Crowns and bridges are attached rigidly to the natural teeth (or implants) to provide a natural looking and hard wearing replacement of (missing) tooth structure.
We offer crowns, bridges, implants, full and partial dentures to restore damaged or missing teeth
We, together with our local laboratory (no work is sent to cheap, unregulated, overseas laboratories), can deliver all forms of crowns, bridges and dentures to an exacting and high standard to restore damaged or missing tooth or tooth structure to keep your mouth looking and feeling healthy, intact and functional.
Crowns
A crown may be required on a natural tooth which has been badly broken down by decay (“dental caries”) or trauma, or may simply be badly discoloured, misshapen or weakened perhaps by large fillings and/or following Root Canal Therapy.
A crown (often also colloquially called a cap) is like a thimble which is cemented over the tooth after it has been trimmed down to a specific shape.
The crown may be made of these materials
- metal only – sometimes used for the most rear teeth where it will not be readily seen
- metal with a porcelain covering over it – strong but with a tooth appearance
- all-ceramic – various materials are being developed which have both good strength and appearance in one material – Zirconia being the current standard
Bridges
A bridge is used to support a missing tooth (or teeth) replacement by attaching it to one or more adjacent teeth.
Traditionally this is done by:
- placing a crown on a tooth or teeth either side of the gap
- attaching the false tooth replacement (the “pontic”) to the crown(s)
- cementing the whole bridge onto the teeth in one piece
If the adjacent teeth do not require crowns then it may be feasible to attach the pontic by means of inlays (fillings fabricated indirectly, or outside the mouth) or by a form of tooth bonding where very little or no tooth is required to be trimmed from the adjacent teeth.
Bridges do not require surgery as implants do, and do not rely on sufficient bone, so some missing teeth may suit replacement with a bridge rather than an implant.