results. They are bonded very securely to the tooth adding structural integrity while helping to prevent bacteria from entering the tooth causing decay.
Root Canal Therapy in North York
At the core of your tooth there is an area we refer to as the pulp. The pulp is the nerve of your tooth where blood and nutrients needed by a healthy tooth circulate. If the pulp is damaged for any reason it is susceptible to infection and can result in pain, swelling, bone damage, and loss of the tooth. To save the original tooth and avoid the problems associated with damaged pulp, Root Canal Therapy is often an option.
Root Canal Therapy allows us to save your tooth's structure, rather than turning to a more costly procedures such as an implant or dentures. The process involves creating an opening in the crown of your tooth. The pulp in the 'root canal' is completely removed and the 'canal' is cleaned out, shaped and smoothed. Any infection (we refer to as abscess) is treated and the bacteria that cause it are cleaned out.
The root canal area, once infection free is filled and sealed. As the tooth will no longer be receiving vital nutrients, it will be more brittle than surround teeth.For this reason, we create a Crown or Cap to strengthen and protect your tooth's chewing surface. Once ready, the Crown is cemented in place and 'your tooth' rather than an artificial replacement keeps its place in your smile.
A root canal involves a few visits to our office as the procedure is done in stages to allow for proper healing. You may notice that the treated tooth will often darken or discolour once the pulp is removed. If the treatment was on one of your front teeth, our whitening procedure can brighten up that tooth along with the rest of your smile.