Dental Crowns and Bridges | Restorative Dentistry
Restorative dentistry crowns bridges is the term dental professionals use to explain how they replace missing or affected teeth. Fillings, crowns (“caps”), bridges, and implants are common restorative procedures. The goal is to bring back your natural smile and prevent future oral health issues. Dental crowns and bridges help patients with keeping their teeth properly aligned, preventing plaque buildup, and boosting their appearance and self-esteem.
Dental Crowns
A dental crown is a custom-made cover that fits over an original tooth that has either been decayed, damaged, or cracked, and is used to fully cover a portion of tooth that lies above the gumline. If you are wondering what is a dental crown, it is a restoration used when a crown covers decayed or cracked tooth structure to protect and restore function. Dental crowns are made from a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin, or a mix of these materials. Options may include porcelain dental crowns, gold dental crowns, ceramic dental crowns, zirconia dental crowns, or tooth colored crowns. Porcelain generally has the most natural appearance, although it is often less durable.
Most crowns nowadays are made with a white-based ceramic, and Zirconia ceramic has been reported to have the highest level of mechanical properties. Zirconia bases can be used with a porcelain outer layer to deliver great esthetic outcomes. If you are searching for dental crowns near me or need a dental crown appointment, our team can walk you through the process. The treatment plan for a crown involves:
- Numbing your tooth to remove any decay
- Sculpturing your tooth to provide an ideal fit for a dental crown, also known as tooth preparation for crown
- Making an impression of your teeth in order to create a custom-made crown, also known as the dental crown impression process (usually takes 1-2-weeks)
- Making a temporary crown out of acrylic resin and fitting it onto your affected tooth, which is the temporary crown placement stage
- Applying the custom-made crown by removing the temporary crown
- After ensuring the crown has the proper look and fit, our dentist cements it into place, completing the permanent crown cementation
This step by step dental crown procedure generally consists of 2-3-visits over a 3-4-week period. If you are wondering how many visits for a dental crown, this timeline can vary depending on your needs. Once the tooth crown procedure is completed, proper dental hygiene, including daily brushing and flossing, is required to maintain healthy, bacteria-free teeth, gums, and crowns. This supports crown and bridge oral hygiene maintenance and helps in the prevention of gum disease. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime. During your visit, we can also answer questions such as how do dental crowns work, how long do dental crowns last, what to expect during crown treatment, and how dental crowns restore damaged teeth.
Dental Bridges
A dental bridge is a permanent appliance that replaces a missing tooth or missing teeth, and are an alternative to partial dentures. If you are wondering what is a dental bridge, it is a restoration designed to replace missing teeth with bridge support. Dental bridges are made up of several pieces that are fused together to fit into the open space where your tooth or teeth used to be. A bridge fills gap from missing teeth and serves both practical and aesthetic purposes, enabling you to eat and speak as well as restoring your smile.
The bridge itself can be made of several different types of material, including gold, alloys, or porcelain. Porcelain dental bridges are often used when replacing a front tooth because they can be matched to your natural tooth color. If you are searching for dental bridges near me or a crown and bridge dentist, our team can help determine whether crown and bridge treatment is right for you.
The artificial teeth used in dental bridges are called pontics. If you are wondering what are pontics in dental bridges, you will have a pontic for each missing tooth, created to be close in shape and size to the missing one(s). Pontics replace missing teeth and are anchored to a tooth or teeth next to the gap, called abutment teeth, or to a dental implant. Abutment teeth support dental bridge restorations and help keep the bridge stable.
Traditional Fixed Bridge | This is the most common type of bridge. It includes a crown on either side of the pontic(s).
Resin-Bonded Bridge | This is often used to replace front teeth. Instead of crowns, it uses porcelain or metal frameworks with "wings" that are bonded to the back of your teeth on either side of the gap.
Implant-Supported Bridge | An implant for each missing tooth is surgically embedded into your jawbone, in one procedure. The bridge, which contains the pontics, is placed over them in a later procedure.
Cantilever Bridge | When only one side of the gap contains a natural tooth, the pontic(s) are anchored by a single crown on that natural tooth.
During your visit, we can explain the dental bridge placement procedure, how do dental bridges replace missing teeth, how dental bridges fill missing tooth gaps, and what is the difference between crown and bridge. We can also answer common questions such as are dental bridges permanent, how long do dental bridges last, and how to care for dental crowns and bridges.