Restoring Your Smile: Dental Crowns and Bridges at Schaefer Dental Group in Lansing, MI
Dentistry is an art as well as a science; dental crowns offer a perfect example of this. A dental crown or “cap” is a covering that fits over a damaged, decayed or unattractive tooth. It can even replace a tooth entirely as part of dental bridgework. A crown completely covers a tooth above the gum line. This is in contrast to a dental veneer, which only covers a tooth’s front surface and needs natural tooth structure to support it. Therefore, if a tooth is missing a significant amount of structure above the gum line, a crown would be the restoration of choice.
Crowns strengthen damaged teeth, allowing them to function normally again. When crafted from today’s high-tech porcelains (dental ceramics), crowns are virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth. They can even be designed to improve upon a tooth’s original appearance. The team at Schaefer Dental Group will help you find the best solution for your smile in Lansing, Michigan.
Materials for Your Dental Crown
There are other materials besides porcelain that we can use to make dental crowns, depending on what qualities are most important:
- Cast Gold: Offers unmatched durability, though it is not always the most aesthetic choice.
- Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal (PFM): These have a metal interior for strength and a porcelain exterior for a more natural appearance.
- All-Porcelain Crowns with Zirconia: Represents the strongest ceramic option, offering excellent aesthetics and durability.
We would be happy to discuss the pros and cons of these various options with you.
Crowning or Capping a Tooth Procedure
Crowning or capping a tooth will usually take two to three visits at our office. The process involves:
- Visit 1: Preparation. Your tooth is shaped to fit inside the new crown, which involves some drilling to give the tooth a uniform shape. If little tooth structure remains, it may be built up with filling material. Impressions of your teeth are taken and sent to a dental laboratory for crown fabrication. A temporary crown will be placed to protect your tooth until the permanent crown is ready.
- Visit 2 (and sometimes 3): Placement. Your permanent crown is attached to your tooth with either a resin that hardens when exposed to a special light source, or a type of permanent cement.
Creating a Dental Bridge
Crowns can also be used to create a lifelike replacement for a missing tooth. This is done with bridgework, which spans the space of the missing tooth and requires at least three crowns. Two of those crowns will be placed over healthy teeth on either side of the missing tooth; these healthy teeth are referred to as abutment teeth. The two crowned abutment teeth become supports for a third crown placed in between them; that third crown is referred to as a pontic.
The number of abutment teeth necessary to replace missing teeth is influenced by the number of missing teeth, the size and length of the abutment tooth roots, the amount of bone support each abutment tooth has, as well as where in the mouth the missing tooth is located. Engineering and designing of the bridge requires an understanding of how to replace teeth, as well as the biology of the supporting gum and bone tissue.
Caring for Your Crowns & Bridgework
Crowns and bridgework require the same conscientious care as your natural teeth. Be sure to brush and floss between all of your teeth—restored and natural—every day to reduce the buildup of dental plaque. When you have crowns, it is even more important to maintain your regular schedule of cleanings at the dental office. Avoid using your teeth as tools (to open packages, for example). If you have a grinding habit, wearing a nightguard would be a good idea to protect your teeth and your investment. The team at Schaefer Dental Group can provide advice and custom appliances to protect your restorations.