Dental Crowns

Dental Crowns are customized caps that are cemented on the visible portion of a damaged tooth. Firmly cemented into place, they completely encase the tooth for full protection. Since they imitate the natural look and feel of the teeth, they help restore the tooth’s size, shape, strength and appearance. In addition to preventing teeth from deteriorating, crowns help improve tooth strength. Normal oral hygiene and a regular visit to the dentist is sufficient to increase the life time of the crown.

You may need a dental crown for several reasons, including:

At GDNC We Use Full Ceramic Crowns and Zirconia Crowns

Full Ceramic Crowns:

This type of dental crowns are the most suitable cosmetic option, as they provide a more natural color match to the patient’s own teeth. Front-tooth restorations are most commonly done using full ceramic or porcelain crowns, since they appear to be the most natural.

Zirconia Crowns:

The great aesthetics and durability of this crown have caused it to become very popular in recent years especially in the posterior region. In comparison with full ceramic or porcelain crowns, full zirconia crowns have a lower risk of cracking and chipping but because of their high opacity they are not always the best option for the front area.

The most obvious post-procedure care recommendation is to avoid eating hard foods after a crown has been cemented, such as ice and candy, as they can damage the crown. Many dentists recommend wearing a mouthguard at night if you grind or clench your teeth at night, since repetitive grinding of a crown (or any tooth) will eventually wear it down and lead to fractures. In general, maintaining good oral hygiene practices, like brushing and flossing daily, can help to increase the life time of the crown.

How is My Tooth Prepared For a Dental Crown?

At German Dental & Neuromuscular Clinic, dental crowns can be made in the clinic during a single visit, using our Cerec machine.

In some cases, where the crown needs to be manufactured by the dental laboratory, two visits are required.

The First Visit:

The first visit requires an x-ray taken of the tooth and the surrounding bone. If there is a deep tooth decay or a risk of infection, or an injury to the tooth’s pulp, a root canal treatment may be performed before the dental crown procedure.

To make space for the crown itself, the tooth is prepared across the top and the sides with special burs.

If a big part of your tooth is missing — due to damage or decay — a resin material can be used to build up (Crown build up) enough tooth structure for the crown to cover.

If the crown is prepared in the clinic, the dentist will take a digital scan after the tooth has been prepared. In this case the CAD/CAM technology (CEREC) is used to prepare the crown in office right away and it will be fixed in the same visit to avoid discomfort related to the impressions and temporary crown. In some cases the crown needs to be prepared by the lab, the dentist will take an impression, send it to the dental lab, where they are made and sent back to the dental office within a few days. In the meantime, the dentist will place a temporary crown, which will cover and protect the prepared tooth.

The Second Visit:

During the 2^nd visit, the permanent crown is placed on the tooth. Before it is cemented, the dentist & patient check its fit and color, then the dentist cements it into place using in most of the cases anesthetic.

Same-Day Dental Crowns

A crown is made the same way a traditional one is – through removal of decay and shaping the tooth to a perfect fit inside the crown. The rest of the treatment is different. Digital scan of the tooth is taken using a scanning device (video camera) and then creates a 3D model on the computer with the software.

Following this step, the crown is designed and milled from a block of ceramic with the help of the CEREC machine. This process is called computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). It takes around 30 minutes to design and manufacture the crown, after which it is cemented on the prepared tooth.

Dental Bridge

Dental bridges are prosthetic devices that are used to cover an area in your mouth with one or more missing teeth. The bridge is typically fixed on the two closest teeth to the gap. These are often covered with crowns for added support and false teeth are then attached to the bridge, filling the gap created by the loss of your natural teeth.

Gaps in your smile are typically created by tooth loss due to decay or physical trauma to the mouth as a result of an accident or sports.

Filling gaps in your smile is particularly important since the remaining teeth have a tendency to shift towards the gap. This can lead to more serious issues like gingivitis and temporomandibular joint disorder TMJ.

Different Types of Dental Bridges:

There are three types of dental bridges: traditional, Maryland and cantilever.

What to Expect When Getting a Dental Bridge?

