Conservative Dentistry at Stag Lane Dental

1. Conservative Dentistry at Stag Lane Dental As the name suggests, conservative dentistry is a branch of dentistry which deals with conserving the tooth structure as much as possible. It includes many procedures which are purely meant to conserve the tooth structure. In this type of procedures, the tooth portion which is inflicted with caries or is chipped or fractured is carefully drilled out with air rotor machine and the remaining tooth portion is conserved and evened out so that it may not get fractured or cracked. The lost portion of the teeth is filled by a dental filling which is done in a way that the ends are seamless with the boundaries of the tooth and can act perfectly as a tooth structure. After a filling, a tooth is able to draw upon all the functions it is made to do whether it is chewing, mastication or esthetics. Why conservative dentistry important? Conservative dentistry is important because it is really important to save and conserve the original tooth structure. It provides teeth protection and does not include any surgical or invasive procedure. One should always consult the dentist and consult whether the tooth can be saved conservatively. Conservative dentistry includes many procedures among which simple cavity fillings are the most common. Be it small kids to adults, all undergo a cavity preparation in a similar way. Also it is the most effective and non-invasive method to get teeth perfected in absolutely no time. In cavity preparation, the tooth is drilled from the place where it is struck with caries. Now slowly with the help of hand instruments or micromotor, the tooth is dug and drilled out to remove the carious portion and the drilling is limited only to the caries region. When the cavity is prepared, the tooth is properly isolated from any saliva which is the most common cause of contamination and eventual failing of the dental fillings. With the help of rubber dam in proper sterile conditions, tooth filling is done; no kind of contamination can be tolerated. Another method includes inlays and onlays. These are tooth fillings which are custom-made in the dental laboratory in a furnace. These kinds of fillings are done when the tooth structure that is to be restored is larger than normal. In this case, a wax pattern is made in the lab which is later replicated with the onlays or inlays. Types of dental material used Dental material plays a crucial role in conservative dentistry. Since the tooth strength is measured by the type of cement used, the material becomes an important part of conservative dentistry. Some of the most commonly used dental materials are 1. Silver amalgam 2. Glass ionomer cement . . composite cement 4. Custom-made metals.