Dental Crowns & Bridge
Dental Crowns are the most benificial way to rebuild a damaged tooth, which not only help improve the aesthetic funtion of the tooth but the overall health of your mouth. A crown can be built into a Bridge providing the option to replace a missing tooth.
Dental Crown
Dental crowns, often referred to as 'dental caps' or 'tooth caps' are typically used in dental restoration to repair teeth that sit above the gum line but have been broken, significantly worn away, or destroyed by decay. A wide variety of dental crowns are available ranging from naturally looking porcelain or gold alloy. A successful crown fitting can be expected to last trouble free for in excess of 10 years or longer.
When do you need a Crown?
- To strengthen a decayed, cracked or broken tooth.
- To protect a tooth that"s at risk for cracking. This measure helps to prevent problems such as pain and/or the need for a root canal.
- To improve the appearance of the tooth.
- To improve the cleansibility of a tooth.
- After a tooth has root canal therapy.
Types of Crowns
- metal-fused-to-porcelain.
- gold-fused-to-porcelain.
- porcelain jacket crown.
- circonia-base crown (CERCON and PROCERA).
Dental Crown Treatment Procedure
Before placing a crown, our general dentist uses a local anesthetic on the affected tooth and surrounding gums. The dentist then will reshape the existing tooth to provide a basis for accepting the new crown. A dental technician will craft the new crown from dental impressions provided by the dentist so that a perfect match can be made to fit with existing teeth. The dentist will then cement the new crown to the donor tooth and dress, clean and polish to match adjacent teeth. The procedure is generally completed with 2 visits to the clinic with a week in between for the new crowns to be made.
Dental Bridge
There are various forms of dental bridge of which two main types are discussed:
The traditional fixed bridge, is a procedure used to replace one or more missing teeth. A false tooth is fused between two porcelain crowns to fill in the area left by a missing tooth. The two crowns fused to the false tooth are attached to the teeth at either side of the gap created by the missing tooth. Fixed bridges are permanent and cannot be removed from the mouth like partial dentures.
The cantilever bridge, is used where there may be only one tooth from which to anchor the bridge. Typically, these can only be applied where the bridge has to endure minimal stress. Successfully fitted dental bridges can be expected to last in excess of 10 years.
A dental bridge helps to "bridge the gap" created by a missing tooth or teeth. Gaps in the mouth can adversely affect both chewing function and the appearance of your smile. With a bridge placed by our general dentist, your mouth can be restored to its full functioning ability and look completely healthy again.
Crowns and artificial teeth are the main components of a dental bridge. Our dentist begins treatment by reshaping the teeth on either side of the affected area. She then creates crowns to fit them. One or more artificial teeth are inserted between these crowns to replace those that are missing. This dental bridge effectively bridges the gap caused by missing teeth. Once the bridge is placed, the dental specialist cements it firmly to the crowns on either side, giving you a strong, full set of natural-looking teeth.
The estimated durration for a Bridge treatment is around 5-6 working days.