Rebuild Your Smile
with Restorative Dentistry
Restorative dentistry refers to the category of dental procedures used to reconstruct damaged teeth or replace missing teeth that are necessary for proper bite function. The goals of restorative dentistry are to help the patient chew normally as well as prevent further breakdown in the other teeth, jaw joints or supporting gum tissue and bone.
Marietta dentist Dr. Chris Anderson relies on his advanced training and a blend of artistic skill, experience, technology and modern materials to design and create dental restorations that look and feel like natural teeth for our valued Georgia Dental Medicine patients.
Why are teeth important to my health?
The human body has 4 different types of teeth, including molars, premolars, canines and incisors. Each type plays a distinct role in our ability to bite and tear food (incisors and canines) or grind it for digestion (premolars and molars). Our body depends on the hard work of the teeth to help us process food and nutrients efficiently.
A Healthy Bite for a Healthy Smile
The physical impact of biting and chewing places tremendous pressure on the teeth as they come together, as well as on our jaw joints and facial muscles. A full set of correctly aligned teeth and healthy jaw joints work in unison to evenly distribute this ‘load’ of bite forces and allow us to chew normally without dental pain or injury. Learn more about neuromuscular dentistry.
When a patient has broken or missing teeth, this creates an imbalance in the bite and chewing process and can cause additional strain on the other teeth, jaw joints and facial muscles. If not corrected, continued bite stress can lead to excessive teeth wear, teeth shifting out of alignment and deterioration of jaw bone support, a condition known as a ‘collapsed bite’.
Preventive dental care and early treatment are a smart investment towards keeping our teeth for a lifetime. During your complete examination and dental hygiene visits, Dr. Anderson and your dental hygienist can advise you of any signs of tooth decay or gum (periodontal) disease that require treatment.
Your Restorative Dentistry Treatment Plan
The first and most important step in planning restorative or cosmetic dentistry is a personal consultation with Georgia Dental Medicine dentist Dr. Chris Anderson to talk about your goals for your smile. During this visit, he will go over your treatment options and make sure your questions are answered - so you stay in control of your health decisions.
After you and Dr. Anderson have finalized your treatment plan, our administrative team will schedule your services and review the expected costs of your treatment along with payment options, including any estimated dental insurance coverage.
Georgia Dental Medicine is a participating provider with CareCredit® healthcare financing. CareCredit® offers flexible payment terms to make managing your care convenient and affordable (third party terms apply). Visit CareCredit.com to learn more or apply online.
Implant Dentures: A Video Demonstration by General and Implant Dentist Dr. Chris Anderson
Your Local Marietta Restorative Dentist
Restorative and cosmetic dentist Dr. Chris Anderson provides a wide range of restorative dental procedures in our Marietta practice.
Dental Implant Placement & Restoration
A dental implant is a fixed replacement for the roots of a missing tooth. It is a small cylinder-shaped insert that is surgically placed in the jaw bone by restorative and implant dentist Dr. Chris Anderson at our Marietta dental practice. The majority of dental implants are made of titanium, it is a medically-safe material that promotes the growth of bone cells around the implant to help lock it in place (osseointegration).
Your dental implant restoration is completed by attaching a custom dental crown or bridge.
Multiple dental implants are also ideal for use with implant dentures or partial implant dentures. Implant dentures connect using special attachments to hold them securely in place and still make them easy to remove for cleaning.
Full mouth dental implants are sometimes used to replace multiple missing teeth with a combination of dental crowns and bridges. Full mouth implant restorations can make a difference in a person's physical smile appearance and help their confidence soar knowing they can smile ‘big’ and enjoy their favorite foods without fear of embarrassment.
Learn more about Dental Implants
Removable Partial Dentures or Full Dentures
As much as Dr. Chris Anderson and our Georgia Dental Medicine Team like to save teeth, we know that sometimes it is necessary to remove non-restorable teeth and replace them with a partial or full denture.
What is a denture?
