Dental Temporaries

While you are “Under Construction”

At Colony Square Dental Associates we are quite familiar with the term “Under Construction”, especially as Colony Square undergoes a transformation. However, we are appreciably more knowledgeable about dental reconstruction. Whether the patient’s goal is to enhance the esthetics of their smile with porcelain dental veneers or ceramic dental crowns, or a tooth or teeth are damaged due to an accidental injury or dental disease, Drs. Hochberg and Diora and their treatment team are on hand to guide patients throughout the process.

Oftentimes, constructing or reconstructing teeth entails treatment over a period of time. There may be decayed or fractured teeth that require the fabrication of one or more crowns, onlays, or inlays. In other cases the teeth are non-restorable and must be removed; dental implants or a bridge are necessary to replace the missing teeth. Most often there is a healing period after extraction or dental implant placement; an ‘in-between’ time prior to the final restoration. Even root canal therapy can present conditions when our dentists want to ensure that the tooth has settled down prior to permanently sealing the tooth’s canal; the tooth is temporized. Irrespective of the plan of care, it is essential that patients leave Colony Square Dental Associates able to chew in comfort and with their smiles intact. To achieve this end, the patient will leave with an interim filling, crown, partial, or denture – ‘in temps’.

 

The type of interim solution, until the permanent restoration can be placed, is dependent upon the treatment planned. Will there be porcelain veneers on the upper anterior teeth to enhance a smile? A crown on a posterior molar? An anterior bridge? One or more dental implants to support a new tooth or teeth. Or a partial or fully implant-supported denture? Either Dr. Hochberg or Dr. Diora will discuss the temporary or provisional interim measures designed to carry you through from the initiation of care to the final restoration.

While oftentimes the terms temporary or provisional are used interchangeably, there is a difference. The treatment planned, the number of teeth involved, the location of the teeth (in the front or the back of your mouth) will dictate the nature and purpose of the interim that is fabricated. For example, when treatment entails the esthetics of anterior teeth or there are a series of teeth that will be replaced with dental implants, a waxup is fabricated by the laboratory from which the interim is designed. This detailed measure provides the patient with the opportunity to have a glimpse of the shape and size of the final restoration(s). Modifications can be made before the final prosthesis is fabricated. In other instances the patient’s occlusion (bite) will benefit from modification; a provisional interim allows the patient to speak and eat for a period of time to determine that they are comfortable with the changes. If there are not anterior esthetic concerns or a change in occlusion – perhaps it’s a single crown or a 3-tooth bridge in the posterior area – these type of restorations typically do not require a waxup and an in-office fabricated temporary to protect the tooth or teeth pending the cementation of the permanent crown(s) is sufficient. However, there are commonalities between the terms for the interims. Temporary or provisional restorations serve to:

• Minimize the tooth’s sensitivity.
• Approximate the final restoration. A provisional interim offers a glimpse at the final result.
• Maintain the space that was occupied by the full sized tooth or teeth, ensuring that the adjacent teeth do not shift and the opposing tooth above or below the temp does not drift downward or upward.
• Cover and protect the exposed dentin, which is the softer material and via the tubules could allow bacteria to enter once a tooth has been reshaped.
• Keep the gum in its original position.

We hope that you bear with us during the modernization of the Colony Square complex; and we will to do our utmost to work with you during the reconstruction of your smile. And just like any construction project, there is a period of time during which we await the desired end result and abide a bit of inconvenience … on a temporary basis!