What Are Dental Crowns and Tooth Bridges?

A dental crown is an artificial tooth shaped cap that is used when a tooth needs to be covered after a root canal treatment or a broken tooth. The primary purpose of a dental crown is to restore the look and function of the original tooth. When it is properly cemented into place, the crown encases the complete exposed part of the tooth that lies above the gum line.

A dental crown helps to preserve a weak tooth against decay or damage. It can also hold together a cracked tooth to prevent it from breaking completely. If a tooth has been badly worn due to any reason, the crown can restore its appearance and function. In case the tooth is missing or has been extracted, the crown plays a vital role to cover the dental implant that results in an excellent replacement for the lost tooth.

The key objective of a crown is to preserve the existing tooth structure as far as possible, and restore the damage in a very conservative manner. Crowns can be made in different materials, including gold alloy, base metal alloy, porcelain, and composite resin material. Metal based crowns, especially gold alloys are the strongest. These are used for the teeth located towards the back of the mouth so that they are not visible while talking.

A tooth bridge refers to the unit that fixes the missing tooth in the middle to the adjacent teeth. Two adjacent teeth act as a support for the missing tooth in this case. Bridge is the traditional dental technology to replace a missing tooth. But its drawback is that it may compromise two healthy adjacent teeth to some extent because it needs to use them as anchors. Overall, bridges and crowns are comprehensive solutions for patients suffering from missing, worn out or broken teeth.

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