Crowns and Bridges

Crowns

A crown fits over the entire top of the tooth above the gum line. Crowns cover, protect, seal and strengthen a tooth. A crown is needed when a filling just will not work. A crown may be made of gold, white porcelain, or porcelain fused to gold.

There are many situations that may call for a crown: large decay; large old fillings; sensitive teeth; after root canal therapy. When teeth are chipped or cracked, a crown may be needed urgently, since once a tooth breaks, it may not be possible to save it. It may have to be extracted.

In cosmetic dentistry, crowns (sometimes called “caps”) are rarely used since the advent of veneers, but in some cases a crown may be necessary for a particular tooth. A tooth with a bad fracture or a large filling may be a candidate for a crown instead of a veneer.

Before	After
This tooth has a large filling. A crown is needed, instead of a veneer, because there isn't enough natural tooth left to support a veneer. A crown will cover and protect the tooth, but will look the same as a veneer.	The top teeth now have veneers, except the one with the large filling, which has a crown.

Bridges

A permanent bridge replaces one or more missing teeth. A bridge will:

• Keep teeth from drifting into the space created from a missing tooth
• Make teeth easier to clean, thus helping to prevent gum disease
• Help preserve normal function and normal bite for the jaw joint

A permanent bridge is usually anchored to the teeth on both sides of the space left by the missing tooth. This gives the bridge strong support.

Why ‘permanent’?
A permanent bridge is permanently bonded in place, unlike a partial denture (sometimes called a “removable bridge”), which, as the name suggests, is removable.

Brushing
Brushing a bridge is no different from brushing natural teeth, but special flossing instructions are given to keep the bridge and surrounding tissue healthy.