Crowns and Bridges
Used to cover or replace a natural tooth.
Crowns
A crown is an artificial cover that fits over all the visible surfaces of a tooth, making it strong and giving it the shape of a natural tooth (also known as a ‘cap’).
Crowns can be made of a variety of different materials and new materials are continually being introduced. Some of the most popular options are listed below.
- Porcelain bonded to metal: this is what most crowns are made from. A metal base is made and then porcelain is applied in layers over it.
- Porcelain crowns: these crowns are made entirely out of porcelain. They can look very natural and are most often used for front teeth.
- Gold alloy crowns: gold is one of the oldest dental materials. Today it is used with other metal alloys to increase its strength, which makes it a very hardwearing restoration. These crowns are silver or gold in colour.
In root-filled teeth it may be necessary to insert a post before placing a crown. A post provides support and helps the crown stay in place.
You will need to have at least two visits: the first for the preparation, impression, shade taking and fitting the temporary crown; and the second to fit the permanent crown. There will usually be about 2 weeks in between appointments.
The crown will be made to match your other teeth as closely as possible. The shade of the neighbouring teeth will be recorded, to make sure that the colour looks natural and matches the surrounding teeth.
Costs will vary according to the type of crown and material used. It is advisable to get a written estimate and treatment plan before beginning any dental treatment.
Crowns are required for teeth that have been broken, or have been weakened by decay or a very large filling/root canal filling.
When you and our dentist are happy with the fit and appearance of the new crown it will be fixed in place with special dental cement or adhesive. The cement forms a seal to hold the crown in place.
Because the shape of the crown will be slightly different from the shape of your tooth before it was crowned, you may be aware of it to begin with. Within a few days it should feel fine, and you will not notice it. The crown may need some adjustment if your bite does not feel comfortable, and if this is the case, you should ask our dentist to check and adjust it.
How long your crown lasts depends on how well you look after it. The crown itself cannot decay, but decay can start where the edge of the crown joins the tooth. Therefore, it is important to keep this area just as clean as you would your natural teeth in order to prevent decay affecting the crown.
Bridges
Bridges are one way of replacing missing teeth and work by attaching a false tooth to one of your teeth adjacent to the gap. It is normal to have to wait for up to 6 months following the removal of a tooth to have a bridge fitted.
The tooth preparation is usually similar to that of a crown along with the other steps. Some situations are suitable for an adhesive bridge which requires less tooth preparation however not every tooth is suitable to be a bridge support, so your dentist will fully assess this prior to commencing any preparation work.
Bridges are made out of the same materials as crowns and need looking after in just the same way. Bridges do put extra strain on the tooth being used as the support so careful consideration needs to be given to every bridge that we place.
It is now more popular to replace missing teeth with dental implants where possible as this avoids tooth preparation completely.
We have a number of dental plans available to help spread the cost of routine dentistry and finance is available when having dental work costing over £1000.