What are Crowns & Bridges?

Crowns are essentially a shell that is placed over a tooth and used to strengthen an otherwise structurally week tooth. Crowns are often the treatment of choice as opposed to a filling because they often strengthen a weakened tooth and last significantly longer.

Three main types of materials are available for crowns including:

• Gold
• Porcelain fused to metal
• Pure porcelain.

Material choice is based on a number of factors including aesthetics and location in the mouth. In order for a crown to be placed, the tooth needs to be reduced slightly (0.5mm-2.0mm) in order for sufficient room to be present for the material of the crown. Bridges are two crowns on either side of a space with a fake tooth (teeth) of the same material attached, and replacing the missing tooth. Although bridges are still the most common way to replace a missing tooth they are often detrimental to the attached teeth, and often the placement of dental implants to fill the space is a far more superior choice of treatment.