Dental fillings offer important benefits for decayed teeth. Here at DeClerck Family Dental in Findlay, OH, your dentist, Dr. Krystal DeClerck, helps patients' care for their smiles with dental fillings, checkups, and other services and treatments—read on to learn how she can help you too.

Dental filling benefits

No one likes to hear the words, "You have a cavity," but it's not always easy to avoid tooth decay, even if you practice good oral hygiene. Plaque can hide in tiny pits and grooves in the molars in the back of your mouth or lurk under the edges of overlapping teeth.

A chemical reaction occurs when the bacteria in plaque combines with sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods. The reaction produces strong acids that attack tooth enamel and cause tooth decay.

Fortunately, dental fillings from our Findlay office can protect and restore teeth affected by cavities. Fillings offer a few benefits you may not have considered, including:

• Easier Chewing: Pain from a cavity can make it difficult to chew on one side of your mouth. Chewing on only one side increases wear-and-tear on those teeth and may boost your risk of developing temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). Filling your tooth makes it possible to chew on both sides of your mouth once again.
• Natural Appearance: If you don't want to share your dental work with the world, tooth-colored fillings are an excellent option. Tooth-colored fillings, the most common type of fillings used today, are tinted to match common tooth shades. Made of composite resin, these fillings are practically unnoticeable. Since your filling is the same shade of your tooth, it won't cast shadows that can make your tooth look darker.
• Stronger Teeth: A tooth-colored filling bonds to your tooth enamel and actually strengthens it. Removing part of your tooth, an essential part of the filling process, can weaken the tooth, particularly if you have a large cavity. Because tooth-colored fillings only require removal of a small margin of healthy tooth structure, your tooth remains stronger overall. Tooth-colored fillings can be used in new cavities or replace older fillings.

Need dental work? Give us a call

Improve your smile with dental fillings! Call DeClerck Family Dental in Findlay, OH, today at (419) 422-8972 to make an appointment with your dentist, Dr. Krystal DeClerck.

Have you chipped a tooth, lost a large filling or undergone root canal therapy? Dental crowns from Dr. Krystal DeClerck in Findlay, OH, address these issues and more. A predictable and often-used alternative to dental extraction, porcelain crowns replace large amounts of damaged enamel, recreating excellent aesthetics and oral function.

How crowns restore damaged teeth

Basically, a crown is a tooth-shaped jacket of premium-quality porcelain. It encases the healthy parts of an injured tooth, recreating its natural appearance, matching its neighboring teeth and allowing it to bite and chew normally once again. A crown covers the tooth above the gum line and spares a tooth from additional fillings or even extraction.

Dr. DeClerck can tell from examination and digital X-ray imaging if your tooth is a good candidate for a porcelain crown. Sometimes, when a tooth is infected or severely fractured, she will perform root canal therapy first to stave off infection, relieve pain and seal the tooth against further bacterial invasion.

Steps to a crown

1. Dr. DeClerck will anesthetize the tooth and when it's numb, remove the damaged areas. She'll shape the tooth to receive the crown. Sometimes, she adds a post to create adequate supporting structure.

2. The Findlay dentist takes oral impressions. These negative imprints of the tooth and the ones adjacent to it help the dental lab fabricate your crown with proper size, shape, and bite.

3. Your dentist places a temporary restoration over the tooth so it looks and functions as normally as possible while the permanent crown is made.

4. You return to DeClerck Family Dental to permanently bonding of the new dental crown. Because of advanced fabrication processes, most crowns fit well right away. However, most patients need a few days to adjust to this new restoration, say experts at the Cleveland Clinic.

Crowns have other uses

Crowns also play a role in tooth replacement procedures. For instance, some people opt to replace one or more missing teeth with an appliance called a bridge. Composed of one or more pontic, or artificial teeth, bridges affix to adjacent healthy teeth on opposite ends of a smile gap. The adjacent teeth, also known as abutment teeth, must be ground down to receive porcelain crowns which hold the artificial teeth in place.

Also, crowns restore dental implants. These highly successful tooth replacements have three parts: a titanium implant which resides in the jaw bone, a metal alloy abutment, or extension post, and a crown to finish off the artificial tooth.

You and your crown

You should enjoy a great partnership for ten years or more as long as you floss, brush and get your six-month cleanings and examinations with Dr. DeClerck. Also, ask her about a bite guard if you grind your teeth. This acrylic appliance will save your teeth, and your crown, from undue wear and tear.

Find out more

For more information on crowns or the other fine restorative dental services DeClerck Family Dental provides, please call your dentist in Findlay, OH, at (419) 422-8972 for an appointment.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Your teeth are healthy and bright, but you're still reluctant to smile due to the wrinkles that appear. It might surprise you to learn that this is a problem your dentist can fix. At DeClerck Family Dental in Findlay, Ohio, Dr. Krystal DeClerck uses her knowledge of the facial structure to provide Botox to her patients as a way to minimize wrinkles and improve their smile holistically. You can learn more about Botox from your Findlay dentist here.

What can Botox do for me?

Botox is made from naturally derived proteins that stop the contraction of muscles for approximately three to four months. It's been used medically for several decades to treat muscle spasms, migraines and overactive sweat glands, and has been FDA approved for cosmetic use since 2002. It's primarily used to treat the wrinkles that naturally form around the forehead and eye areas when we smile. By temporarily paralyzingly the muscles underneath the targeted areas, your Findlay dentist can give you a natural and youthful smile.

Why should I visit my dentist for Botox?

It may surprise you that Botox is offered somewhere other than a dermatologist's office, but when it comes down to knowledge, your Findlay dentist has an advanced understanding of the muscles, skin and bone structure associated with the specific areas where Botox is applied. With extensive experience in administering injections for anesthesia and other dental procedures, she has an advantage when applying Botox. Having your "smile lines" treated with Botox at DeClerck Family Dental ensures a safe, comfortable experience with a trained professional in a medical setting.

If you'd like to learn more about how Botox can maximize your smile and your overall appearance, we want to hear from you! Contact the dental office of Dr. Krystal DeClerck in Findlay, Ohio, to schedule an appointment today!

Worried about a damaged or weak tooth? Dental crowns can help!

A damaged or broken tooth might feel like a major stressor in your life but fortunately, your Findlay, OH dentist Dr. Krystal DeClerck can provide you with the treatment you need to restore your tooth and preserve your healthy, beautiful smile. Find out more about dental crowns and what they can do for your problem tooth.

If you are dealing with a weak or broken tooth your general dentist in Findlay can easily repair and restore strength back into the tooth with a dental crown. In less severe cases when a tooth has been damaged by decay, we can sometimes place a dental filling to fix it. But there are some situations in which the tooth is just too badly damaged to be fixed with a filling. In this case, the best option is to get a dental crown.

When it comes to getting dental crowns you can choose from a few different options. Amalgam, or metal crowns have been around for a while because they offer a durability that other crowns just can’t. Sure, they aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing but they are often recommended for back teeth because these teeth take on the most chewing pressures and the metal crowns are more resilient and can take more wear and tear.

Porcelain or composite resin crowns are great for covering over damaged teeth in a natural and seamless way. These crowns are designed to match the color of your smile so you’ll get a restoration that only you will know you have.

Crowns can be an ideal choice for someone dealing with a tooth that has been damaged by injury, decay or infection. A tooth that has been protected with a crown is less likely to become further damaged or need to be extracted later on in the future. If you’ve been looking for a way to protect a tooth from further damage then now is the time you called our Findlay, OH dental office to schedule a consultation.

Turn to DeClerck Family Dental to repair your damaged tooth and to give you a beautiful, trustworthy dental crown.