Find answers about crowns, bridges, materials, and procedures.
If you have a problem with damaged or missing teeth in Cave Creek AZ, one suggestion you’ll frequently hear is to have this damage repaired through the use of either a dental crown or a dental bridge. But what exactly are these items, and how do they help you and your mouth? Here are a few quick and easy answers to settle these questions.
Essentially a dental crown is like a “cap” on a tooth, and that’s another term for this technique. Dental crowns are custom-designed, custom-fitted shells that are built based on measurements of a damaged tooth. They are used on a tooth that has been damaged, has suffered from substantial tooth decay, or has been part of a root canal procedure.
A crown is a hard “shell,” made of very sturdy materials. They are usually formed with porcelain, porcelain fused to metal, or even gold. Because of this, they are very durable and, with proper care, likely to last you a lifetime.
A dental bridge is similar to a dental crown but uses a slightly different technique. Where a crown is a single cap that fits on a single tooth, a dental bridge is composed of three crowns joined together. However, the crown in the middle isn’t a crown at all, but a full replacement tooth.
With a dental bridge, the other two crowns are designed to sit on two teeth adjacent to the space where a tooth used to be. In this case, the two teeth may need to be filed and altered to make them a better fit for the bridge. Once the bridge is attached, it’s a snug fit that is unlikely to require further readjustment. The dental bridge works by restoring a full, artificial tooth where there was none before, which maintains the shape of adjacent teeth and prevents movement.
Yes, there are. One other option is known as a dental implant. This involves fixing a titanium screw into your gums and into the bone itself, then affixing an artificial tooth to that. This is a much more comprehensive and permanent solution, but can also be significantly more expensive.