Many methods of treatment

The purpose of prosthetics dental treatment is to restore dental function and appearance.

Prosthetic dentistry or dental prosthetics is a branch of dentistry pertaining to the restoration and maintenance of oral function, comfort, appearance and health of the patient by the restoration of natural teeth and/or the replacement of missing teeth and contiguous oral and maxillofacial tissues with artificial substitutes. Dedicated also to the restoration of the primary occlusion conditions after the loss of natural teeth or after their massive damage. This involves the use of prosthetic restorations, which can be fixed (not removable from the mouth), removable (removable from the mouth), or combined (removable dentures combined with fixed restorations by means of extra coronal attachments, precision attachments, interlocks or telescopic crowns). Removable prosthetic restorations include: acrylic dentures, partial skeletal dentures (with a metal base) and nylon or acetal dentures. Instead permanent restorations include: ceramic restorations – crowns and bridges (porcelain on a metal or non-metallic base – or more aesthetic ones, without metal).

Nowadays, prosthetic dentistry offers very aesthetic and convenient solutions such as porcelain bridges, partial skeletal dentures (also with extra coronal attachment, precision attachments and telescopic crowns). There are also greater possibilities to improve the aesthetic correction and reconstruction of patients’ own discoloured or incorrectly positioned teeth. In such cases, porcelain crowns and laminate veneers give excellent aesthetic and functional effects. Even with regular control and systematic treatment, some problems cannot be avoided and sometimes teeth need to be extracted. The field of prosthetic dentistry, although very old, is still rapidly and dynamically developing. It should be noted that a lot depends not so much on the dentist him- or herself, but on the prosthetist who works with the dentist. Dental technicians gain their experience over years of practice, and it is this experience that gives the final result.

Classic dental prosthetics is a department of dentistry dealing with the reconstruction of damaged and lost teeth with crowns, bridges and movable dentures. Teeth are parts of the human body which are – unfortunately – unable to regenerate thus their loss or damage is biologically irreversible. Classic dental prosthetics allows us to recreate the lost dentition and restore severely damaged teeth whose condition renders them unfit for conventional conservative treatment. There may be different causes of extensive damage to the hard tissues of teeth, including:

• caries
• mechanical damage
• physiological teeth abrasion
• pathological teeth abrasion

The enormous technological advancement in the field of dental materials for the reconstruction of hard tooth tissues / composites, compomers, glass-ionomers / enables the clinicians to produce very aesthetic and durable reconstruction of the lost tooth tissues. However, there is a limit beyond which lesions cannot be treated by direct restorations like filling or cosmetic application of composite, the so-called bonding, in that case it might be necessary an indirect restoration like prosthetic crown.

Porcelain crowns

Dental crowns are prosthetic restorations that enable to rebuild the shape and function of a damaged tooth even if it is no longer possible to restore them traditionally, i.e. with a filling. Our surgery offers all-ceramic crowns and porcelain crowns – both of which give a perfect aesthetic and functional effect. What is the course of the treatment? Here is a simplified scheme:

• The first visit: after identifying a tooth for application of a prosthetic crown, the doctor proceeds to grinding the tooth; the grinding procedure is performed under anaesthesia and is completely painless. Then the dentist gets an impression of the tooth and sends it to a prosthetic lab. The visit ends with making of a temporary crown, which assures aesthetic appearance and functionality until the final prosthetic crown will be cemented.
• Second visit: after fitting and checking the finished prosthetic crown, the dentist cements the crown permanently in the patient’s mouth.

Porcelain dental bridges

Porcelain dental bridges are a type of permanent prosthetic restorations. This means that they are permanently cemented on the patient’s own teeth, so they are a very comfortable prosthetic solution. Dental bridges complement one or more tooth losses. The bridge suspended on the patient’s own abutment teeth reconstructs the missing teeth in a both aesthetic and functional way. Our surgery offers both all-ceramic bridges and bridges veneered with porcelain. What is the course of the treatment? Here is a simplified scheme:

• First visit: after the prosthetic restoration is planned, the dentist proceeds to grinding the teeth selected as prosthetic abutments; the grinding procedure is performed under anaesthesia and is completely painless. At the end of the visit, impressions are collected and sent to the prosthetic laboratory and the abutment teeth are given protection with temporary restoration.
• Second visit: the dentist checks the fitting of the bridge structure in the patient’s mouth, if necessary corrections are made and then bridge is sent back to the lab for its completion.
• Third visit: after the fitting and checking of the finished bridge, the dentist cements the permanent restorations in the patient’s mouth.

Adhesive Bridges

Adhesive bridges can be both permanent and temporary restorations. This means that they can be permanently cemented on the patient’s own teeth or serve as a temporary replacement, e.g., during the osseointegration of implants. Compared to traditional porcelain bridges, they do not require grinding of healthy teeth, which makes them much less invasive. Adhesive bridges are attached to other teeth by means of glass fibre wings. Cementing is possible in 3 ways:

• sticking glass fibre wings to healthy neighbouring teeth
• placing glass fibre wings in places after the old fillings in the adjacent teeth
• preparing occlusal surface in the neighbouring teeth in which the glass fibre wings are placed

Adhesive bridges are usually used to supplement single-tooth gaps; indications for specific types of fixings are determined by the doctor in the course of a dental examination. What is the course of the treatment? Here is a simplified scheme:

• First visit: after qualifying the patient for treatment with adhesive bridges and selecting the method of cementation, the dentist created some space on the neighbouring teeth to accommodate glass fibre wings; at the end of the visit, impressions are taken and sent to a prosthetic laboratory.
• Second visit: the dentist fits the adhesive bridge in the patient’s mouth and before cementation if necessary makes some corrections, and then cements the bridge permanently.

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