A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth in an arch (upper or lower). A partial denture rests on existing teeth and contains artificial teeth to replace multiple missing teeth. A full or complete denture replaces all of the teeth in the arch. Most dentures are made of cast acrylic materials. Partial dentures may have a metal base or metal clasps that attach to the existing teeth.
Our Promise: An Exceptional Denture Experience at Georgia Dental Medicine of Marietta
Dr. Chris Anderson designs partial and complete dentures in meticulous detail - from the mottled pink shading of the gums to the shape and shade of each tooth, your denture will be designed with care to create a natural, lifelike smile appearance. At each step, Dr. Anderson will guide you through the decision-making process and make sure you are pleased with the results.
You never have to go without teeth while we create your denture. If you are having teeth extracted, Dr. Anderson can create an immediate denture to wear right away following surgery.
Dental implants have greatly improved the quality of life for denture-wearers. Known as ‘all on four’ or ‘all on six’, multiple dental implants can be used to replace missing teeth in an arch to secure a partial or full denture. A stable, secure denture eliminates the worry of loose, falling dentures while eating or speaking.
We are proud to provide ‘digital dentures’ - using our digital impression technology, we can create a 3D model of your dental arch and Dr. Anderson can work virtually with our dental laboratory to fabricate your denture. Digital dentures are more efficient for us and more comfortable for our patients.
If you wear a denture currently or you think a denture may be the next step for your smile, please Contact Georgia Dental Medicine to schedule a consultation with Dr. Chris Anderson. Dr. Anderson can meet with you to explore implant and denture solutions to help you decide what makes the best sense for your dental health.
Why do I need a Dental Crown?
Dr. Chris Anderson may recommend a dental crown, or ‘cap’ to rebuild a tooth that has been weakened by decay or excessive wear due to clenching or teeth grinding (bruxism).
A dental crown covers the entire top portion of the tooth above the gum line to help protect the remaining natural tooth structure from further damage.
Crowns are made of precious or semi-precious metals, porcelain ceramics, or a combination of dental metal and ceramics. Porcelain ceramic materials offer the advantage of blending custom tooth shades, making it possible to match your crown to your existing teeth for a natural-looking smile appearance.
If you are missing a tooth, a crown may be combined with a single dental implant to create a replacement tooth that matches your smile.
3D Impression Technology at Georgia Dental Medicine
Our practice is equipped with 3D dental impression technology, so you don't have to worry about goopy putty and messy mouth trays when you come to our Marietta dental office for a crown procedure.
Dr. Chris Anderson uses 3D impression technology to design your crown and communicate with our dental laboratory:
- After getting the tooth and surrounding gum tissue numb with local anesthetic, Dr. Anderson will remove any decay and shape the remaining tooth structure for the crown.
- Using a small camera, the area is scanned into imaging software to create a 3D model of your tooth. Dr. Anderson uses the 3D software tools to customize your crown and add special instructions about the materials, shade and shape requirements of the crown.
- Your design file is sent electronically to our dental laboratory and imported into their production system to fabricate your permanent dental crown.
- After we receive your finished crown, we will schedule you for a brief delivery appointment with Dr. Anderson. You leave our office with a new custom crown that is beautifully harmonized with your smile!
Cosmetic Dental Crowns
Dr. Chris Anderson can completely transform your smile using a combination of custom ceramic crowns and cosmetic dental veneers. Are you interested in making changes to your smile appearance? Learn more about cosmetic dentistry.
What is a dental bridge?
Dr. Chris Anderson may recommend a dental bridge to replace a missing tooth or multiple adjacent missing teeth.
A dental bridge is made up of two or more anchor crowns attached to adjacent existing teeth (abutments) to support a false tooth (pontic) or multiple pontic teeth to close the gap in your smile. A bridge is a ‘fixed’ dental appliance, meaning that it cannot be taken out of the mouth.
Like dental crowns, a bridge can be made of precious or semi-precious metals, porcelain ceramics or a combination of metals and ceramics.
