Dental Crowns and Bridges for Your Teeth
When your tooth is severely damaged, you might need a restoration or a replacement. Your dentist might recommend dental crowns or bridges, depending on your condition.
Some dental problems are preventable, but others might be inevitable, especially due to accidents. Such dental situations might damage your tooth, causing pain, inability to chew properly, smile imperfections, and risk of developing further complications.
To prevent further complications, your dentist might recommend tooth restoration or replacement procedures. If your tooth’s structure is fractured or damaged, your dentist might recommend dental crowns. For knocked-out teeth, the dentist might recommend bridges.
What Are Dental Crowns?
Dental crowns are tooth caps that cover damaged teeth. By covering the damaged tooth, the dental crown prevents the tooth from root canal infections, improves the ability to bite and chew, and enhances your tooth’s appearance.
Some of the reasons you might need a dental crown include:
- Covering broken, cracked, or badly-decayed teeth
- After a root canal treatment to prevent re-infection
- As tooth caps after getting dental implants
- Preventing your tooth from further decay
When you are getting dental crowns to restore your teeth, you can choose the following types of tooth caps, depending on your aesthetic needs and treatment site.
- Metal or gold dental crowns
- All-ceramic dental crowns
- Porcelain-fused-to-metal dental crowns
- All-resin dental crowns
Before choosing your dental crowns, you can raise your concerns to your dentist. The dentist will then recommend a type of dental crowns, depending on your dental needs.
Tooth Crowns Procedure
At the dental clinic, the dentist will examine your teeth to ensure dental crowns are the right tooth restorations of your teeth. The dentist might recommend some treatments such as root canal therapy before getting dental crowns.
Once you are clear to get dental crowns, the dentist will take impressions of your teeth. The dentist will then send the tooth impressions to the dental lab to make your permanent dental crowns. Depending on your tooth’s condition, the dentist might prepare your tooth for dental crowns. When preparing your tooth for dental caps, the dentist will shed the enamel.
The dental crowns might take up to two weeks to arrive from the dental lab. In the meantime, the dentist will place temporary dental crowns to cover the tooth. When the permanent dental crowns arrive from the lab, the dentist will schedule the next appointment.
During the second dental appointment, your dentist will remove the temporary dental crowns and replace them with permanent ones. Your dentist will check for bite and aesthetics and make the necessary adjustments. Finally, the dentist will cement the dental cap in place and recommend follow-up appointments.
What Are Bridges?
If you have missing teeth, you might be at risk of bone loss and experience chewing and speech difficulties. To replace the missing teeth, your dentist might recommend bridges. Bridges are a tooth replacement option that utilizes a pontic and dental crown to replace missing teeth.
There are four types of tooth bridges, which include:
- Traditional bridges
- Cantilever bridges
- Maryland bridges
- Implant-supported bridges
When choosing your bridges, your dentist will recommend a type, depending on the condition of your adjacent teeth.
Dental Bridges Procedure
When getting a fixed bridge, your dentist will begin by choosing the type suitable for your condition. Next, the dentist will prepare your adjacent teeth to provide space for the bridges.
Your dentist might recommend using a dental implant to hold your tooth bridge. Once the dentist cements the dental bridges in place, they will look like your natural teeth. Also, the dentist might recommend follow-up appointments to check the progress of your tooth restorations.
Aftercare
Just like your natural teeth, your tooth restorations are prone to damage. Therefore, you can consider care after getting dental crowns and bridges in Welland, ON. At our dental clinic, we recommend the following care tips:
- Brushing your teeth twice a day and replace your toothbrush regularly
- Floss your teeth at least once a day to remove plaque and debris in places the toothbrush can’t reach
- Avoid biting or chewing on hard foods, ice cream, and objects such as pencils and pens
- Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and professional dental cleanings
- Wear a protective mouthguard when playing contact sports to prevent dental injuries
- Quit using tobacco products to prevent staining and discoloration
For more care tips, preventive dental care, and treatment procedures such as dental crowns and bridges, you can visit us at Rose City Dental Centre.