Most people at one time or another have had the need for repairs to their teeth. Whether the needed repair was a filling or a complex series of oral surgeries, dentists are the professionals we count on to fix our smiles. A general dentist can deep clean our teeth, fix cavities, repair broken fillings, extract teeth that have gone bad, and help in many other ways. There are other dentists who specialize in a specific area of dentistry, such as oral surgery, orthodontics, neuromuscular dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and reconstruction dentistry.

Many precautions should be taken by people to protect the mouth from injury, such as wearing mouth guards during sporting activities. However, life happens, and accidents and mishaps do occur. When things have turned sour in someones mouth because of an injury, trauma, or abnormal formation from a young age, a reconstruction dentist can come to the rescue. Reconstructive dentistry refers to any procedure performed to repair or replace broken, damaged, or missing teeth, bones, or tissue. Some treatments that fall into the reconstructive category are TMJ corrections, full mouth reconstructions, inlays and onlays, crown placement, repairing worn teeth, and even replacing old fillings. Worn teeth can cause pain, sensitivity to food and drinks, and can affect the overall alignment of the teeth, which can lead to more painful conditions such as TMJ.

To repair a worn or less than perfect tooth, a crown can be placed over it, or in severe cases, a dental implant is recommended. Dental inlays and onlays are used to repair cracked or worn teeth, and to fix rear teeth with moderate amounts of decay. Inlays are designed to treat decay within the top projections, or cusps, of a tooth, and onlays are used to treat decay that extends across the cusps.

Any single plan of treatment or combinations of these treatments can help anyone who is in need of having healthier, better teeth. A reconstruction dentist can take a traumatized, malformed, or misshapen mouth and transform it into a beautiful smile. A great smile improves confidence, appearance, and overall well being for a person. The face is usually the first thing that others notice when first seeing someone, and improving the look of the mouth, whether it be a drastic change or a slight change, can truly alter a persons personal and social life for the better. A reconstruction dentist can be a real life saver!