If you are a regular at the dentist, you may hear jargon bandied about that leaves you wondering what your dentist is on about. Here at Archway Dental Group in London, our dental team is into demystifying dentistry. We want to make visiting the dentist a more enjoyable, less complex, and therefore less frightening experience.
You may have come across the term ‘restorative dentistry’, but what does it actually mean? Well, restorative dentistry as a specialist area came into being in 1973 in the UK under a European Directive. A specialism means that a dentist can do a lot of extra training and study in an area and then, if they pass their exams, legally call himself or herself a specialist in that area. So, you get dentists in the UK who call themselves specialists, and you can check if they are by looking them up on the General Dental Council website.
Restorative Dentistry in London..What is covered by restorative dentistry?
Restorative dentistry covers anything to do with the management of diseases of the mouth and teeth, including restoring them to full function.
That’s a wide remit and so restorative dentistry encompasses endodontics that deals with tooth pulp and root canal treatments, periodontics that includes treating gum disease, and prosthodontics that takes care of replacing missing teeth and bits of missing teeth.
You could argue that restorative dentistry is what happens when preventive dentistry hasn’t worked. If for some reason, such as gum disease or tooth decay, you have lost a tooth or part of a tooth, you will need restorative dentistry.
At Archway Dental Group, our aim is not to have to get to the restorative dentistry stage with you. But the truth is that teeth fail, and as you age this becomes more likely, due to gum disease and these days, erosion and grinding. We will always do our best to let you hang on to your natural teeth for as long as possible because nothing beats what Mother Nature provides us with, and we would far rather give you a filling or a crown than take out a tooth. But if we do have to, we want you to have a replacement that works well for your lifestyle and your budget.
