Natural teeth can become damaged through tooth decay or trauma. Sometimes they can be restored, but other times they may need to be removed entirely.
It is important to repair or replace damaged and missing teeth as soon as possible. Two frequently used solutions are dental crowns and dental bridges. Both are permanent solutions, so they will remain fixed in place and can only be removed by a dentist in Newcastle. However, each works differently.
Dental Crown
A dental crown is sometimes called a cap because it covers or ‘caps’ a damaged or decayed tooth. The natural tooth underneath is entirely covered, right down to the gum line, so it is fully protected against further damage.
Making and Fitting a Dental Crown
The process of making and fitting a dental crown is relatively quick. Initially, after identifying that a crown is the right solution, our dentists will need to prepare the tooth for the procedure.
Tooth preparation is performed in our comfortable dental office at West Bowmanville Family Dental, utilizing local anesthetic to ensure a pain-free experience. This process involves reshaping the tooth to provide adequate room for the new crown, ensuring it looks and feels natural and comfortable.
Once the tooth is prepared, we take a digital dental impression in Clarington. If you have unhappy memories of traditional tray impressions, you can rest assured that a digital impression is far quicker, much more comfortable and more accurate.
The digital dental impression is used to create your new crown, ensuring it is precision-fitted and looks great. After having a crown, you will be able to bite, chew, talk and smile with complete confidence and in total comfort.
Dental Bridge
A dental bridge in Courtice is used to fill in the space left behind by one or more missing teeth that were originally adjacent to each other. The replacement tooth is referred to as a pontic. It is supported between two crowns. These are fitted over natural teeth on either side of the gap, forming a strong, stable restoration that is permanently cemented in place.
Making a Fitting a Dental Bridge
The process for making and fitting a dental bridge is similar to that of a dental crown. The supporting or abutment teeth must be reshaped for crowns before a detailed digital impression is taken. Your new bridge is then custom-made to fit precisely in your mouth.
Other Types of Dental Crowns and Bridges
Usually, dental crowns and bridges rely on natural teeth for support. This means the supporting teeth must be strong enough to hold a crown or bridge. Unfortunately, not everyone has teeth that are suitable for support.
In this case, an alternative solution is to have an implant crown or bridge.
Dental Implant Crown
While a dental crown is often used to cover a natural tooth, it can also be used as part of implant treatment to replace it entirely. In this case, a dental implant would be inserted into your jaw, which is a small post or screw made from a titanium metal alloy or zirconia, a strong type of ceramic material.
A connector called an abutment is attached to the screw, protruding above your gum, and this supports the implant crown that is screwed onto the dental implant.
Dental Implant Bridge
Suppose you do not have natural teeth capable of supporting a dental bridge, or they are not strong enough. In that case, another option is to have a dental implant bridge that looks like an ordinary dental bridge.
A dental implant bridge can replace multiple teeth, so it will be suitable if you have several missing teeth that were originally side-by-side, or can even be used to restore a complete arch of missing teeth.
