Dental Crowns and Bridges
Crowns
In its most basic sense, a Crown is a restoration that is placed over the affected tooth to amend its shape, size or strength. They cap or completely cover a tooth and may be used for aesthetic or functional reasons.
Crowns are quite often used to strengthen teeth that have had root canal treatment as these teeth are more brittle and likely to fracture. They may also be used to repair the following oral conditions; excessive grinding of teeth or an improper bite; an irritable large filling; inadequate oral hygiene or ageing teeth. Today, thanks to the latest advancements in Cosmetic Dentistry, Porcelain Crowns are now an effective aesthetically pleasing option.
Bridges
A Bridge is essentially a device anchored to surrounding teeth that replaces one or more existing teeth. When a lost tooth is replaced with cemented bridgework, the teeth on either side of the missing one must be prepared as crowns to serve as abutments, to hold the bridge in place. This procedure usually takes from two to three appointments to complete.
Bridges are a long term solution that can help prevent the cycle of problems that occur when just one tooth is missing, such as shifting and drifting of remaining teeth, decay and periodontal bone loss.