Porcelain Crowns & Bridgework
A dental crown is a cap fitted over an existing tooth to restore its original appearance and function.
Made from natural-looking porcelain, crowns can restore the physical structure of your teeth as well as their appearance. Once cemented in place, they'll look and feel just like your own teeth.
Crowns will always be colour-matched to your other teeth for a more natural-looking finish. If you want to change the overall colour of your teeth then this can be achieved by teeth whitening prior to the crown preparation procedure.
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Bridges are like a row of crowns and will replace missing teeth with a natural looking porcelain alternative.
Dental Crowns are recommended ...​
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to hide discoloured teeth
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To restore a damaged or worn teeth or where tooth decay has destroyed most of the original tooth
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to cover a misshapen, distorted or short tooth
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to cover a dental implant or large filling
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following dental trauma or in cases of severe enamel erosion
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to strengthen your tooth following a root canal procedure
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to strengthen teeth which are weakened, fractured or heavily filled
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to support both sides of a dental bridge
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They are also an option for people who grind and clench their teeth so much that the original structure of their teeth has been compromised.
Modern Dental Crowns and Bridges
Modern crowns are very translucent and highly aesthetic. They are so natural that they can often look better than the tooth or teeth they were replacing. There is no need to put up with old crowns which show an ugly metal join line at the gum edge.
Bridgework is like a row of crowns, the only difference is the crowns are joined together in order to replace one or sometimes 2 missing teeth. These are attached to crowns on the teeth either side of the missing teeth which acts as the support system for the structure. A dental bridge will also look very natural as though you still have your own teeth, even though some of your teeth are missing.
How long do dental crowns last?
When you take good care of your crown by following good oral hygiene, it should last for many years. Porcelain crowns are much stronger than some other types of crowns and have been known to last for decades - so with proper care, your new crown may never need to be replaced.
If your crown comes loose, you need to make an appointment to have it reattached as soon as possible. Sometimes crowns come loose without your knowledge and this will leave your underlying tooth vulnerable to decay. Regular dental check ups can help to identify these problems early on.
Maintenance of my dental crowns & dental bridges
We will teach you how to care for your newly cemented crown or bridgework. Maintaining porcelain dental crowns is actually quite simple. While your crown may not be able to get decay, the tooth underneath the crown still can. Crowned teeth need to be brushed and flossed daily just as thoroughly as your other teeth to keep tooth decay and gum disease at bay. You will require some special oral hygiene aids to help clean under and around your bridgework which we will carefully guide you through in the surgery.
While you don't need to avoid hard and crunchy foods like you would for some other types of crowns, your porcelain crown isn't indestructible. We recommend you avoid putting unnecessary strain on your crown and your teeth by biting your nails, chewing pencils, crunching ice, opening packaging with your teeth or grinding or clenching your teeth or jaw.
6 monthly dental check-up appointments are just as important a part of your future oral health care and will aid in the longevity of your restorations to ensure that your at home maintenance routines are working correctly and to pick up on the early signs of disease or breakdown.