What Minimally Invasive Dentistry Means to You
In comparison to regular dental treatments, minimally invasive dentistry aims to rebuild the smile without losing too much of the natural structure.
Here at Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento, Dr Michelle Enmark focuses the majority of her out-of-office energy on artistry, design and creation – essentially providing her with a few of the fundamental tools and skills needed for practicing minimally invasive dental care.
The following article explains some of more general questions that patients ask about minimally invasive dentistry.
What’s the difference between regular dental treatments and minimally invasive treatment?
When comparing regular dentistry with minimally invasive dentistry (MID), it is generally said that MID is more focused on preventing further damage and then restoring the tooth, whereas regular dentistry is more focused just simply restoring the tooth.
Often times in regular dental treatments, the practitioner may remove more of the tooth’s structure than necessary which means the tooth will require a greater restoration.
Rather than further damaging the tooth structure, minimally invasive dentistry uses precision and skill to remove only the decay and debris from the tooth so the tooth has a greater chance of being restored without needing a crown.
Why would a crown not always be the best restoration option?
Although crowns provide a sturdy restoration for teeth that have suffered severe decay, they may not always be necessary. When a tooth is prepared for a crown, it requires the loss of most of the tooth’s external structure. This is why the restoration is called a crown – because it literally replaces the entire crown on a tooth.
Depending on the extent of damage that the tooth has suffered, by undergoing minimally invasive treatment, it may be possible to restore the tooth using an inlay or an onlay. These are restorations that are used when the tooth is damaged beyond the repair of a filling but are not necessarily as damaged enough to require a crown.
So how does the treatment work?
Each treatment is different from patient to patient but mainly MID has two main focuses:
1. Prevention
MID primarily works to find the main cause behind the tooth’s damage first. This way Dr. Crooks can ensure a similar problem will not likely occur in the future. After the problem is isolated, the affected area will be carefully treated without causing excess damage to the tooth’s structure.
2. Remineralisation
After the affected area is treated, Dr. Crooks will develop the best and minimally invasive method possible for restoring the tooth to full functionality and appearance.
Each individual case differs from patient to patient. To find out more about minimally invasive dentistry and how Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento can help restore your smile without overly damaging the tooth’s natural structure, book a consultation with us today.