A dentist usually needs to perform several procedures in order to perform a dental bridge work. Your dentist begins by using a local anaesthetic around the gum tissues and anchors. The anchor teeth are then shaped and prepared for their crowns. Thus, the crowns and bridges will fit perfectly, which will lead to a stronger bond. Your dentist will then send an impression of your mouth to a lab, which will create a customized bridge. While you are waiting for a permanent bridge, your dentist will give you a temporary one.

Once your permanent bridge is ready, you will return to the dentist’s office. After your dentist carefully fixes the bridge, he or she will ensure your bite alignment remains the same.

Why Do I Need a Dental Bridge?

Your teeth work together. If a tooth is missing, nearby teeth can move into the empty space. The teeth in your opposite jaw can also move up or down toward the space. This can cause:

What Does a Dental Bridge Look Like?

A bridge is made of:

Advantages of Dental Bridges:

There are many advantages to dental bridges such as:

Onlays and Inlays

Onlays and inlays serve as indirect restorations. They are single, solid pieces of ceramic cemented into place to fill the cavity, mainly used to repair teeth that have suffered significant damage where a basic filling is insufficient, at the same time to avoid a full crown.

Compared with Crown preparation, the Inlay/onlay procedures can preserve more tooth material and provide excellent protection over a crown. Inlays are used when it is difficult to restore teeth to their original shape with a conventional filling and to ensure proper contact with neighbouring teeth.

Very similar to fillings, a small amount of tooth structure is removed during the inlay placement procedure, contrary to the amount removed during onlays or crowns.

Dental inlays are a straightforward procedure that is relatively painless. After administering a local anesthetic to the affected area, your dentist will use special drills to remove any decay.

Inlays Repairs Your Tooth’s Surface

The purpose of an inlay is to fabricate longer lasting restoration for your tooth. Gold, composite resins, and ceramics are common materials dentists use to create inlays. With the composite resins and ceramics it is possible to match the color of your teeth. At the German Dental Clinic we use mainly ceramic as the material of choice to fabricate Inlays.

Onlays cover a greater area than inlays, which is the primary difference between them. While an inlay only covers the region between the cusps of a tooth, an onlay covers the cusps.

Onlays Repairs Large Areas

Also known as partial crowns, onlays are usually applied to large areas when treating a cavity. With onlays, the biting surface is covered with a ceramic material and can be extended to the cusps. A porcelain onlay is considered a suitable replacement for crowns on teeth with less damaged area as it allows more tooth material to be saved than a conventional crown placement.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is better a bridge or a crown?

It depends on the situation, crowns are for restoring a cracked or fractured tooth, replacing a large filling, covering an implant, and strengthening a tooth that has had a root canal.

A bridge may be the right choice if a patient loses one or more teeth or when a dental implant is no longer an option because of various factors, such as surgery anxiety or the fact that there is not enough bone in the jaw.

Can you have a crown and a bridge?

Traditional bridges are supported with the use of dental crowns. A bridge consists of one or more replacement teeth and is held in place by a crown at each end. The crowns are cemented over the teeth at either end of the gap, where the missing teeth once were, in order to hold the bridge in place.

Do crowns and bridges hurt?

Crowns and bridges don’t hurt because a local anesthetic is used during the treatment. However, sometimes the preparation of the tooth for crowns and bridges can make it sensitive, and the tooth might need a root canal treatment in some cases.

Can a dental crown or bridge be done in one day?

Same day dental crowns and bridges are a great option for people who have damaged or fractured teeth or missing teeth but have healthy teeth on the sides of the empty space. This is the ideal tooth replacement option for such a situation. The dentists at our dental practice perform same-day crowns and bridges using the latest CAD/CAM technologies (CEREC).

Can you eat normal with a bridge?

Dental bridges function like the natural teeth, so no food or beverage is completely off-limits after dental bridge treatment

How painful is getting a dental bridge?

The procedure used to put the dental bridge in your mouth is relatively easy and pain-free. Before the procedure, your dentist will use local anaesthetics to prevent you from feeling any pain during the procedure. Once you are numb, your dentist will start the procedure.

Can a crown be used for missing teeth?

Dental crowns are a great option for replacing one or more lost teeth, especially when combined with dental implants. Dental crowns were traditionally used to replace single damaged teeth or dental bridges to replace multiple missing teeth. However more modern crown options are now available.