Crowns and Bridges
A crown is a tooth shaped ‘cap’ that is placed over a tooth which has been prepared by your dentist, to restore the shape, size, strength and improve aesthetics.
A crown may be needed in the following situations:
- To protect a weak tooth from breaking or hold together a cracked tooth.
- To restore an already broken tooth or tooth that is severely worn.
- To cover and support tooth with a large filling when there isn’t a lot of tooth left.
- To cover misshaped or severely discoloured teeth.
- To make a cosmetic modification.
- To cover a dental implant
- To strengthen a tooth after root canal.
The pictures describe the types of crowns and the differences between them.
A bridge is a fixed replacement for a missing tooth that relies on either one or more of your remaining teeth, or one or more implants.
If you feel a crown or bridge may be the correct option for your mouth please come and see us, we can discuss what is best for you.
Types of crown:
Advantages- Strong, long lasting, less damage to remaining tooth, similar hardness to enamel. Disadvantages- Poor aesthetics
Advantages - Fairly strong, tooth coloured, affordable Disadvantages- Can become unsightly over time, greater tooth removal required, weaker
Advantages- tooth coloured, as strong as metal, little tooth removal required, lower cost Disadvantages- lower aesthetics than layered porcelains, can wear natural teeth over time
Advantages- Most Aesthetic option, fully biocompatible, hand crafted aesthetics Disadvantages- most expensive, more tooth removal required