Restorative Dentistry in Washington DC
Years of wear and tear, injury, or poor care can hurt the look and function of your teeth. Dr. Lopez Driscoll and her team change lives every day through restorative dentistry. Rejuvenate your smile today!
Dental Implant Restoration
Are you missing teeth? Have you postponed getting a bridge or denture? Do you wear ill-fitting, loose dentures right now? If so, Dr. Lopez Driscoll wants to improve your quality of life with dental implants.
As the prosthetic that most closely mimics nature’s design, dental implants serve as substitute tooth roots. Each implant is strategically placed in the jaw, where bone integrates with it to create a solid foundation for a crown, bridge, or denture. With proper care, dental implants can last a lifetime.
Benefits of dental implants:
- Promote bone retention
- Eliminate slipping, loose, wobbly dentures
- Don’t require support from healthy teeth
- Can last a lifetime
- Look, feel, and function like natural teeth
Implant-Supported Dentures
While typical dentures shift and require the use of denture adhesives to keep them in place, implants fit solidly, reducing the problems associated with traditional dentures, such as gum sores and difficulty speaking and chewing. Implant-supported dentures distribute your biting pressure more like natural teeth than traditional dentures, stimulating the supportive structures of your teeth and preventing the bone and soft tissues from shrinking away. You can replace an entire set of teeth with beautiful, natural-looking implants.
Dentures
A properly fitting denture is very important. A good fit ensures that your dentures will allow you to retain much of your mouth’s function, which is important for maintaining natural muscle tone in your face and jaw. Dentures will keep you looking and feeling healthy, and will help you retain a natural lifestyle. A natural-looking smile and the best possible fit are two of the primary goals Dr. Lopez Driscoll will achieve if you need dentures to restore your smile.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are used if you have several teeth missing that cannot be corrected with a bridge. A partial denture is created to replace those teeth. The partial denture is removable and is designed to fit comfortably, blending in with any remaining teeth. This type of denture is made from a synthetic material that is supported with a lightweight metal. It mimics your gum tissue and teeth to create a natural looking smile while still remaining functional. The partial denture is important once the teeth have been removed in order to preserve the bone and to keep existing teeth from tilting and growing in toward the gaps.
Crowns
You can erase years of wear and tear with crowns. Dr. Lopez Driscoll uses a tooth-like crown made of gold or porcelain to restore your tooth after the decay has been removed. Crowns are also used to restore chipped teeth, broken teeth, gaps in teeth, and other damage.
Bridges
If you’ve lost a tooth, a large gap in your smile, left uncorrected, can create significant problems for your dental health. Gradually, your bite pressure may shift to other parts of your mouth to compensate for an inability to efficiently chew in the area of the missing tooth. Neighboring teeth may begin to move into the gap, resulting in discomfort, pain, and more future problems. After some preparation of the two neighboring teeth, crowns are created for them. A prosthetic tooth (or pontic) is fused between the crowns. Fixed bridges literally “bridge the gap” in your smile. Dr. Lopez Driscoll will create a functional, natural looking bridge to correct your smile, to restore your bite, and to alleviate your discomfort.
Inlays/Onlays
Sometimes effectively removing tooth decay requires the removal of a portion of your tooth. The removed portion is then replaced with a porcelain inlay or onlay. Drs. Lopez Driscoll will customize an inlay or onlay to fill the space left behind when a portion of your tooth is removed. Traditionally, inlays and onlays were made out of metal, much like traditional filings. Now, porcelain-milled inlays and onlays are virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth and provide relief from chewing pain, cavity pain, and tooth degeneration. Contact us to today for more information about dentistry in Washington DC.
ORAL CANCER SCREENINGS
Dr. Lopez Driscoll offers routine oral cancer screenings to you as a patient. As your dentist, Dr. Lopez Driscoll is the only medical professionals in a position to routinely evaluate and detect abnormalities.
DENTISTRY FOR CHILDREN
Dr. Lopez Driscoll strongly believes in the importance of dental health at every age. We feel that spending time discussing your young child’s dental needs is extremely valuable.
ORAL CANCER SCREENINGS
Dr. Lopez Driscoll offers routine oral cancer screenings to you as a patient. As your dentist, Dr. Lopez Driscoll is the only medical professionals in a position to routinely evaluate and detect abnormalities.
DENTISTRY FOR CHILDREN
Dr. Lopez Driscoll strongly believes in the importance of dental health at every age. We feel that spending time discussing your young child’s dental needs is extremely valuable.