Dental Restorations in Granada Hills
Even if you take great care of your teeth, damage and decay can still happen to you. When it does, you need timely and effective treatment to help your smile get back to health. At the dental office of Parisa Ezzati, DDS, we offer quality restorative dentistry to revitalize your smile and protect your quality of life.
Our treatments are designed to fix dental issues like decayed, damaged, or missing teeth. Repairing these issues before they turn into a bigger problem can prevent further damage that could severely impact your oral and overall health and well-being. Don’t wait another day to protect your oral health. Make your appointment with our Granada Hills office today!
CALL US: (818) 368-5881 REQUEST APPOINTMENT
Why Does Repairing Teeth Matter?
You only get one set of adult teeth. Once a tooth is damaged, it will not repair itself or be replaced by a natural tooth. Damage to a tooth’s structure leaves it vulnerable to further damage, like breakage or infection from bacteria getting into it.
A tooth that is decayed or broken can be extremely painful. To compensate for this, you may try to chew on the other side of your mouth or avoid certain foods altogether.
Having your teeth repaired with restorative treatments will provide you with such benefits as:
- The pain and discomfort from your damaged tooth/teeth will be eliminated.
- Many dental issues like a chipped or cracked tooth can be fixed in one visit if treated quickly.
- You will be able to eat normally again without pain.
- Your risk of tooth loss, infection, or damage to other parts of your mouth is reduced.
- Most dental restorations will blend in with your other teeth without looking like you had restorative work done.
Dental Implants for Complete Tooth Replacement
If your tooth cannot be saved and must be removed, or if you have a missing tooth, a dental implant can be used to replace it. The implant itself acts as a tooth root for a custom porcelain crown, bridge, or denture that will look like your natural teeth. Thanks to the support the implant provides, you can eat, speak, and smile just as you would with a natural tooth.
Benefits of Dental Implants
There are multiple benefits to replacing a failed or missing tooth with a dental implant. A dental implant will:
- Provide a natural appearance as it looks and feels like your own teeth
- Give you improved oral health by preventing jawbone loss
- Prevent your teeth from shifting because of a missing tooth
- Allow you to eat with confidence without worry about sliding dentures
- Make it easier to practice good oral hygiene behaviors like brushing and flossing
- Improve your confidence and self-esteem
Who Can Get a Dental Implant?
Most healthy individuals who have good oral health can be candidates for dental implants. Your gum health, along with the condition of your jawbone, are evaluated to make sure they are healthy enough to support an implant. When deficiencies in either exist, a bone graft or gum treatment may be necessary to ensure the dental implant will succeed.
How Long Do They Last?
A dental implant is designed to be a permanent replacement for a missing tooth. As such, implants are designed to last a lifetime. Most implants have up to a 98-percent success rate when patients continue to practice good oral health behaviors, including preventive dentistry treatments.
Over time, the restoration supported by the implant may face some damage or wear. In that case, repairing or replacing the crown, bridge, or denture is a much simpler process and won’t involve pain or further surgery for you.
Benefits of Amalgam-Free Dentistry
Silver amalgam fillings are made of a mixture of metals, hence their metallic appearance. They were once the norm for filling a cavity. However, today you have a better choice.
Amalgam-free fillings, also known as composite fillings, are the recommended choice for repairing damaged teeth near the front of your mouth that are more visible, especially when you smile.
Composite fillings are more aesthetically pleasing and do not detract from your smile. They also require less removal of the enamel, leaving more of your healthy tooth intact. Best of all, they don’t contain any mercury or heavy metals.
Composite Fillings Protect and Enhance Your Smile
A composite filling is made from a resin that consists of ceramic and acrylic. These fillings are often called tooth-colored fillings because they can be blended to match the color of your existing tooth enamel.
Why You Might Need a Filling
A composite filling can fill a cavity or crack in a tooth that has been caused by decay or an accident. This type of filling can also bond a tooth that has been chipped. Because the material is blended to match your natural enamel, the repair is not noticeable.
How Long Do Composite Fillings Last?
Composite fillings are not permanent and will eventually need to be replaced just as an amalgam filling would. Most composites will last between five to seven years. With proper care, including good oral hygiene practices, regular dental visits, and eating habits, a composite may last as long as an amalgam filling.
Can I Replace My Metal Filling With Composite?
It is possible to replace a metal filling with a composite filling. Many patients prefer this option since it transforms their smile to look more natural and is more comfortable when eating or drinking hot and cold substances.
A concern that patients may have with removing amalgam fillings is the worry that removal could expose them to mercury. Our practice takes steps to minimize our patients’ exposure, including the use of ozone air during the removal of the filling.
Porcelain Crowns in Granada Hills
A porcelain crown is a tooth-shaped cap that is placed over a tooth to restore it. Unlike other dental crowns that are made a metal like gold or nickel, a porcelain crown is made of ceramic. This gives it a more discreet appearance to blend in with your natural teeth. The crown is made to match the color, size, and shape of your teeth.
Reasons for a Crown
Dr. Ezzati may recommend that you have a porcelain crown to:
- Fix a broken tooth
- Restore a worn-down tooth
- Cover a tooth after root canal therapy (RCT)
- Protect a damaged tooth from breaking
- Hold a cracked tooth together
- Strengthen a tooth that has a large filling
- Cover a tooth that is discolored or deformed
How Long Do Porcelain Crowns Last?
