Crowns and Bridges
A crown, also known as a cap, is something that is put over the top of your tooth for various reasons.
It can be used to rebuild a heavily broken down tooth if a filling is not the right treatment for the tooth, or to protect any remaining vulnerable tooth structure.
It is often also used to improve the seal of a tooth once it has been root treated, and can also be used to change the shape and shade of a tooth. It involves shaping the tooth to create space for the crown, taking a mould of the tooth and fitting a temporary crown to the tooth.
The crown is made off-site in a laboratory out of a choice of materials, usually ceramics.
Older fashioned crowns with a metal substructure with porcelain fired onto the top are still good options, however, long term these can show a dark line around the join of the crown to the tooth which can be unsightly. You may choose to have a gold crown, this is a fantastic material to use, however, patients tend not to want these anymore due to their appearance.
A bridge is a structure that is made to replace missing teeth.
It can be a conventional or cantilever bridge or an adhesive Maryland bridge.
It can be used to replace front teeth as well as back teeth, but they do have their limitations. We will assess you to see if a bridge is a suitable treatment option for you. If so, the false tooth or teeth will be made to fit in with your existing teeth in terms of shape and colour. It is a fixed option so it is not something you remove.