The Purpose of Crowns & Bridges In Dentistry:
Crowns and bridges serve many purposes in the dental field. In the end, the goal is to restore the patient’s natural smile and give them back their confidence and the functionality of eating a healthy diet.
What Are Crowns & Bridges?
Crowns and bridges serve quite a variety of purposes in today’s modern dental field. Including the following:
- Weak or cracked teeth
- Large fillings that need to be repaired
- Root canals
- Dental bridges
- Dental implants
- Severely discolored teeth
These are some of the issues that dental crowns and bridges can fix. They have become quite versatile in serving many different purposes in the dental field when it comes to restoring your beautiful smile.
What Do I Expect When I Get a Crown or Bridge?
Getting a Dental Crown:
When getting a dental crown, your dentist will begin the procedure by preparing your tooth to get fitted with a crown. The dentist will likely give you anesthesia to keep you from feeling any pain in the area while they prepare it. The procedure will involve shaving the tooth down to make room for the crown. Impressions will get taken of your teeth, and the custom crown will get prepared. In the meantime, you will get a temporary cap over the tooth to protect it until the regular cap is ready.
You will come back to the dentist 2 to 3 weeks later, and you will get your custom crown fit on the tooth. The dentist will ensure a proper fit and will cement the crown to your tooth for long-term wear.
Getting a Bridge:
When your dentist goes to fit your bridge, they will take impressions of your surrounding teeth. They will use these impressions to make a bridge that fits the tooth or teeth you are missing and latches securely onto the surround teeth.
Once the bridge gets made (usually a couple of weeks later) you will make an appointment to come in for a final fitting. The dentist will ensure that the bridge fits your mouth and latches onto the surrounding teeth securely. Once it’s fitted, you have a new bridge that can restore your confidence in your smile.
Costs:
A crown will run an average cost of $500 to $1500 per tooth (depending on the tooth that needs capping).
The average dental bridge will run between $2,000 to $5,000.
Caring For Your Crown/Bridge:
When you are caring for your dental crown, you will clean it like any other tooth. Regular brushing and flossing are key and so are regular trips to the dental office for cleanings. Be cautious when biting down on hard foods like raw vegetables. These caps are quite strong, but can still get split or cracked if put under too much pressure.
For bridges, you will need to remove the bridges each day and clean them appropriately. Be sure to clean along your gums to remove particles of food or any other debris in order to avoid buildups that may cause infections.
Conclusions:
At Natural Smiles, we are committed to providing each patient with the dental crown or bridge that you need in order to restore your smile. If you have any further questions or would like to set up an appointment please contact us at your earliest convenience. We look forward to helping you restore your smile!