Crowns & Bridges
Crowns and bridges are methods of restorative dentistry that are cemented onto your teeth or dental implants to help fix your smile. Crowns are incredibly versatile and can be used to repair a tooth when it needs a filling that is too large, protect a tooth that is weak or fractured, restore a tooth that has been broken cap off a dental implant, cover a tooth after root canal treatment, or attach a dental bridge.
To place a crown on a tooth, the tooth must first be shaved down. We will also take impressions of your remaining, healthy teeth and craft a crown that looks similar to them. This will keep your smile looking healthy and natural, and will make the crown almost undetectable. When the final crown is complete, we will bond it to your tooth with resin or permanent cement.
Crowns offer many benefits. They can restore the size, shape, health, color, and look of a tooth. They can also help keep your bite aligned. A dental bridge, on the other hand, is used solely for the replacement of missing teeth. It is made up of crowns on either side of the missing tooth that anchor the replacement tooth (called a pontic). Bridges can restore your smile and help you to speak and chew just like normal. They can also help to combat any “sunken face” look that you may develop as a result of missing teeth.
Just like your natural teeth, crowns and bridges need to be maintained with proper dental care. After you have had a crown or a bridge placed, it is important to continue to brush and floss regularly and come to see us for semi-annual hygiene appointments. This will help to cut down on the buildup of plaque and to help keep your crown and bridge work healthy.
If you are missing a tooth, and want to explore a dental bridge as a replacement option or think that one of your teeth could benefit from a dental crown, make an appointment to see us right away. With these restorative dentistry options, we will have your beautiful smile back in no time.