We hope you are finished picking out your Christmas presents, and we hope you enjoy the holidays. We also hope you remember to get something for yourself, either now or early next year.

Your teeth can affect your self-confidence as well as your ability to enjoy the foods that you love. And as we’ve heard over and over from our patients, they can and do affect your quality of life as well.

If you are missing teeth or have teeth that are damaged in some way, now would be a great time to call us 952-679-1365 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. At Weddell Dental, we have used restorative dentistry to help many people in and around Bloomington, MN feel good about their smiles again. We’ve also made it possible for patients to eat the foods they love.

Keep reading to learn four things that restorative dentistry could help you do.

 

Replace Your Missing Teeth

According to the American College of Prosthodontists, more than 120 million people are missing at least one of their natural teeth in the United States. That’s more than one-third of the population.

In other words, if you are missing a tooth, a few teeth, or all your teeth, you are not alone.

There’s never a good time to lose teeth, but you are fortunate to be alive when the best teeth replacements ever developed are available to you.

The material used to make dental crowns (which we can make in one visit to our office), bridges, and dentures looks more like natural teeth than it ever has. When you get your new “teeth,” you can feel confident smiling in person or in pictures.

 

Repair Your Broken, Chipped, Or Cracked Teeth

You don’t have to lose a tooth to lose their full function.

A broken or cracked tooth can easily become worse, and that can make it difficult or even painful for you to bite and chew with those teeth. A crack or break could expose parts of your teeth to bacteria that are normally protected. This could lead to bigger problems (which we will discuss in a moment).

You can avoid those problems by taking steps to fix your damaged teeth with either a dental crown or dental veneer. We will be happy to discuss which of these options will work best to restore the appearance and function of your teeth.

 

End Your Toothache

A tooth infection is a potential consequence of ignoring a damaged tooth. You also can develop an infection as a result of an untreated cavity.

As tooth decay spreads, bacteria eats deeper into your tooth. If the bacteria reach the pulp at the center of your tooth, that’s when you may start noticing the pain of a toothache. When the pulp is infected, it becomes inflamed. This can put pressure on the nerves in your tooth, causing the pain you feel.

The best way to fix this is a root canal treatment. Before you get worried, know that we can use local anesthetic, sedation dentistry, or both to keep you pain-free throughout the procedure. Once the infection is removed from your tooth, and your tooth has been restored, you should notice the pain is gone after your recovery.

 

Eat The Foods That You Love

This ties into all the things we mentioned above in one way or another.

If you need to replace missing teeth, we strongly recommend that you get dental implants as well. Implants replace the roots of your teeth, but they do more than just take up space in your jaw.

Implants make your crown, bridge, or dentures stable and secure. Implants connect your replacement teeth to your jawbone, which allows you to put more power behind each bite. With implants, you can eat practically as well as someone with a full set of healthy, natural teeth.

If you repair teeth that are broken, chipped, decayed, or infected, you can trust that you will be able to bite and chew with them, too.

By this time next year, you could feel confident about eating Aunt Betty’s peanut brittle, Uncle Tom’s deep-fried turkey, or Cousin Harry’s baked ham.

 

Start The New Year Right

If you need to rebuild your smile, now is the time to schedule a consultation with Dr. Weddell. Call 952-679-1365 or contact us online today to get started on restoring your smile as well as the function of your teeth.