CROWNS AND BRIDGES

Dental crowns and bridges are restorative dental treatments. Crowns are caps placed over damaged or decayed teeth to restore their shape and function. Bridges, on the other hand, replace missing teeth by anchoring artificial teeth between existing natural teeth or implants. Both procedures aim to improve dental aesthetics and function. If you have more detailed questions about crowns or bridges, feel free to ask!

Various variety of crowns available are:

1. Full metal.

2. Porcelain fused to metal.

3. All porcelain.

 Advantages and Disadvantages:

Plastic Temporary crowns while permanent crown is being made in a dental lab Very inexpensive Only last for a short period of time and cannot be a final restoration Full metal crown (typically yellow gold)Very back teeth that are short in height.

1. Require least removal of tooth structure.

2. High success rate over long term .

3. Most resistance to decay.

4. Metal appearance.

5. Not cosmetically pleasing.

6. High cost due to price of gold.

Porcelain fused to metal crown can be used for any tooth in the mouth:

1. Relatively natural appearance.

2. Good long-term success.

3. Strong.

4. Can show dark shading at gumline where metal is visible.

5. Appearance is opaque, unlike a natural tooth.

6. Porcelain can fracture.

All Porcelain any front tooth:

1. Most cosmetically pleasing appearance.

2. Looks most like a natural tooth.

3. Requires most removal of tooth structure.

4. Easily fractured by patients who grind their teeth.

Zirconia can be used for any tooth in the mouth:

1. Has the appearance of a natural tooth, but slightly more opaque.

2. Good at blocking out the darkness of a discolored tooth.

3. Very strong, with extremely low possibility of fracture.

While Bridges is a fixed partial denture, supported by teeth on either side of missing teeth. These bridges can replace one or more missing teeth.

What are Alternatives to a Bridge?

A bridge’s purpose is to replace one or more missing teeth. There are two other general options for replacing teeth. One is a removable partial denture, which as its name implies is taken in and out. It is not cemented to the teeth.

A removable partial denture rests on adjacent teeth and uses either a metal or plastic base to hold fake teeth in place. The other tooth replacement option is a dental implant. A dental implant is the most expensive tooth replacement treatment, and it gives the most natural result because it is anchored in the jawbone and does not depend on or affect the adjacent teeth.