Improving the oral health of your patients begins with offering a wide variety of professional restoration dental procedures. With the right continuous education, you can expand your offerings to provide life-changing dental services at your practice.
Below, we’ll discuss the top three common restoration dental procedures to consider adding to your practice, and how RipeGlobal can give you the confidence to master each procedure.
Types of Dental Restorations
Dental restoration procedures — restorative dentistry — involves repairing or replacing teeth that are damaged or missing. Patients that require restorative dentistry tend to have difficulty performing everyday activities such as speaking or eating. Although some procedures help aesthetically, the main purpose is to improve the quality of life for the patient. The three common procedures to consider offering at your dental practice include:
1. Crowns
Although every crown shares the purpose of capping a damaged tooth, there are several types of materials and techniques that can be used for this procedure. Different patients will have different needs as far as size and shape, durability, cost, and appearance. The usual steps for a dental crown procedure include:
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Numb the tooth and take impressions.
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Use a shade guide to record the shade of the teeth.
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Prepare the core impression.
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Apply a temporary crown.
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Cement the permanent crown.
Having the confidence to tackle any crown, — including multiple crowns at the same time — while still keeping the patient comfortable, is key to adding this procedure to your service offerings. Unfortunately, there may not have been much opportunity in the field for learning from master dentists — until now. A Crown Prep Bootcamp hosted by master dentists can hone your skills and give you the extra confidence to help your patients no matter what crown(s) they require.
2. Anterior Composites
Repairing a damaged front tooth can be challenging in that the patient will expect the anterior composite to match both the shape and shade of their surrounding teeth perfectly. Choosing the right dental restoration materials is key for maintaining both tooth durability and appearance.
Many in the field consider anterior composites an art form, but these steps are traditionally the framework for the process:
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Plan for the crown.
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Dental preparation including cleaning the tooth.
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Adhesion technique.
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Layering for function, durability, and appearance.
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Finishing and polishing for function and appearance.
Additionally, a skilled hand is needed to ensure that the patient is comfortable and the procedure is performed with best practices in mind. Learning from master dentists can help you develop and hone your own techniques to provide excellent care during every step of the procedure.
3. CEREC
Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic (CEREC) allows for dental restorations from start to finish at your practice — no lab necessary. Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software and equipment can be used to fabricate crowns, inlays and onlays, veneers, dental implants, and other orthodontic appliances. The steps for using CEREC are typically:
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Use impressions or scan the mouth.
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Computer software creates the restoration model.
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Restoration model is created and bonded to the tooth.
CEREC techniques and best practices continue to evolve as innovations in this technology emerge. Continuous education can help keep your practice on top of the most effective methods for restoration dental procedures.
Continuous Education for World-Leading Restoration Dental Procedures
RipeGlobal is a learning platform built with one purpose: helping dentists to succeed. With a supportive community, continuous education including mentoring and simulation technology (SimTech), and the drive to hone your skills, you can feel confident offering restoration dental procedures that will have your patients smiling.
If you have questions about restoration dental procedures, we have answers. Start your learning journey with the RipeGlobal Masterclass, “10 Things I wish I knew before I bought my CEREC.”
