Restorations

What are Crowns and Bridges?

Both crowns and bridges are fixed prosthetic devices. Unlike removable devices such as dentures, partials which you can take out and clean daily, crowns and bridges are cemented onto existing teeth or implants, and can only be removed by a dentist.

A crown is used to entirely cover or “cap” a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can be used to improve its appearance, shape, or alignment. A crown can also be placed on top of an implant to provide a tooth-like shape and structure for function. Porcelain or Ceramic crowns can be matched to the color of your natural teeth.

Porcelain fused to Metal Crowns also known as PFM: have gold and metal alloys and porcelain materials. The first step to this process is to prepare the tooth for a crown, take impressions and fabricate a temporary crown. Your impressions will then go to the lab to be created and it usually takes two weeks for the lab to complete. You would wear a temporary crown until we received the completed crown. The second step would be to seat your permanent crown. This type of crown takes two appointments to complete.

Bridges: May be recommended if you’re missing one or more teeth. Gaps left by missing teeth eventually cause the remaining teeth to rotate or shift into the empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance caused by missing teeth can also lead to gum disease and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders.

Fillings: We recommend composite resin fillings. These fillings will bond to the inside of your tooth providing a long lasting restoration, also helping to hold the tooth together. These do not allow leakage around the margins like the standard amalgam (silver) fillings do. They are tooth colored which we match to your natural teeth, making them look like you never had a cavity.