The placement of a crown or ‘Cap’ is most commonly done when a lot of tooth structure has been destroyed. This destruction of tooth structure may be due to trauma, fracturing, or caries. The 'cap' would then strengthen the tooth structure and prevent it from breaking more. The crown or 'cap' is permanently cemented onto your destroyed tooth and is made from a very hard, tough white material called porcelain. Other than porcelain, crowns are made of gold, metal alloy, ceramic and acrylic. Despite the variety of materials crowns come in, porcelain is the best choice because it is least likely to stain and has a natural white appearance. Crowns and bridges are fixed onto the rest of your teeth and can only be removed by a prosthodontist.
This porcelain material is colour matched to your existing adjacent teeth colour and form. To ensure a close match concerning colour, tint and shade, we match your natural teeth to the new shade for a crown or bridge, which means we choose a shade three times lighter because naturally, our teeth are much darker than what we think. It is far more challenging to whiten or darken crowns. This is why I recommend teeth whitening or bleaching of your teeth first to match the colour of the new crown.
The need for crowns and bridges
Your dentist will fit a crown to:
A bridge is also a permanently cemented structure to replace one or two missing teeth. If you have one or two teeth missing, and the adjacent teeth have been compromised, a Dental Bridge has crowns cemented onto these teeth, with an artificial crown bridged between the two crowns.
A bridge offers a suitable option for replacing a missing tooth in a much cheaper way than an implant. Unoccupied spaces leftover by missing teeth are areas where residual teeth shift into and contribute to a bad bite. Shifting teeth can cause gum disease (gingivitis) and a disorder of the jaw joint, largely known as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, resulting in excruciating jaw pain.
Bridges comprising of multiple adjacent crowns attach to dental implants or to your natural teeth. This is a procedure done with precision and involves first making an impression of the bite or occlusion to create a model of your bite. I prepare the adjacent teeth near the space (s) and place crowns over them, which provide anchorage for the new, replacement tooth that I fix in place.
Prosthetic crowns and bridges together are a form of restorative dentistry that improves your overall appearance and brightens and enhances your smile better than it ever was before.
We place crowns and bridges using the latest 3D scanning technology. Facilities are now available at my practice to scan your mouth using a 3D scanner, and this measurement is emailed to the dental laboratory for fabrication of the crown and bridge. With this technology, there is no more any need to take impressions of your mouth and teeth. This scanning is non-invasive and painless, as there is no more any gagging for making impressions.
