Crown & Bridge: Which Option Is Best For You?

With incredible efficiency and beautiful esthetics, all of your 32 natural teeth are designed to help you chew and smile with incredible efficiency and confidence. At Hartford Family Dentistry, we’re thrilled that crowns and bridges were invented so that we can fully restore damaged and missing teeth to their maximum beauty and performance.

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Sometimes, as a dentist in Hartford, we can use crowns and bridges to prevent damage, more extensive and costly dental work, and even tooth loss.

For example, we run the risk of nerve damage if a larger filling deteriorates. This could even fracture the root. Every high-risk tooth needs preventive treatment to save you money and time … and the tooth itself!

What is a crown?

A crown (sometimes called a cap) can be made of stainless steel, gold, porcelain… They’re strong and generally last for about 10 years or longer if you take good care of them by keeping your usual, regular homecare routine.

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As a dentist at Hartford Family Dentistry in Hartford, we will prepare the tooth so our laboratory can create a custom-fitted crown that looks beautiful and functions like your real tooth. Once we permanently affix the new crown into place, your smile will look, feel, and work exactly as nature designed it to.

What is a bridge?

Bridges close the gap left by one or more missing teeth by using a combination of crowns and artificial teeth. It restores the look of your smile and redistributes the workload amongst your teeth more evenly.

There are several different kinds of bridges so when you require one, we’ll talk about options with you that will provide you with the best solution. And, similar to crowns, if you take proper care of your bridge by flossing and brushing every day, it should last for about 10 years or longer.

What happens when you lose a tooth?

Many of us, during our adult lives,will lose a tooth to injury, decay, or gum disease. When that happens, chewing forces can shift front to back and side to side. This can cause teeth to move, shift, even flare out, causing unwanted spaces.It can be a domino effect that can seriously alter the look of your smile, jawline, and face. When teeth are not replaced, wrinkles and lines can also form, causing premature aging. You’ll also lose bone structure in your jaw, which is why face changes may occur. It is for all these reasons, crown and bridge treatment is one option we recommend when teeth are lost.

As a dentist near you in Hartford, we can restore and improve your smile using a combination of crowns and bridges to support or even replace lost teeth.

How to care for and maintain your crowns and bridges…

Crowns and bridges cover most of the tooth surface, but it’s the area you cannot see that offers the greatest potential for problems. Where the crown meets your natural tooth, usually at or below the gumline, is called the margin. The margin usually has a small ridge where plaque and bacteria may collect. If even the slightest amount of decay develops under your crown, it can progress unchecked as normal radiographs cannot see through a crown. That’s why an excellent homecare routine is required – both brushing twice a day and flossing once a day.

It’s also important to remove any plaque that may build up between the artificial teeth and the gums to prevent inflammation, bad tastes, and bad breath. This is easily done with floss that has been adapted to cleaning bridges and we’ll show you the best approach for your smile. Irrigation devices can also be helpful.

Adequate time spent with proper maintenance will lead to years of crown and bridge service. If you aren’t sure what special techniques your teeth require, phone Hartford Family Dentistry at (334) 366-8472. As your dentist in Hartford, we’re happy to help!