When you have missing or damaged teeth, it’s doesn’t only affect your self-esteem—it can actually have serious implications for your overall physical health. A dental crown or bridge provides practitioners with a way to restore your appearance that also helps you bite, chew and speak correctly again. This can positively impact other aspects of your health, such as your digestive system and your mental health.
request an appointmentDental Crowns
A dental crown is a hollow, artificial tooth covering either fitted over a natural tooth or a dental implant, and can be adjusted to match your own teeth.
Your dentist might recommend a crown for any of these reasons:
- Covering damaged or discoloured teeth, that have become transparent or darker or are getting worn down.
- To replace a large filling, which may be in danger of becoming debonded. If you’ve had to have a filling replaced several times, it can cause loss of the tooth structure, which results in the filling becoming too large. If the dentist suspects nerve inflammation could occur, he might recommend fitting a dental crown before the filling gets so large there isn’t enough tooth left to support the crown.
- After a tooth has been hollowed out during a root canal treatment, it becomes more prone to fractures. Dentists usually recommend crowning teeth after this procedure to protect you from future damage and bacterial infections.
- To stop the cracking or fracturing of a tooth. Heavily filled teeth may be at risk of this kind of damage, and installing a dental crown will enable our dentist in North Delta BC to restore and protect the tooth from splitting.
In most cases, your dentist will recommend treating affected teeth first, before making a ceramic crown that has the natural shape of the existing tooth. Crowns come in a variety of handcrafted styles, and you can choose from a wide range available for all budgets and aesthetic preferences.
Dental Bridges
Gaps left by missing teeth cause the remaining teeth to shift after a time. This can result in a bad bite, gum disease or TMJ disorders. A dental bridge is typically recommended for patients missing one or more teeth. This is a permanent device that spans the gap left by the missing teeth, and consists of artificial teeth fused between two crowns. The device is kept in position by dental implants or by the teeth on either side of the gap. As with crowns, patients can choose between several different materials for a bridge. Our dentist in North Delta BC will be able to advise you on which types or bridges are suitable, since this depends partly on the location of the missing teeth. A porcelain or ceramic dental bridge can be matched to your natural tooth colour.
Same Day, CAD / CAM Restorations
Many dentists now offer Same Day Crowns, which use sophisticated CAD/CAM technology to design, produce and fit ceramic restorative devices all in one single appointment. The process involves digitally scanning the affected teeth to produce a virtual design for the restorative device. A digitally connected milling machine carves the device from a block of restorative material, after which the dentist fits it for you. The biggest advantage of the same day crown over conventional crown is that your dentist has the full control of the design of the crown, allowing for the most ideal shape for esthetic and the function. The entire process can take between 1 and 3 hours, which is more convenient and cost effective for everyone.
For more information on dental crowns and bridges, please contact Nordel Crossing Dental Centre, your dentist in North Delta BC, to schedule a consultation.
