Crowns & 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. Crafted from today’s high-tech porcelains, crowns are virtually indistinguishable from your natural teeth. They can even be designed to improve upon a tooth’s original appearance.

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 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.

Bridgework is very beneficial in restoring your smile, restoring the ability to properly chew and speak, ensuring a proper bite and maintaining the shape of your face to prevent teeth from moving out of position.