Crowns and Bridges
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What are Dental Crowns and Tooth Bridges?
Dental crowns and most tooth bridges are fixed prosthetic devices. That unlike removable devices such as dentures, which can be taken out for daily cleaning, crowns and bridges are permanently fixed onto existing teeth or implants, and can only be removed by a dentist.
How do Dental Crowns Work?
Designed to restore your smile and mouth functionality. A dental crown is used to cover or "cap" a damaged or decayed tooth that is at the risk of breaking and no longer has the structure or strength to support regular fillings.
Along with strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can also be used to improve the appearance, shape or alignment of teeth.
Dental crowns are made by taking a mould of the tooth to ensure an exact fit and are constructed, using high-grade materials, including gold and metal alloys, acrylic, porcelain and ceramic. Porcelain or ceramic crowns can be matched to the colour of your natural teeth.
Alloys are generally stronger than porcelain and may be recommended for back teeth. Porcelain bonded to a metal shell is often used because it is both strong and attractive.
At Gentle Dental, we may recommend a crown too:
- Replace a large filling when there is not enough tooth remaining
- Protect a weak tooth from fracturing
- Restore a fractured tooth
- Attach a bridge
- Cover a dental implant
- Cover a discoloured or poorly shaped tooth
- Cover a tooth that has had root canal treatment
How does a Tooth Bridge Work?
A dental tooth bridge may be recommended when you are missing one or more teeth. The gaps left by missing teeth eventually cause the remaining teeth to rotate or shift into the empty spaces, resulting in a bad bite. The imbalance caused by missing teeth can also lead to gum disease and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
They span the space where the teeth are missing, and are permanently fixed to the adjacent natural tooth or dental implants surrounding the empty space. Called abutments, these teeth serve as anchors for the bridge. A replacement tooth, called a Pontic, is attached to the crowns that cover the abutments.
As with crowns, you have a choice of materials for bridges, and at Gentle Dental we can help you decide which to use, based on the location of the missing tooth (or teeth), its function, aesthetic considerations and cost. Porcelain or ceramic bridges can be used to match the colour of your natural teeth.
How we manufacture Dental Crowns and Tooth Bridges
At Gentle Dental, all our crowns and bridges are made to Australian Standards, locally in Brisbane, at a state of the art laboratory with Australian technicians, so we can verify the quality of the product, guarantee their construction, strength and reliability.
Dental Crowns and Tooth Bridge Treatment Costs
As part of our service, we offer ‘no obligation’ advice and information, so that you can make an informed decision before proceeding with any crown or bridge procedures. We also submit ‘no surprise pricing’ quoted in advance, so you are aware of the total costs.