Crowns are the protective cap of a tooth. It provides stronger protection to cover a broken or decayed tooth. There are 3 types of crowns: full ceramic, porcelain bonded to chrome and full gold crown. Our dentist will discuss with you according to your situation.
Why have a crown?
- Maximum protection: Worn, broken tooth structure, teeth having gone under heavy restoration, insufficient support from conservative restoration
- High stress situation: deep overbite (worn upper front teeth)
- Bruxing: constant grinding or clenching
- Retainers or pontics for bridge
- Reshaping abutment teeth for dentures
Does it hurt?
Having a crown is no different to having a dental filling. Local anaesthetic will be administered before working on that tooth. Preparing for a crown requires slightly more time than doing a filling. We will need to take an impression of the crown and send it to the laboratory to fabricate the crown. In 2 weeks time, we will arrange to see you again to fix the crown to the tooth. During the 2 weeks in-between, we will place a temporary crown there to prevent sensitivity and fracture.
Bridges
A dental bridge is also a fixed treatment option to replace a missing tooth. However, the procedure requires reduction of part of the tooth structure to support the new artificial tooth.
It is still a common replacement option if the teeth adjacent to the gap are heavily restored. The bridge also protects the teeth with big fillings and saves cost for the patients.