When 50 percent or less of a tooth has been lost to damage or tooth decay, it can be rebuilt with a core buildup.  A core buildup offers several advantages to the patient in need of cosmetic dental repair. 

         First, it betters supports remaining tooth surfaces

         It helps the tooth better support and retain a dental crown.

         It protects the sensitive dentin and pulp from the interior surface of the dental crown.

Core buildups have saved millions of teeth that in previous decades would have been labeled hopeless and extracted.  They not only restore tooth functionality, but they make restored tooth look virtually identical to surrounding natural teeth. 

The majority of Houston cosmetic dentists these days prefer to use cosmetic dental boding resin in core buildup procedures.  Cosmetic bonding resin is biofriendly, easy to apply, and has the remarkable ability to match the color of existing teeth.   

There are several steps involved in this procedure.  The first two steps involve putting the patient at ease and ensuring patient safety.  The gums around the tooth are numbed, and the throat is protected by a device called a rubber dam.  This device prevents any dental debris that results from tooth cleaning from falling into the throat and airway. 

After the precautionary measures are taken, the dentist then conducts a thorough examination of the tooth.  The dentist determines how much of the tooth has been damaged, decayed, or lost, and how much of the remaining tooth surface can be salvaged.  A dental handpiece is used to remove plaque and tooth decay and to partially reshape the tooth in anticipation of the core buildup bonding agent. 

To better prepare the tooth surface for a core buildup, the dentist also applies mild etching solution that creates tiny lines in the tooth enamel.  When the cosmetic dental resin comes into contact with these lines, it adheres very quickly to them and bonds to the tooth surface. 

Some kinds of cosmetic dental resin harden almost instantaneously.  Others require the application of a special light to harden. Once the material hardens, the dentist again refinishes the surface of the tooth and takes impressions of the patients teeth.  A model is made of the patients mouth.  This model is sent to a dental laboratory so that a crown can be fashioned for the new core buildup.

In the meantime, the dentist completes the first appointment by placing a temporary crown over the tooth.  This protects the core buildup while the patient waits for the lab to finish making his or her crown.  It normally takes 10 days to 3 weeks for the lab to finish.  

When the crown is ready, the patient will be called back to the dental office to have it fitted to the tooth.  The dentist will first fit it without cementing it and check to make sure it is even with the alignment and the bite of natural teeth.  If no changes need to be made the dentist will go ahead and use cosmetic resin or dental cement to permanently bond the crown to the tooth.