Crowns

When a tooth is heavily decayed it is more likely to fracture and lose considerable tooth substance. The greater risk is that a fracture line may go below the margin of the gum which makes restoration more difficult or near impossible.

A crown provides strength and improves the appearance of the tooth it "covers". It is placed on an individual tooth much like a thimble over your finger. It is a stationary, custom made cover for any tooth that has sustained significant loss of structure.

Reasons for crowns:

• A crown is needed to protect a tooth that just had a root canal because these teeth tend to become brittle and are more apt to fracture
• To protect a weak tooth from fracturing
• Cracked tooth to hold it together and seal the tooth from decay
• Cover discolored teeth
• Restore a weaken tooth
• Improve cosmetic appearance
• Large damage by decay
• To support the replacement tooth/teeth in a bridge
• Weaken tooth structure due to large fillings
• Restores and maintains the natural bite

Teeth that have been treated with root canals but did not have crowns placed on them were lost at a rate six times greater than teeth with crowns**

Bridges

A bridge allows the dentist to replace lost teeth without the use of a denture or dental implant. Basically a false tooth is held in place by being attached to a tooth next door. The disadvantage is that the teeth next to the space have to be prepared in a similiar way to a crown in order to accept the bridge. If these teeth already have crowns or big restorations then this is not a problem, the major concern however is when these teeth have small or no restorations (fillings). One compromise is the 'acid etched bridge', with this type a fine ledge is placed on the back of the adjacent teeth

Who should get a bridge?

If you are missing any teeth and are committed to maintaining good oral hygiene practices, you may be a good candidate for a bridge. A bridge is the most natural choice to fill the space in your mouth left by missing teeth.

If left unfilled, this space can cause the surrounding teeth to drift out of position and can cause teeth and gums to become more susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease that can cause further tooth loss.

Fixed bridges can help:

• correct an altered bite
• improve your chewing ability and speech
• safeguard your appearance
• prevent the collapse of your facial features that can cause premature wrinkles and age lines