Crowns and Bridgework
Crowns
A crown is a cover that is placed over a tooth to help restore its health and proper function. There are various reasons for a crown:
- There is insufficient tooth structure remaining to hold a filling in;
- The tooth already has a large filling in it that has formed a new cavity around it;
- If there is a large cavity that has destroyed a lot of tooth structure;
- The tooth already has a large filling making the remaining walls thin and sometimes a thin corner of the tooth can break off from chewing pressures;
- When corners of the tooth have fractured off from biting into something hard like popcorn;
- When you have had a root canal treatment on a tooth that has a moderate or large filling. Teeth that have root canals are brittle and will break under chewing stresses instead of flexing under chewing pressures when they haven’t had a root canal, and
- To prevent a tooth from splitting in half that becomes apparent when the old filling is removed and we can see a crack on the floor of the tooth.
Bridges
A bridge is a tooth replacement option where both teeth on either side of a missing tooth are prepared for crowns, and then a bridge, which is three crowns bonded together, is cemented onto the teeth to fill in the space of the missing tooth. If the teeth on either side of the space need crowns, a bridge offers a solution to fill in the space. If the teeth on either side of the space do not need crowns, however, an implant is a much better option in the long run.
Patients considering bridgework should know that a bridge has a limited life span. At 10 years, only 85% of them are still working and the other 15% of them have failed due to the fact that you cannot floss like normal because three teeth are bonded together.
Nevertheless, it is possible to floss a bridge by using a plastic floss threader to floss under the bridge from the side of the tooth. This is often time consuming, and far too many patients simply give up, which often results in cavities forming on either side of the space. The solution? We recommend using a Waterpik as a great alternative to floss threaders, because its pulsating water jet effectively reaches under the bridge to keep the teeth clean.
Make an Appointment Today!
If you have any questions about Crowns and Bridgework or would like to make an appointment, please call us at (262) 473-7217 or visit our appointment page to schedule a visit. We look forward to hearing from you!