Restorative

Crowns

What is a crown?

A crown is a dental restoration that covers or “caps” a tooth to restore it to its normal shape, size and function. Its purpose is to strengthen or improve the appearance of a tooth. A crown can:

- Restore a tooth when there isn’t enough tooth remaining to provide support for a large filling
- Attach a bridge to replace the missing teeth
- Protect a weak tooth from fracturing
- Restore a fractured tooth
- Cover a badly shaped or discolored tooth
- Cover a dental implant

How is a crown made?

A crown appointment is 2 visits. the first visit consists of the dentist removing the old filling and or compromised portions of the tooth. then, a core build up is placed, which provides a foundation for the crown. The tooth is prepared by removing its outer portion
to accommodate for the thickness of the crown. An impression is made of the prepared tooth and finally, a temporary is made to protect the tooth while the crown is being fabricated at a laboratory. During the 2nd visit, the temporary is removed, and the crown is fitted and permanently cemented. General care and check ups are recommended.

Bridges

What is a bridge?

A bridge is a dental restoration that replaces or spans the space where one or morth teeth have been lost. The loss of a tooth may cause your mouth to “sink” from loss of the bone that supported the tooth. remaining teeth can also shift. The result may be loss of function and a face that looks older then it should. A bridge helps support your lips and cheeks and helps maintain the natural shape of your face.

What if I don’t replace a missing tooth or teeth?

When teeth are missing several things happen. First of all, appearance may be altered by the loss of the teeth and the change in the lip and cheek support. Speech function may also be affected. Secondly, nearby teeth may tilt into the space or teeth from the opposite jaw may shift up or down towards the space (super-eruption). All of this movement can affect your bite and place unusual stresses on your teeth, especially if you start chewing on one side. Your jaw joint is also affected and TMD (temporal mandibular disorder) may develop.

How is a bridge attached?

A fixed bridge is cemented to the adjacent teeth on either side of the space left by the missing tooth or teeth. A false tooth (pontic) is attached to the crowns on either side of it, and the crowns, which are cemented on the natural teeth, provide the support for the bridge. It is a 2 appointment process, similar to how a crown is made.

Other bridge information:

Some people are candidates for IMPLANTS to replace their missing tooth or teeth. An implant is a small screw that is placed into the bone that serves as a support for a new crown to be placed. Not every one is an implant candidate. See section in implants.

Materials used in bridge fabrication – metals, ceramics or a combination. Care for bridges is very important and regular recall appointments are recommended to make sure that good oral health around your bridge and the rest of your mouth is maintained.

Fillings

What kind of fillings are there?

There are basically 2 kinds of fillings – silver fillings and resins or tooth colored fillings.

- Silver filings, or amalgam, at one time were the restorative material of choice. Despite the longevity of these restorations, they have received a bad rap due to their mercury controversy. For more information on this and the stance the American Dental
Association has on this issue, please go to their website at: www.ada.org.

- Resins, or tooth colored fillings are the restorative material of choice primarily due to their cosmetic results and versatility in restoring teeth. These glass ionomer based fillings are strong, they come in many different shades and their components are constantly
improving with research and testing. At Canyon View Dental, 95% of the fillings we place are resins.