Dental Crowns & Bridges

Crowns and bridges are a wonderful way to restore teeth that are terribly damaged. A lot of us, without even being aware of it, clench or grind our teeth. It's an incredibly common problem.
If you've got years and years of wear from clenching on those teeth and then you happen to get a cavity on a tooth that already has that wear and tear on it, sometimes the best way to restore a tooth like that is with a crown. A crown is essentially a cap that covers the entire tooth and comes down to tuck just underneath the gum tissue. We make them out of ceramic, so they blend into the mouth completely seamlessly. You can't tell which teeth have crowns on them and which don't. But that allows that tooth to function well without concerns of the thing breaking in half and maybe having to have it taken out or needing a root canal because a tooth has broken. A crown is a wonderful solution for holding a tooth together and restoring it to some of its strength that it had in its former years.
If you're missing a tooth and you're not a candidate for an implant in the site, a bridge is a wonderful way to replace that tooth. By putting a crown on either side of the missing space, we can build a bridge that bridges the gap. It's essentially like a crown. It gets cemented into your mouth permanently, so it's not something that you take in and out. It goes in and functions just like your natural teeth long-term.
One of the great things about these ceramic restorations is that they can actually be milled and made right here in our office. It's a process that takes about an hour, but it prevents the patient from having to wait for a couple of weeks and living through the process of being in a temporary bridge or crown. Temporary bridges and crowns can leave patients with some sensitivity. Occasionally the material will break on them and they have to come back in and have that temporary remade. The (inaudible 00:01:47) dentistry allows us to make it on the same day. You come in, you get your tooth prepared, and by the time you leave from that appointment, you've got your permanent restoration in place without having to wait.
Crowns and bridges are a wonderful way to help broken down or failing teeth. They're restored to their original beauty and strength.