Difference Between Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry

If, during a checkup, your dentist suggests that your teeth may need to undergo some sort of corrective procedure, it’s understandable you would find this alarming – especially when it’s your child who may need their teeth worked on at such a young age. However, not every procedure is indicative of a larger problem. Here are some of the differences between restorative and cosmetic dentistry for kids.

What Is Restorative Dentistry?

The primary purpose of pediatric restorative dentistry is the rehabilitation of the functional and aesthetic properties of your child’s teeth, while also managing and eliminating oral diseases like decay, cavities, and gum disease. With more extreme cases, restorative dentistry may include surgeries that are necessary to restore or rebuild teeth that have been damaged or compromised by medication, conditions, or injury. The result of any restorative procedure or surgery is the same, however, and that’s to maintain the function of the mouth and ensure your child doesn’t feel pain and discomfort from basic tasks such as eating.

Examples of restorative dentistry include fillings, root canal therapy, inlays, veneers, and dental crowns.

What Is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic dentistry, on the other hand, focuses purely on improving the aesthetic of your smile. For kids with baby teeth and growing adult teeth, this primarily comes in the form of braces and retainers. This sort of dentistry will primarily focus on keeping a person’s teeth straight and properly aligned, as well as whitening to achieve a nice, clean smile. While cosmetics may seem superfluous, this sort of dentistry can be important – especially for young teens who feel self-conscious. A healthy smile will in turn promote greater self-esteem in kids.

Examples of cosmetic dentistry include braces, aligners, dental implants, straightening, teeth whitening, and crowns.

How They Relate

Now that you know the differences between restorative and cosmetic dentistry, how do they relate to each other? As you may have noticed, some of the procedures show overlap between the two types of dentistry. It’s not uncommon for cosmetic dentistry to require restorative procedures first, and while straight teeth give you a better smile, it also has a practical function in that it allows you to speak clearly, breath easily, and eat without discomfort.