Cosmetic Dentistry, Preventative Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry: What’s the Difference?

In this article, we will be exploring the differences between three different types of dentistry: cosmetic dentistry, preventative dentistry, and restorative dentistry. As we’ll see, they are all inter-related and a quality Central Coast dental clinic will offer all three types of dentistry to ensure your oral health and boost your wellbeing.

What is cosmetic dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry is the branch of dentistry which focuses on helping people to improve the appearance of their teeth. It includes treatments such as teeth whitening at your local teeth whitening dentist, dental crowns, and dental veneers.

Cosmetic dentistry at a dental clinic can help a client to improve their confidence. It can restore teeth that are discoloured, cracked, misshapen, missing or misaligned.

What is preventative dentistry?

Preventative dentistry is the branch of dentistry that focuses on keeping your natural teeth and gums healthy for longer. It includes aspect of dentistry such as dental hygiene cleaning, tailored dental advice, and your dental check-up and clean.

It also helps to stop issues in their tracks, such as gum disease and teeth discolouration, and to stop others from ever happening. For example, if you grind your teeth, a night guard to protect them would be a type of preventative dentistry. A dentist-designed mouthguard for sports is another example.

What is restorative dentistry?

It is the branch of dentistry at your local emergency dentist that restores damaged teeth to their normal or intended function. It is not about how teeth look, but rather about how they work. Restorative dentistry procedures include those that help a person to bite and chew, and also which help to reverse or overcome existing damage, such as gum disease or periodontitis.

Examples of restorative dentistry include dental crowns or dental implants, and also orthodontic dental that helps to straighten the teeth into their correct alignment. It may also focus on tooth pain, and therefore may include a root canal treatment or similar at your dentist.

How are all three types interrelated?

Certain procedures have cosmetic, preventative and restorative benefits. For example, a dental implant at your dentist will improve the appearance of your teeth, restore their function for biting and chewing, and prevent the gums from being affected and the other teeth from shifting.

By undertaking preventative dentistry early before problems arise, a person may be able to avoid certain cosmetic and restorative dentistry procedures by keeping the natural teeth in healthy condition. If an issue arises and needs to be fixed, the solution will often have both functional and cosmetic benefits. For example, a dental crown allows a person to chew, while also restoring the appearance of their natural teeth.