Crowns and Bridges

Crowns and bridges, they are beautiful lifelike restorations that no one else can even tell are not your own natural teeth. Sometimes a patient needs dental work beyond preventative care. He or she needs a restoration. Two common types of restorative procedures are crowns and bridges. Here, we will discuss why you or someone else in your family might need a crown or a bridge and how each works to restore a healthy beautiful smile.

Dental crowns are an effective option to:

Provide strength and integrity to a tooth which has had a root canal.
Repair a fractured tooth.
Restore a tooth that is weakened by decay.
Replace a missing tooth as the final step in a dental implant.
Disguise a misshapen or discolored tooth.
Replace a large filling which has been removed.
Anchor a bridge to replace one or more lost teeth.

By attaching porcelain crowns with composite bonding material, we can assure restorations which are strong and long-lasting. As opposed to crowns that are cemented into place, bonded crowns have a higher likelihood of staying in position much longer. The use of porcelain means that our patients will not display in their smile a dark line where the crown meets the gums, as is often seen with porcelain fused to metal crowns.

Dental bridges are used to replace a missing tooth or teeth. They are not removable and feel exactly like your own teeth. It is an important procedure because missing teeth pose substantial risk to the patient. Living with missing teeth may result in gum disease or even TMD (temporomandibular joint disorders) if the bite is significantly misaligned. Additionally, a person with gaps usually tends to cover the mouth when speaking or laughing, and tries not to smile. That individual’s confidence certainly takes a beating.

A dental bridge contains an artificial tooth (or teeth) to fill the gap in the mouth. This tooth, called a pontic, is attached to anchors or abutments on the teeth on either side of the space. These adjacent teeth are crowned. So, a bridge involves a minimum of three teeth, but will indeed restore appearance and function.