In short
Restorative dentistry is the repair and rebuilding of teeth that are decayed, cracked, worn down or missing, using tooth colored composite fillings, porcelain crowns, implant crowns and, where wear is widespread, a full mouth restoration. At Form + Function Dental Aesthetics in Las Vegas, Dr. Kevin Tan is a restorative and airway focused dentist, so before he rebuilds a tooth he looks for the reason it failed: decay, a bite that loads that tooth harder than the rest, or night time clenching that is frequently linked to a narrow airway. The practice performs fillings, crowns, safe silver amalgam removal and replacement, implant crowns and full mouth restoration in house, and refers oral surgery, implant placement, root canal treatment and periodontal surgery to trusted local specialists.
Restorative dentistry is the work of rebuilding teeth that have been damaged, worn down, broken or lost. It covers tooth colored composite fillings, porcelain crowns, the safe removal and replacement of old silver amalgam fillings, implant crowns, and full mouth restoration when wear has spread across the whole bite. At Form + Function Dental Aesthetics in Las Vegas, all of it is done by Dr. Kevin Tan in one studio in Summerlin, one patient at a time.
A tooth does not break for no reason. It breaks because something broke it: decay that hollowed it out from the inside, an old filling that has been flexing for years, a bite that loads one tooth harder than the rest, or hours of clenching every night that you sleep straight through. Dr. Kevin is a restorative and airway focused dentist, and those two halves of his work are not separate. Before he rebuilds anything, he wants to know why the tooth failed.
Porcelain is strong and modern bonding is strong, but nothing we place is stronger than the force that damaged the tooth. Rebuild the tooth and leave the cause in place, and the new restoration inherits the load that broke the old one.
Why restorative dentistry starts with the cause, not the crown
Worn, cracked and chipped teeth are frequently a bite problem, and a bite problem is frequently a breathing problem. When the airway narrows during sleep, the body works to reopen it, and clenching and grinding are often part of how it does that. What shows up in the mouth is flattened back teeth, chipped front edges, fine cracks through enamel, gum recession, and restorations that keep loosening or fracturing.
Dr. Kevin knows this from the inside. He was an elite athlete who could not get enough oxygen, and the cause turned out to be a narrow dental and skeletal airway rather than anything to do with fitness. He completed the Kois Center's curriculum, and he looks at how the whole system loads before he rebuilds any part of it.
So a plan here may include the restorations and also the reason they became necessary: a custom orthotic or a night guard, jaw repositioning, or an oral appliance for obstructive sleep apnea, coordinated with a sleep physician, since the medical diagnosis belongs to a physician. Dr. Kevin will tell you at your consultation which of those apply to you.
Why do my teeth keep chipping and cracking?
Usually because of how they meet each other, not because they are weak. Teeth give way to other teeth, under pressure, repeated thousands of times while you sleep. The signs that force rather than decay is doing the damage look like this.
- Flat, polished, shortened chewing surfaces on the back teeth
- Small chips along the biting edges of the front teeth
- Fine vertical lines in the enamel that catch the light
- Fillings, crowns or veneers that come loose or fracture more than once
- Teeth that ache or turn sensitive to cold with no cavity to explain it
- A jaw that feels tight in the morning, or headaches at the temples
- Snoring, waking unrefreshed, or a partner who has heard you grinding
None of these is a diagnosis on its own. Together they are the pattern Dr. Kevin looks for, and the reason an appointment here begins with how your teeth come together rather than with a drill.
How restorative dentistry is done at Form + Function
Records come first. Low dose digital X-rays show what is happening inside and beneath each tooth. Our large view CBCT produces a full 3D image from head to neck, so Dr. Kevin can see bone levels, the jaw joints, the sinuses and the airway itself rather than inferring them from a flat picture. A digital intraoral scanner captures your teeth and your bite with no impression material.
Shade matching is done in the room, in daylight. A tooth is never one color. It shifts from the gum line to the edge, and the light you choose the shade under decides whether the finished restoration disappears or announces itself. Dr. Kevin designed this studio and its rooms himself, and that is one of the reasons why.
using tooth colored composite fillings, porcelain crowns and implant crowns, and where wear has spread across the whole bite, a plan that rebuilds those teeth together rather than one at a time
- Tooth colored composite fillings, bonded directly to the tooth, for decay and small fractures
- Porcelain crowns, for teeth that have lost too much structure to hold a filling safely
- Safe removal of old silver amalgam fillings, using protocols designed to minimize exposure, and replacement in tooth colored material
- Implant crowns and the restorative side of implant treatment, once the implant is in place
- Full mouth restoration, where wear is generalized and the bite is rebuilt as one plan rather than tooth by tooth
- Custom orthotics and night guards to protect what has been rebuilt
Every instrument that touches you is sterilized to hospital grade standards and individually tracked and packaged. If your case calls for oral surgery, the surgical placement of an implant fixture, root canal treatment by an endodontist, or periodontal surgery, a trusted specialist in our network handles that part and Dr. Kevin restores the tooth afterward.
How long will a crown or a filling last?
That depends on the tooth, the material, your daily care and, above all, on whether the force that damaged the tooth has been addressed. A well made porcelain crown on a tooth with a settled bite and a protected night time routine can serve for many years. The same crown on a tooth that is clenched on every night is working against a shorter clock, nobody can honestly tell you how much shorter, and we do not guarantee a lifespan.
What we can do is tell you in advance what we think is happening, what we would do about it, what the result depends on, and what it looks like if you wait.
What does restorative dentistry cost in Las Vegas, and will insurance cover it?
We will not quote a number before we have seen your teeth. The honest answer depends on how many teeth are involved, how much structure is left in each one, the material chosen, and whether the bite has to be rebuilt as a whole. What we will do is put the full cost in writing before treatment begins.
We accept most PPO dental insurance plans and are in network with a select few. Our team will help you read what your plan is likely to do, though only your insurer can confirm coverage. Payment plans and third party financing are reviewed at the consultation. Cosmetic consultations are $50. Appointments canceled or rescheduled with less than 24 hours notice are subject to a $50 fee, because one patient is seen at a time and that time cannot be given to anyone else.
Your first visit is unhurried. About two hours are reserved for every new patient, and you are seen start to finish without being moved between rooms. Dr. Kevin examines your teeth, gums, bite and jaw joints, screens for oral cancer, takes the images your case calls for, then explains what he found and what he thinks caused it. Eye patches, Apple AirPods Max headphones, aromatherapy, a medical grade weighted blanket and Evian or San Pellegrino come with every appointment at no charge. The studio is at 4205 S. Grand Canyon Dr. #19 in Summerlin, next to Target at the Grand Canyon Shoppes, open Monday through Thursday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, with same day appointments held open for dental emergencies.
