Crowns and Bridges

The consequences of lost teeth can be numerous, with a number of negative effects occurring to the health of your mouth, including the area of loss being exposed and made vulnerable to disease and infection. The support to the remaining teeth is also lost in the absence of a tooth and the overall structure of the mouth can be greatly affected by a gradual shifting of teeth as a result.

This in turn can lead to an overall decline in the muscle shape and structure of the face, with sagging and weakness becoming evident in more extreme or advanced cases.

There exist a number of options in alleviating and effectively removing the effects of lost teeth, with the use of crowns and /or bridges to regain shape, structure and support to the whole mouth.

Crowns

For teeth that are severely damaged or decayed, crowns can act as the perfect solution.

Crowns can help recreate your beautiful smile and repair the structure and function of the tooth by simple process of ‘capping’ the underlying foundation of the tooth with a recreated artificial tooth or ‘Crown’.

In the event that a tooth has become damaged by either a crack or decay and disease, the necessary treatment will involve the removal of the damage and/or decay, in order to stabilise the remaining healthy part of the tooth. This is then built up and an artificial crown, which replicates the natural state and shape of your original tooth, is placed on top.

Teeth can need crowns for a number of reasons, often resulting from conditions such as ageing of the teeth, deterioration of large fillings, grinding of teeth, improper bite or poor oral hygiene. Crowns are also traditionally used after root canal treatment, to help seal and secure the area of weakened tooth and prevent further infection or decay.

Covering the entire surface area of a tooth, crowns that are generally made from a porcelain ceramic material, provide numerous benefits to patients. These advantages aid both the structural and aesthetic nature of the mouth and provide increased strength and stability.

Porcelain crowns are aesthetically pleasing and have a complimentary texture, translucency and colour, reminiscent of natural teeth.

Bridges

Bridges are an elegant and effective solution to the problem of several teeth being absent.

They are created in a way that is both sympathetic and compatible with the mouths existing structure and appearance, being made from the same material as crowns and utilising the crown method to secure their position within the surrounding teeth.

The term ‘bridge’ is a suitable explanation of the method used to infill the area of missing teeth and is implemented through the use of a crown being placed on the teeth either side of the area of tooth loss. These act as the ‘pillars’ to which the bridge is then secured. This serves to recreate your natural teeth and bite and subsequently reduces the risk of developing periodontal /gum disease.

Bridges are a permanent solution and cannot be removed from the mouth by the patient, meaning that a consistent and thorough oral hygiene routine must be strictly followed once a bridge is applied. This is especially necessary, as the area between the bridge and underlying gum can otherwise begin to harbour bacteria and cause subsequent problems.

As with crowns and the alternative dental implants, bridges can help to eliminate the problem of teeth moving and the overall structure and shape of your mouth changing.

If there is anything which you would like to enquire about further, regarding the treatments that we have on offer, or if you would like to arrange an appointment with Dr Sun, then please do not hesitate to contact us and a member of our friendly team will do their best to help you.