Crowns and bridges improve one’s smile. Crowns are also made used by dentists. bridge treatment is preferred by a lot of people.
Crowns as well as bridges do improve one’s appearance and also make a person feel more confident about his or her smile.
Dental Crowns and Tooth Bridges
Both crowns as well as most bridges are indeed fixed prosthetic devices. Unlike removable devices such as, which a person can take out and also clean daily, crowns as well as bridges are rather cemented onto existing teeth or even perhaps implants, and can only be removed by a dentist.
More about Crowns
Cover or “cap” a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can of course be made use of to improve its appearance, shape, or even perhaps alignment. A crown can also be placed on top of an implant to provide a tooth-like shape as well as a structure for function. Porcelain or even ceramic crowns can be matched to the color of one’s natural teeth. Other materials do include gold as well as metal alloys, acrylic, and also ceramic. These alloys are usually stronger than porcelain and may be recommended for back teeth. Porcelain bonded to a given metal shell is often made used as it is both strong as well as attractive.
The dentist may recommend a crown to:
- Replacing a large filling when there is not sufficient tooth remaining
- Protecting a weak tooth from fracturing
- Restoring a fractured tooth
- Attaching a bridge
- Covering a dental implant
- Covering a discolored or poorly shaped tooth
- Covering a tooth that has had root canal treatment
How do Bridges Work?
A bridge may indeed be recommended if a person is missing one or even more teeth. Gaps left by missing teeth do eventually cause the remaining teeth to rather rotate or shift into empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance thus caused by missing teeth can also indeed lead to gum disease as well as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
Bridges are commonly made use of to replace one or more missing teeth. They do span the space where the teeth are missing. Bridges are rather cemented to the natural teeth or even implants surrounding the space. These teeth, known as abutments, do act as anchors for the bridge. A replacement tooth, referred to as pontic, is indeed attached to the crowns that cover the abutments. As with crowns, a person has the choice of materials for bridges. One’s dentist can help a person decide which to use, based on the location of one’s missing tooth (or teeth), its function, aesthetic considerations as well as cost. Porcelain or perhaps ceramic bridges can be matched to the color of one’s natural teeth.
Preparation of Crowns and Bridges
Before either a crown or a bridge can indeed be made, the tooth (or teeth) need to be reduced in size so that the crown or bridge will fit over it properly. After reducing the tooth or rather teeth, the dentist will then take an impression to provide an exact mold for the crown or bridge. If porcelain is to be made use of, the dentist will determine the correct shade for the crown or bridge to match the color of one’s existing teeth.
Making use of this impression, a dental lab then prepares to make one’s crown or bridge, in the material the dentist specifies. A temporary crown or bridge will then be placed to cover the prepared tooth while the permanent crown or bridge is being made. When the permanent crown or bridge is prepared, the temporary crown or bridge is rather removed, and the new crown or bridge is then cemented over the prepared tooth or teeth.
How Long Do Crowns and Bridges Last?
While crowns and bridges can indeed last a lifetime, they do sometimes come loose or fall out.
Keeping the gums in good shape is important. Regular dental hygiene does need to be taken care of. Thus the process of bridge treatment is indeed very professional.