As a restorative and cosmetic dentist, Dr. Chris Anderson customizes a dental bridge in the best material to replace the necessary bite strength of the missing tooth; if the bridge replaces a back molar, it will likely have a metal component to withstand the force of chewing.
If a dental bridge replaces teeth in the front, Dr. Anderson will design your bridge in all-porcelain or with porcelain facing to create natural-looking translucency and shading to compliment your smile.
A dental bridge procedure is similar to a dental crown:
After getting the area numb, Dr. Anderson will shape the abutment teeth and use our digital impression scanner to create a 3D model of your teeth and bite.
Your digital model is sent to our dental laboratory along with specifications to create your custom dental bridge. You leave with a temporary bridge, so you can keep smiling while your permanent bridge is being made.
After we receive your bridge from our dental lab, we will see you for a second appointment. Dr. Anderson will seat your bridge to complete your smile and restore your ability to chew, speak and laugh with confidence.
Root Canal Procedures
We know that the term ‘root canal’ can seem frightful, but root canals actually save teeth. A root canal is a restorative dental procedure that is performed to treat tooth decay and infection that has advanced into the nerve center (pulp chamber) and root ‘canals’ of the tooth. If not treated, the infection can spread into the surrounding gum tissue and bone, and the tooth could require extraction.
During the root canal procedure, a small access opening is made into the crown of the tooth and the infected tissue is removed. After the inside of the tooth is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, it is filled and sealed with medicated material to preserve natural tooth structure and prevent re-infection.
Dr. Chris Anderson provides root canal procedures at Georgia Dental Medicine of Marietta to treat tooth infection and pain. Learn more about root canals.
What is a dental filling?
If a dental cavity develops in a tooth, Dr. Anderson may recommend a filling procedure to eliminate the decay and replace damaged tooth structure.
Dental fillings may be made of tooth-colored dental composite or dental amalgam (‘silver’ fillings). Dental amalgam is still used in some limited applications, but by far, composite dental fillings are more common today.
Dental composite is a combination of resin materials and minerals. It is available in a wide variety of tooth shades that can be matched to natural tooth structure, making the filling barely noticeable in the mouth.
Dental composite (resin) materials are shaped and bonded directly to the tooth, so they usually require less drilling and removal of existing tooth structure than an amalgam filling, which requires undercuts into the natural tooth around the walls of the filling to hold it in place.
Dental amalgam is not truly ‘silver’; instead, it is a combination of metals (silver, tin, copper and others). Most dental amalgam contains liquid mercury, which bonds the metal materials together. The amalgam material is packed into the tooth filling preparation and allowed to harden; the completed filling has a dark silver appearance.
Tooth-Colored Fillings
After Dr. Anderson makes the area around the tooth numb with local dental anesthetic, he will remove the decay from the tooth and shape it for the composite filling. The filling process itself is completed in just a few steps:
- A composite shade is selected to match the tooth.
- The prepared filling area is cleaned and sealed with a dental primer adhesive.
- After the soft composite material is applied and shaped to the tooth, the hardening process is activated by a special dental curing light.
- The composite filling is polished smooth to feel comfortable to the tongue.
Your composite filling can be completed in one visit and the material is fully hardened before you leave. (We do recommend that you wait until dental anesthetic has worn off before eating as a precaution to avoid accidentally biting your tongue or cheek.)
Dental fillings are best suited to repair small areas of tooth damage. If a corner (cusp) of the tooth is cracked or a dental cavity is very deep, Dr. Anderson may recommend a dental crown for greater coverage and protection of the remaining tooth structure.
Schedule a Complete Examination and Consultation with
Marietta Restorative Dentist Dr. Chris Anderson
Are you ready to rebuild your smile? Schedule a New Patient Dental Examination and Consultation appointment with Dr. Anderson at our Georgia Dental Medicine facility in Marietta and get the answers you need to restore your dental health.
“For many years I have told people if they want excellent dentistry, they should make an appointment with Dr. Anderson. His work is perfection, and he knows all of the current treatments. You will be in good hands!”
— Lynn