Dental Crowns and Dental Bridges

Bridges

All of your teeth play an important role in speaking, chewing, and maintaining proper alignment of other teeth. Tooth loss doesn’t necessarily have to occur as you age. But if you do lose teeth, they must be replaced to maintain proper function of your mouth. Fortunately, there are options for correcting tooth loss.

Options

A bridge a device used to replace missing teeth attaches artificial teeth to adjacent natural teeth, called abutment teeth. Bridges are either permanently attached (fixed bridges) or they can be removable.

Fixed bridges are applied by either placing crowns on the abutment teeth or by bonding the artificial teeth directly to the abutment teeth. Removable bridges are attached to the teeth with metal clasps or by precision attachments.

If you’re missing one or more teeth, you may be aware of their importance to your appearance and dental health. Your teeth work together for many daily functions from eating to speaking. With missing teeth, it’s difficult to do these things. Missing teeth can and should be replaced. Fixed bridges are a great way to restore your dental health and appearance.

What Is A Bridge/Fixed Partial Denture?

A bridge (fixed partial denture) is a device that fills the gap where teeth are absent. Fixed bridges are bonded into place and can only be removed by a dental professional. Removable bridges, as the name implies, can be taken out and cleaned. Fixed bridges offer more stability than their removable counterparts.

Why Do I Need A Bridge?

Oral functionality and appearance are important reasons for wearing a bridge. A bridge helps support your lips and cheeks. The loss of a back tooth may cause your mouth to sink and your face to look older.

Dental health is the most important reason for a bridge. Teeth were designed to complement each other. Unusual stresses are placed on the gums and other oral tissues when teeth are missing, causing a number of potentially harmful disorders.

Increased risk of gum disease has proven to be one of the worst side effects of missing teeth and can be minimized with a bridge.

Missing teeth can cause speech disorders as they are used to make many of the sounds we use to speak clearly.

How Is A Bridge Attached?

The attachment procedure usually takes two or three appointments to complete. At the first appointment, Dr. Hudson will prepare the teeth on either side of the gap by removing a portion of the enamel and dentin.

Since the bridge must be fabricated very precisely to ensure correct bite and to match the opposing tooth, impressions of the teeth are taken and sent to the lab where the bridge will be constructed.

Fixed bridges are typically cemented to the natural teeth next to the space left by the missing tooth. A pontic (false tooth) replaces the lost tooth. Crowns, which are cemented onto the natural teeth, provide support for the bridge.

What Materials Are Used?

Bridges can be constructed from gold alloys, precious alloys, porcelain, or a combination of these materials. Porcelain is often bonded to a metal substructure, made to look like natural teeth.

How Do I Take Care Of My Bridge?

A strict regimen of brushing and flossing will keep the bridge and surrounding teeth clean. This is of critical importance since the bridge relies on the neighboring teeth for support.

Crowns

Most dentistry looks like dentistry. Our goal is to provide dentistry that is undetectable. We replace existing crowns and fillings with restorations that look and feel like your natural teeth.

Where damage to a person’s teeth is extreme and apparently beyond repair, we can use porcelain or porcelain fused to gold crowns to make the smile appear “as new”. This is an extremely reliable technique for repairing the most severe dental problems, even permanently replacing missing teeth to offer a complete smile and a functional bite. We are renowned for the quality of our work and the fantastic changes we make for people using this technology. These treatments are used for a long-lasting correction of major dental problems. It is usual for these treatments to last for 20 to 30 years, which is as close to permanent as dental treatment can get.

How Long Does It Take?

Fitting a crown requires at least two office visits. Initially, we will remove decay, shape the tooth, and fit it with a temporary crown of either plastic or metal.

On the subsequent visit, we will remove the temporary crown, and then fit and adjust the final crown. Finally, we will cement the crown into place and you have a new beautiful looking tooth.

Key Benefits

• Replaces missing teeth
• Offers support to misshapen teeth or badly broken teeth
• Provides for a natural aesthetic
• Fixes “smile” and functional chewing problems.

What Is The Capability Of A Crown?

Crown and bridgework is a very reliable solution for major dental problems caused through accidents, diseases, or wear and tear. Major problems can usually be corrected using these techniques. Materials used in these repairs are either high-grade porcelain or porcelain bonded to gold. The higher strength of the porcelain and gold materials is recommended to treat the most serious of dental problems. Where accidental damage has occurred resulting in lost teeth, or teeth have broken away through excessive wear, or as the result of old fillings breaking, crowns and/or bridges can be used as a long-term solution.

Many people have unexplained pain from filled back teeth that is usually due to hairline cracks in the chewing part of the tooth. Placing crowns on these teeth relieves the pain and allows a return of full dental function for these teeth. In front teeth, older fillings can both weaken the teeth and cause appearance problems due to staining or chipping. Porcelain crowns and bridges are suitable in cases where porcelain veneers are not. In teeth with root canal fillings, crowns can prevent breakage.