Our Services
Restorative dentistry
Repairing and rebuilding damaged teeth — with an in-house digital laboratory that shortens timelines and keeps quality control in the building.
What restorative dentistry covers
Dental Crowns
Full-coverage restoration for damaged teeth, with a same-day CEREC option for most cases.
Dental Bridges
Replacing gaps with natural-looking restorations carried on the teeth either side.
Root Canal Therapy
Treating infection while keeping the natural tooth, which stays reliable for years when properly restored afterwards.
Extractions
Removal where a tooth cannot be saved, with nitrous oxide or IV sedation available.
Periodontal Treatment
Managing gum disease — because no restoration outlives the gums and bone supporting it.
CEREC Same-Day Crowns
A complete crown restoration designed, milled, and cemented in one appointment.
The in-house lab changes what is possible
Sending restorations to an external laboratory typically adds one to three weeks, and means the person making the crown never meets the person fitting it.
Our CAD/CAM laboratory is in this building. Turnaround is faster, adjustments are made directly rather than posted back and forth, and where a restoration is not right we can remake it rather than compromise on the fit.
Sedation options from nitrous oxide through to IV sedation are available throughout, for anyone who finds restorative appointments difficult.
How much to do, and when
The principle we work to is the smallest intervention that will actually last. Those two halves both matter. Doing less than the tooth needs means doing it again sooner, usually with less tooth left to work with.
In practice the decision between a filling, an onlay and a crown comes down to how much sound tooth is left and where it is.
- A filling replaces lost tooth structure inside the remaining walls. It works while those walls are strong enough to take the chewing load — dental fillings.
- An onlay covers one or more of the chewing surfaces without reducing the whole tooth. It is the middle option, and it preserves more tooth than a crown does.
- A crown covers the tooth completely, and is the right answer when a wall has already broken or the tooth has been weakened by a root canal — dental crowns and same-day crowns.
A cracked tooth is the case where waiting costs the most. A crack that is covered before it propagates is a crown; the same crack a few months later can be an extraction — cracked and broken teeth.
When the tooth cannot be saved
Sometimes it cannot, and saying so plainly is more useful than attempting a restoration that will fail. What matters then is what replaces it, and that decision is usually made on two things: how much bone is there, and what it costs.
- A removable denture is the least expensive route and the one the Canadian Dental Care Plan covers — dentures and loose dentures.
- A fixed bridge carries a replacement tooth on the teeth either side. It works where the gap is short and those teeth are sound enough to take the load, and it does mean preparing healthy teeth — dental bridges.
- An implant replaces the root as well as the crown. Where there is enough bone to hold one, it is usually the option we would suggest first: it does not depend on the neighbouring teeth, and it helps hold the bone that otherwise continues to shrink — single tooth implants and multiple tooth implants.
Where bone has already shrunk too far, grafting can sometimes make an implant possible that otherwise would not be. That adds cost and healing time, and it is worth knowing before you choose. The figures are on dental implant cost and implants compared with dentures. Fees vary; we provide a written estimate before treatment.
What the in-house laboratory changes
Most practices send restoration work out to a commercial laboratory. The case leaves the building, comes back in one to three weeks, and you wear a temporary in the meantime. Having the laboratory here changes three things.
- Fewer visits. A crown can be designed, milled and fitted in one appointment rather than two a fortnight apart — see CAD/CAM dentistry.
- Adjustment while you are still in the chair. If the shade or the contour is not right, it is altered and refitted the same day instead of being posted back with a note.
- No temporary to lose. Temporaries come off, leak and make teeth sensitive. Skipping that stage removes a whole category of small problems.
Why restorations fail, and what you can do
No restoration is for life, and the three things that shorten them are largely manageable.
- Grinding and clenching. This is the big one. It cracks porcelain and flattens natural tooth, and most people do not know they do it. A guard is cheaper than the repair — teeth grinding and night guards.
- Decay at the margin. New decay usually starts at the join between the restoration and the tooth, which is exactly where a toothbrush does least well. This is what the recall examination is looking for.
- Gum disease. No restoration outlives the bone supporting it. Treating the gums is not a separate project from restoring the teeth — gum disease and periodontal treatment.
Where several teeth need work at once and the bite itself has changed, the sequence matters more than the individual restorations — full mouth reconstruction.
Common questions
Do I need a crown or will a filling do?+
It depends on how much sound tooth is left and where. A filling works while the walls of the tooth are strong enough to take the chewing load. Once a wall has broken, or after a root canal, a crown is usually the honest answer.
How long does a crown last?+
Well-maintained crowns commonly last many years, and grinding is the single biggest factor shortening that. We will tell you if we can see evidence of grinding, because a guard is considerably cheaper than a replacement.
Can you really make a crown in one visit?+
Yes, for most cases. The tooth is scanned, the crown is designed and milled in our own laboratory, and it is fitted the same appointment. Some cases still suit a laboratory-layered crown over two visits, and we will say which yours is.
What if the tooth cannot be saved?+
Then we say so rather than attempting a restoration that will fail. The question becomes what replaces it, and the answer usually turns on how much bone is there and what you want to spend.
Why do you keep checking my gums when I came about a tooth?+
Because no restoration outlives the bone holding it. Gum disease is usually painless until it is advanced, which is why it is checked rather than reported.
Ready to get started?
Book an assessment of what needs repairing. Call (905) 479-7777.