What is a crown?
A crown is a prosthetic tooth cap that’s permanently affixed to a pre-existing root structure, like a natural tooth root or dental implant. A crown covers up the entirety of your tooth above the gum line and feels and functions just like a natural tooth. Depending on the material used, your crown can even look just like a natural tooth, too.
What does a crown do?
Crowns serve a variety of functions. They can:
- Replace an aesthetically compromised tooth
- Restore a tooth that’s suffered significant decay or damage
- Protect a weakened tooth from further damage
Crowns are also frequently used after a root canal to restore your tooth’s strength and structure.
What is a bridge?
A bridge is a prosthetic device that replaces a missing tooth. It’s composed of an artificial tooth, called a pontic, with crowns attached to either side. The crowns are sealed to the teeth adjacent to your missing tooth, leaving the pontic to literally “bridge” the space between your teeth.
If your teeth can’t support crowns, there are alternative bridges that can still restore your smile. A cantilever bridge has a crown on just one side, while a Maryland bonded bridge has a pontic that’s held in place by a metal framework that’s sealed to the backside of your adjacent teeth.
What are the benefits of a bridge?
By replacing your missing tooth, bridges are beneficial to your smile in a number of ways, such as:
- Preventing your remaining teeth from falling out of alignment
- Making it easier to properly speak and chew
- Maintaining the shape of your face
- Improving your appearance
Bridges also help to evenly distribute the force in your bite, which helps to prevent the development of TMJ disorder and excessive wear and tear on your teeth.
What’s the process for getting a crown or bridge?
First, your dentist prepares your teeth by shaving off some enamel. If you’re getting a crown, the team prepares the tooth that’s going to be crowned. If you’re getting a bridge, they prepare the teeth adjacent to your missing tooth.
Once your teeth are prepared, the dental team takes an impression of your smile. That impression is sent to a lab that fabricates your crown or bridge while you wear a temporary restoration.
When your permanent crown or bridge comes back from the lab, you return to San Ramon Family Dental for another appointment where your dentist seals your crown or bridge in place and finishes restoring your smile.
To learn more about how San Ramon Family Dental can improve your smile with a crown or bridge, call the office or book a visit online.
