Do you have damaged or missing teeth on your jaw? Damaged or missing teeth can affect your smile, bite, and chewing abilities. However, you don’t have to suffer the agony of tooth gaps or broken or severely decayed teeth.
With some restorative dentistry options such as dental crowns your bridges, you can improve your smile and restore your oral functions. For missing teeth, your dentist might recommend a dental bridge in Oaklawn, while for damaged teeth, a tooth crown would be suitable.
What Is a Dental Crown?
Dental crowns are artificial tooth caps that your dentist might use to cover your damaged teeth, place over a dental implant, or support a tooth bridge. When you have damaged teeth, you might be at risk of root canal infections that required complex treatments. Therefore, by placing a crown over the damaged teeth, your dentist prevents infections and improves the tooth’s appearance.
There are several types of dental crowns, which include:
Metal Crowns
Metal crowns can be gold and other alloys such as nickel. Unlike the other types of dental crowns, metal crowns are stronger and durable. Therefore, your dentist might recommend these types of crowns for your back teeth since they can handle pressure without the risk of breaking or chipping.
Ceramic Dental Crowns
Ceramic or all-porcelain dental crowns mimic your natural tooth color. Therefore, they are the right choices if you want to improve your smile aesthetics. However, the ceramic material is prone to cracking and chipping, making them only suitable for front teeth.
Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal Crowns
If you need dental crowns to restore damaged teeth on both the front and the back of the jaw, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns are the way to go since they are durable and provide smile aesthetics. However, the porcelain material might be prone to chipping and cracking if you don’t take good care of your restorations.
All-resin Dental Crowns
All-resin dental crowns provide smile aesthetics since your dentist can choose a shade that matches your natural tooth color. However, the composite resin material is prone to chipping. Therefore, you can select them to restore your front teeth since they are the cheapest types of dental crowns.
Dental Crowns Procedure
When getting a dental crown, your dentist in Oaklawn will examine your teeth and determine if dental crowns are the most suitable dental restoration for your teeth. Next, the dentist will prepare your tooth by shedding the damaged parts of the enamel to accommodate your tooth caps.
After preparing your teeth, the crown dentist will take impressions of your teeth and send them to the dental lab to create your permanent dental crowns. Meanwhile, your dentist will place a temporary one to cover the prepared one.
Your dentist will then schedule another appointment to place your permanent dental crowns. During the second appointment, the dentist will remove the temporary crown and replace it with a permanent one. The dentist will then proceed to check your bite and make necessary adjustments before cementing it in place.
Dental Bridges
A dental bridge is a tooth replacement solution that utilizes abutment teeth, dental frameworks, tooth crowns, and a false tooth. There are four types of dental bridges, which include:
- Traditional dental bridges- utilize two abutment teeth to hold them in place
- Maryland-bonded dental bridges-utilize metal or porcelain frameworks to hold them in place
- Cantilever dental bridges- instead of utilizing two abutment teeth, a cantilever bridge requires only one abutment tooth on the side
- Implant-supported bridge- uses a dental implant to hold them in place
Dental Bridges Procedure
When you are getting a dental procedure, our dentist at Family Dental Care in Oaklawn first examines your teeth. Next, your dentist will prepare your abutment teeth to place the bridge. The dentist will then take impressions of the teeth and send them to the dental lab to create your permanent dental bridges.
Meanwhile, your dentist will place a temporary dental bridge as you wait for your permanent ones. During the final appointment, your dentist will remove the temporary bridge and replace it with a permanent one before checking your bite and making necessary adjustments.
The dentist will then cement the dental bridge in place. However, the procedure for getting dental bridges varies according to the type of tooth restoration you are getting.
