What is a crown?
The crown of the tooth is that part which is visible in the mouth. An artificial crown is used to protect and restore a broken, weakened or heavily filled tooth. They are also used to improve the appearance of discoloured or crooked teeth.
Crowns are made of many different materials including metals and ceramics.
What will my dentist do?
- The dentist will shape the tooth so that, when the artificial crown is fitted, it will be the same size and shape as a normal tooth. This is called a crown prep and takes approx. 1 hour 15mins.
- If the tooth has died or there isn’t enough to support the crown it may have to be root-filled first-this is sometimes called core treatment. The crown is sometimes held in place by a peg or post in the root canal if a lot of tooth is missing.
- You will be asked to bite into soft putty-like material, so that the dentist can take an impression of your teeth.
- A temporary crown made of plastic or metal is put over the tooth until your permanent crown has been made.
- A dental technician at a laboratory uses the impression to make the crown.
- Your dentist will see you approx. two weeks after your crown prep. He will remove the temporary and fit the lab-made crown, making small adjustments if necessary. When it is fitting comfortably, the dentist will cement the crown into place. This is your crown fit appointment and takes approx. 30mins.
What are the benefits?
- A crown is strong and can look and feel exactly like a natural tooth. The colour and shape can be matched to your own teeth.
- Depending on the strength of the tooth underneath, a crown can last for many years if you look after your mouth and teeth and the crown is not accidentally damaged.
- Crowns can also improve your appearance.
What is a bridge?
A bridge fixes a replacement tooth (or teeth) to the natural teeth either side of the gap. Some bridges have crowns at each end. Others are fixed to the surface of the teeth next to the gap. Sometimes a bridge is only fixed to the tooth on one side of the gap.
Bridges are made of metal and porcelain or sometimes just porcelain.
What will my dentist do?
- The dentist takes an impression of your mouth using a soft putty-like material. These are sent off to a lab where a dentald technician makes exact plaster moulds of your upper and lower teeth and gums, which will show how your teeth bite together.
- The teeth that will support the bridge are then prepared to take the fixings and to make sure that the bridge is not too bulky.
- Another impression is taken, from which the dental technician will make the bridge. Meanwhile your dentist will make and fit a temporary bridge.
- At your final visit, your dentist will remove the temporary bridge andcheck the new bridge fits. It will be fixed permanently in place and your dentist will show you how to keep your new bridge clean.
What are the benefits?
- A bridge lets you almost forget that you have missing teeth.
- It can improve the way you look, bite, chew and speak.
- The bridge can be matched to the colour of your own teeth.
- A bidge can last many years, if you keep it clean and if there is no accidental damage.
- Natural teeth are protected from wear and tear, and from moving or tilting out of line which could cause your teeth to bite together incorrectly.
If you do not want a bridge, you can have a removable partial denture. Your dentist will explain how successful a bridge will be. If the supporting teeth are not strong enough, a denture might be better. If you have just had some teeth extracted, a denture might be made first, with a bridge fitted later when the gum has healed.