| Bridges/Crowns
| Options | Taking
care of your bridge | Crowns
| Key Benefits |
| All
of your teeth play an important role in speaking,
chewing and in maintaining proper alignment of other
teeth. Tooth loss doesn't necessarily have
to occur as you age, but if you do lose teeth, they
must be replaced to maintain proper function of
your mouth. Fortunately, there are options for correcting
tooth loss. |
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A
bridge — a device used to replace missing teeth
— attaches artificial teeth to adjacent natural
teeth, called abutment teeth. Bridges are
either permanently attached (fixed bridges), or
they can be removable. Fixed bridges are applied
by either placing crowns on the abutment teeth or
by bonding the artificial teeth directly to the
abutment teeth. Removable bridges are attached to
the teeth with metal clasps or by precision attachments.
If you're missing one or more teeth, you may be
aware of their importance to your appearance and
dental health. Your teeth work together for many
daily functions from eating to speaking. With missing
teeth, it's difficult to do these things. Missing
teeth can and should be replaced. Fixed bridges
are a great way to restore your dental health and
appearance Oral functionality and appearance are
important reasons for wearing a bridge. A bridge
helps support your lips and cheeks. The loss of
a back tooth may cause your mouth to sink and your
face to look older. Dental health is the most important
reason for a bridge. Teeth were designed to complement
each other. Unusual stresses are placed on the gums
and other oral tissues when teeth are missing, causing
a number of potentially harmful disorders. Increased
risk of gum disease has proven to be one of the
worst side effects of missing teeth and can be minimized
with a bridge. Missing teeth can cause speech disorders
as they are used to make many of the sounds we use
to speak clearly. The attachment procedure usually
takes two or three appointments to complete. At
the first appointment Dr. Perry will prepare the
teeth on either side of the gap by removing a portion
of the enamel and dentin. Since the bridge must
be fabricated very precisely to ensure correct bite
and to match the opposing tooth, impressions of
the teeth are taken and sent to a lab where the
bridge will be constructed. Fixed bridges are typically
cemented to the natural teeth next to the space
left by the missing tooth. A pontic (false tooth)
replaces the lost tooth. Crowns, which are cemented
onto the natural teeth, provide support for the
bridge. Bridges can be constructed from gold alloys,
non-precious alloys, porcelain, or a combination
of these materials. Porcelain is often bonded to
either precious or non-precious metal. |
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A
strict regimen of brushing and flossing will keep
the bridge and surrounding teeth clean. This
is of critical importance as the bridge relies on
the neighboring teeth for support.
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Most
dentistry looks like dentistry. Our goal
is to provide dentistry that is undetectable. We
replace existing crowns and fillings with restorations
that look and feel like your natural teeth. Where
damage to a person's teeth is extreme, and apparently
beyond repair, we can use porcelain or porcelain
"pasted on gold" crowns to make the smile appear
"as new". This is an extremely reliable technique
for repairing the most severe of dental problems,
even permanently replacing missing teeth to offer
a complete smile and a functional bite. We are renowned
for the quality of our work and the fantastic changes
we make for people using this technology. These
treatments are used for a long lasting correction
of major dental problems. It is usual for these
treatments to last for 20 to 30 years, which is
as close to permanent as dental treatment can get.
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- Replaces missing teeth
- Offers support to misshapen teeth or badly broken teeth
- Looks completely natural
- Fixes "smile" and functional chewing problems.
Crown and bridgework
is a very reliable solution for major dental problems
caused through accidents, diseases or wear and tear.
Major problems can usually be corrected using these
techniques. Material used in these repairs is either
high-grade porcelain, or porcelain bonded to gold.
A higher strength of the porcelain and gold materials
is recommended to treat the most serious of dental
problems. Where accidental damage has occurred,
resulting in lost teeth, or where teeth have broken
away through excessive wear, or as the result of
old fillings breaking, crowns and/or bridges can
be used as a long-term solution. Many people have
unexplained pain from filled back teeth, which is
usually due to hairline cracks in the chewing part
of the tooth. Placing crowns on these teeth relieves
the pain and allows a return of full dental function
for these teeth. In front teeth, older fillings
can both weaken the teeth and cause "appearance"
problems due to staining or chipping. Porcelain
crowns and bridges are suitable in cases where porcelain
veneers are not. In teeth with root canal fillings,
crowns can prevent breakage. Fitting a crown requires
at least two visits to our office. Initially, we
will remove decay, shape the tooth, and fit it with
a temporary crown of either plastic or metal. On
the subsequent visit we will remove the temporary
crown, and then fit and adjust the final crown.
Finally, we will cement the crown into place and
you have a new beautiful looking tooth. |
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