Crowns and Bridges in Greenville, SC

Dental Crowns and bridges are restorations that we use either to help replace a missing tooth, which would be a bridge, sometimes called a fixed bridge, but a bridge actually is cemented and holds onto the adjacent teeth where there is a tooth missing. Crowns go over individual teeth. The majority of the time, crowns are done to restore a tooth that has a large filling, a crack, a tooth that has had a root canal, especially a back tooth, we always recommend a crown because it’s weak. Otherwise, it has the tendency to break and you could lose a tooth because of that.

So, a crown, most of the time are for strength purposes, on occasion, crowns are used on the interior for aesthetics, kind of like veneers. But with a crown, there are varying options on the crowns too, two basic options, porcelain and gold. Both work well. They’re constantly coming out with new materials. There are various materials we use with porcelain crowns, in various spots in the mouth. Some are stronger than others, more aesthetic. We use gold crowns a lot on the molars, on the back teeth. I tell folks, any place that it doesn’t show and it’s not a cosmetic concern, it’s hard to beat a gold crown on the back tooth because of strength, you can’t break it.

When it comes to crowns, there are things we used 10 years ago in crown material that I would never use today. It’s constantly changing. The chemists have been busy helping us out on materials that last longer and work better.

Do you have a tooth that is severely fractured or decayed? If the tooth is too weak to support a filling or inlay/onlay, or much of the structure is missing, a dental crown is the best solution. Your Greenville, SC dentist recommends a crown to repair severe damage.

What is a Dental Crown?

A dental crown is a cap that matches the color of your natural teeth. The cap encases the damaged tooth completely and hides any surface flaws. Crowns play many roles in dentistry: they are used to restore a tooth after root canal or endodontic therapy, they are attached to individual dental implants or a series of dental implant restorations, they hold a broken tooth together, and they replace missing teeth (fixed bridge or bridgework).

Crowns are usually made of metal, all-porcelain, cast gold, or porcelain fused to metal. The best type of material to use depends on the location of the tooth, the extent of damage, and your preferences. At Brown Family Dentistry Group, we use only the highest quality materials to create crowns that fit perfectly and look healthy and natural.

What is a Bridge?

Bridges are designed to fill isolated gaps in your smile. A fixed bridge is made up of a series of dental crowns. A typical bridge consists of two crowns (also called abutment teeth) that are capped over teeth on either side of the space left by the missing tooth. These two crowns hold another crown in the middle (also called pontic) that fills the empty space. When there is no tooth on one side of the space, the pontic is anchored by crowns on the other side. Sometimes, metal attachments are used instead of crowns.

See your dentist in Greenville, SC for Dental Crowns and Bridges right away if your tooth is badly damaged. Call (864) 322-5051 now or
click here to request an appointment at Brown Family Dentistry Group.