Crowns and Bridges

We have the solution to both problems!

Crowns are fixtures that cover the original tooth if it is damaged and cracked beyond repair. The tooth is firmly placed over the original to restore and build the strength of the remaining tooth. If you have more than one tooth missing, bridging may be required to fill the area. Teeth rely on one another, so bridging will secure the other teeth from shifting out of place. A bridge is a false tooth known as a “pontic”, which is joined between two porcelain crowns to fill the area left by a missing tooth. The two crowns holding the “pontic” in place are fixed onto the existing teeth so the false tooth can be fitted. Dentists are aware that many aspects of the tooth’s shape are very important to the tooth functioning well and having an attractive appearance. The tooth need to be tall enough to reach the tooth it bites against so that it chews efficiently. But if it is too tall and bites too heavily, it will start to hurt. Each tooth needs to touch its neighbour with a broad flat surface so that food does not catch between teeth. If neighbouring teeth do not touch, or if they touch in an irregular manner, food may pack between them constantly.Just above the gum line a tooth should have a bulge so that during chewing, food sliding down the tooth’s side is not forcibly crammed under the gum line. Along with this, each tooth needs to harmonize with the shape and colour of the surrounding teeth so that it does not look out of place, does not bite the cheek and does not bite the tongue.   When a small portion of a tooth is lost because of breakage or decay, a dentist can normally restore the tooth to its previous shape in the surgery in a short time, in one sitting. This type of repair is called a filling or restoration. When a large portion of the tooth needs to be replaced it gets more difficult to repair well. This is caused by the many simultaneous challenges involved in reproducing the tooth’s former shape. These challenges are compounded by limited access, limited vision, limited time and the presence of saliva.   Crowing a tooth can avoid many of the pitfalls which are encountered when teeth are filled in these more difficult circumstances. A crown is like a helmet which fits over the remains of a heavily damaged tooth. It is built by specially qualified experts in a laboratory who can take more time and use different materials and different techniques to fix a tooth. The resulting repair is likely to feel better, look better and last much longer than a large filling constructed within a patients mouth.