Restorative Dentistry In Bloomington, IN
REPAIR SMILES WITH EASE
When patients do experience dental damage or decay, Dr. Martin T. Barco and his dental team proudly offer quality, long lasting dental restorations that fully renew oral health, function, and aesthetic for our patients. Call our team right away if you experience any dental damage or decay, and we’ll begin repairing your smile. This allows us to provide the most conservative treatment for your oral health concern. Our state-of-the-art Bloomington, IN dental practice welcomes patients from nearby Ellettsville and Martinsville.
TRADITIONAL CROWN & BRIDGE
Possibly the most often used, reliable restorative solution, dental crowns allow our team to repair moderately to severely damaged teeth, and fixed bridges combine a series of crowns to offer natural looking and feeling tooth replacement solutions. A crown is crafted to look like a tooth, but the inside of the crown is hollowed out to fit completely over the top of a damaged tooth. The exception to this is the replacement crown tooth supported by traditional dental crowns in a fixed bridge.
We offer crowns and bridges in a variety of materials including gold, porcelain fused to metal, and all ceramic. Each material has unique advantages. Gold can be the best material for back teeth as it is able to absorb the most pressure and creates the least wear against surrounding teeth. Porcelain fused to metal offers strength comparable to gold, but the layer of porcelain improves the aesthetic of the metal crown. All ceramic solutions provide the most cosmetic option maintaining their natural appearance after years of wear. They are also the ideal solution for those patients who experience allergies to metal, and best of all, we can create these advanced restorations in a single visit using same day dental crown technology.
Once we determine the material that is best for your situation, the process is completed over the course of two appointments. During the initial visit, we prepare the damaged tooth, capture impressions of the bite, and place a temporary restoration. Our dental lab crafts the custom crown or bridge, and when we receive this final product, you’ll return to exchange your temporary for a permanent dental crown or fixed bridge restoration.
TOOTH-COLORED FILLINGS
Traditional fillings used amalgam metal and could be very noticeable within the smile. We utilize tooth-colored fillings made from composite resin. This is fast becoming the accepted standard in dental restoration. Traditional amalgam fillings required the removal of healthy tooth structure to create wedges that held the filling in position, and because amalgam expands and contracts at a different rate than the natural tooth structure, additional damage or decay may occur. Many of our patients with older amalgam fillings are now replacing their metallic restorations with more aesthetic composite resins. The tooth-colored filling process is much more conservative and almost completely painless. We simply remove any damaged dental structure. Then, we apply the putty-like composite directly to the tooth. Once the filling is positioned to replace damaged structure, we use a curing light to harden the filling into position. The entire process typically takes less than an hour and can be completed right away, if we discover decay at your checkup.
ONE-VISIT RESTORATIONS
Interested in repairing your damaged teeth without scheduling two or more appointments over the course of several weeks? Barco Family Dentistry utilizes state-of-the-art computer-assisted design and manufacture systems to design, craft, and place a dental crown in just one appointment. The process is the same as traditional dental restorations, but it is completed in just one visit. We prepare the tooth, capture digital impressions, and our in-office milling unit crafts the custom restoration from a single block of high-quality dental-grade ceramic. Then, we place the restoration on the same day you visit.
DENTURES & PARTIAL DENTURES
If you experience significant tooth loss, several teeth along an arch or a full row of teeth, we may recommend a partial or full denture. Partials are used to fill in gaps in patients’ smile. A gum colored base is shaped to fit snugly between healthy teeth, and provide support for the replacement teeth. The entire prosthetic is held in position by metal clasps. Similarly designed, full dentures use a gum colored base to support an entire row of lost teeth. Without healthy teeth to provide an anchor, a full denture relies on suction between the base and gums to provide stability.