Crowns and BridgesDo crowns look false? See our natural appearance section here. A Crown is placed over a badly damaged tooth in order to reinforce it from fracturing or for aesthetic reasons. It is like a tooth shaped thimble which is custom made to fit over your prepared tooth. A crown can be made from gold. ceramic or a combination of both. Crowns are strong and aesthetic. It is often the only way to save badly damaged teeth and is recommended for most root canal treated teeth. Your tooth may need to be built up to grip a crown using a large filling or a post and core restoration. The final fit and aesthetics of your crown will be a combination of careful planning, preparation and cooperation with a high quality dental laboratory. You may be asked to visit the laboratory to allow shade matching of your new crown to you existing teeth. Depending on your case, bleaching should be completed before new crowns are constructed. A temporary crown is provided while your final crown is being made. A quality lab will usually require 2-6 week to custom fabricate your final crown. If a tooth is missing it can be replaced by a bridge. This is where a false tooth (pontic) is placed in the space of the missing tooth and is supported on one or both ends by crowns (conventional) or metal wings (Maryland bridge). A bridge is not removable and is better than a denture, however bridgework is often inadvisable for long spans of missing teeth or if the supporting teeth are compromised. A bridge may be chosen over a dental implant depending on clinical conditions. This will be discussed at your consultation. You have to floss under bridgework to maintain gum health. Crowns and bridges are placed on prepared teeth or dental implants.           |
