Crown and Bridgework

A Crown
Where there has been substantial  loss of tooth structure, the best treatment to restore the tooth is often a crown or 'cap'.

At least two appointments are required. The first involves preparing the tooth, taking moulds, and then sending the moulds to a laboratory which then makes up the crown according to the dentist's direction. To achieve perfect shade matching, the laboratory selects the shade using a computerised programme. At the second appointment, the crown is cemented to the tooth.

These days there are a variety of types of materials for crowns:

Full gold
Full gold crowns which are expensive but last a long time and good for where there is not much space and a heavy bite. Obviously, gold is not tooth-coloured, so is usually only recommended for non-aesthetic areas of the mouth.

Ceramic
All-ceramic crowns essentially have no metallic content and have excellent colour matching to allow them to look just like natural teeth.

Porcelain Fused to Metal
Porcelain fused to metal (PFM) crowns have a cast gold thimble onto which porcelain is baked. These used to be  the standard crown type and  are still indicated for certain situations.

A Bridge
A bridge is sometimes made to replace a missing tooth. It follows the same principles as for a crown, but often treatment takes longer, a minimum of two appointments.

Where the tooth is missing, the teeth on either side of the space are prepared for crowns, the laboratory makes three crowns all joined into one piece (“ a bridge”) At the second or third  appointment this bridge is then cemented onto the two teeth, the false one sitting on the gum.

Crowns and bridges are complicated treatments and expensive.  The patient must be committed to keeping their new crown or bridge very clean after each meal and maintain regular checkups to gain the maximum life from their dental work.