Porcelain crowns are highly durable and will last for many years. However, like other dental restorations, they may eventually need to be replaced if they become worn or damaged.
Fixed Bridges
A fixed bridge can “bridge” a gap formed by one or more missing teeth. It consists of two or more dental crowns that sit on either side of the gap with one or more false teeth to fill the gap. The crowns are anchored to natural teeth or implants, known as abutment teeth. A bridge helps to restore your natural bite and keeps teeth from shifting out of place, protecting your smile.
Full & Partial Dentures
If you are missing several or all of your teeth, full or partial dentures can be used to restore your smile and allow you to speak, chew, and smile again. Dentures are made of acrylic resin and designed to resemble your natural teeth.
Most dentures are removable, and either rest on your gums or use your remaining teeth for support. You can also get implant-supported dentures, which can use 6-8 implants to hold your dentures permanently in place.
There are two types of dentures:
- Partial dentures can replace one or more missing teeth in your upper or lower jaw. They prevent existing teeth from shifting into the empty spaces.
- Full dentures are used if you have lost all your teeth. They will allow you to chew and speak properly again while helping to maintain the shape of your face.
Our professional team will provide you with instructions on how to care for your new dentures. Proper care includes regular cleaning, good oral hygiene habits, and keeping up with regular dental visits as recommended by Dr. Ezzati.
Gum Disease Care
Healthy gums are essential for healthy teeth. The goal of periodontal treatment is to protect your natural teeth and your mouth’s supporting structures and keep them healthy.
There are three stages of gum disease: gingivitis, periodontitis, and advanced periodontitis. With proper oral hygiene, including professional cleanings, it may be able to reverse gingivitis. When gingivitis has progressed to periodontitis, treatment is needed to stop its progression and fix the damage that has occurred.
Scaling and Root Planing
Dr. Ezzati may recommend a scaling and root planing treatment, also known as deep cleaning, to treat an advanced case of gum disease. The goal of these treatments is to heal diseased gum tissue and shrink pockets caused by the infection. The scaling process involves an intensive cleaning of your teeth above and below the gum line where plaque, tartar, and toxins are removed. Root planing involves smoothing out of the root surfaces, allowing the gums to reattach to the root.
Invisalign for Teens and Adults
Our practice uses Invisalign, the clear alternative for straightening teeth. Both teens and adults can benefit from this option. Invisalign uses a series of clear, custom-molded aligners that gently move your teeth into their perfect position.
Should I Get My Teeth Straightened?
You are never too old to have a beautiful smile, and Invisalign can make that happen for teens and adults. A straighter smile also offers numerous health benefits, including making it easier to brush and floss, reducing uneven wear on teeth, and decreasing the risk of a tooth being chipped or broken.
Invisalign aligners are comfortable to wear and are removable, allowing you to brush and floss your teeth normally. You may also eat foods you usually would not be able to eat with wire braces.
Protecting Teeth with Oral Appliances
Certain activities can put you at a higher risk of damaging your teeth. Children are especially susceptible to injuring their teeth during sports. Mouthguards and sports guards can help protect your or your children’s teeth when participating in sporting activities.
If you grind your teeth at night, your teeth can quickly be worn down, fractured, or even broken. Bite guards can help to stop you from grinding your teeth as you sleep.
Preventive Dentistry
Preventive dentistry is crucial to your continued good oral health. It’s designed to keep your teeth and gums healthy by preventing cavities, tooth loss, enamel damage, and gum disease. Preventive services provided by our practice include:
How Cleanings Protect Your Smile
Brushing and flossing can only do so much. Professional cleanings are needed to remove the buildup of plaque and tartar on your teeth. Our professional team will gently clean your teeth with a special brush and paste. This cleaning will leave your teeth feeling fresh and smooth and make them look great.
How Sealants Work
Sealants are ideal for protecting your or your children’s teeth from tooth decay. These thin pieces of plastic provide a protective coating to the chewing surfaces on your back teeth to keep bacteria and acid from getting into the tiny crevices. Applying sealants as children’s molars come in can help keep these teeth protected from cavities.
Benefits of Fluoride
Dr. Ezzati may recommend that you or your child also have a fluoride treatment to help prevent tooth decay. Fluoride helps make your teeth more resistant to acids that can cause tooth decay. In some instances, fluoride can help reverse dental decay in its earliest stages. When used with children, fluoride aids with the development of their permanent teeth.
Sedation Dentistry for Nervous Patients
Your comfort during your treatments is very important to our practice. We offer sedation with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) for nervous and anxious patients. Patients receive this gas through a small mask placed over their nose. They will remain conscious during the procedure but will not feel pain or anxiety and will remember little about their dental treatment.
Protect Your Smile with Quality Dental Care
No matter the state of your smile, Dr. Parisa Ezzati and her team are committed to helping you gain a smile that looks, feels, and functions at its best. Contact our Granada Hills office today to schedule your appointment and get the dental care your smile deserves.
CALL US: (818) 368-5881 REQUEST APPOINTMENT
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