If you’re suffering from damaged, decaying, or missing teeth, there are solutions that can provide you with permanent relief. At Valley Dental Care of Plainfield, we are fully equipped to fix your weakened or missing teeth with crowns and bridges—two natural-looking, comfortable treatments that can strengthen and renew your beautiful smile.
What is a Crown?
A dental crown is essentially a cap that is fitted over your natural tooth. Not only does it strengthen damaged teeth, but it also can prevent future damage from occurring. Your dentist at Valley Dental Care of Plainfield may recommend crowns to help you in any number of ways, including:
- Repairing a fractured tooth
- Protecting weakened teeth from damage
- Covering dental implants
- Providing structure to poorly shaped or discolored teeth
- Fastening bridges into place
- Replace fillings
- Restoring teeth that have undergone root canal procedures
In addition to these restorative benefits, crowns also look great and can significantly improve the appearance of your smile. They are typically made from ceramic or porcelain, and they look natural in color and texture, which is particularly helpful for those who need to reshape or restructure heavily damaged teeth.
How to Get Dental Crowns
It may take more than one visit to our Plainfield office to complete this procedure. First, we will likely need to reshape your original tooth a bit to make them an ideal shape and size for the crown. We will then take an impression of your teeth, which will allow the specialized dental laboratory to create the form of your crown. While you wait for your permanent crown, we will place a temporary crown to protect your tooth in the meantime. Finally, when your crown arrives in our office, we will remove the temporary device and ensure that the new permanent fixture fits correctly before cementing it into place. If needed, we can use a local anesthetic through this process.
What are Bridges?
Commonly used to replace a group of missing teeth, a bridge spans across the gap in your bite and uses crowns to attach to the existing teeth on either side. Large gaps in your bite can lead to many issues, particularly as your remaining teeth shift to close the empty space. A bridge remedies this problem by holding both teeth adjacent to the gap in place so they don’t move. And with prosthetic teeth fastened to the bridge, you’ll never even know the gap was there to begin with—your smile looks completely renewed! In addition to these restorative benefits, you’ll also find that bridges can make a few other enhancements, including:
- Improvements to your speech and chewing mechanisms
- Structural stability in surrounding teeth
- Reduced pain in the jaw caused by an uneven bite
- Aesthetic improvements (and a self-esteem boost!)
Dental bridges can last for ten years or longer, which makes them ideal for patients who wish to restore their smile’s natural structure and appearance. Should you and your dentist decide bridges are right for you, you’ll find that this is an excellent option.
How to Get Bridges
Bridges are held in place by crowns on either side of the gap, which means that you will first need to come to the Plainfield office to prepare the adjacent teeth for dental crowns before the bridge is set. This includes shaping the teeth and taking impressions of them for the permanent device. We will also apply a temporary bridge as you wait for the device to come into the office. In your second appointment, we will place the permanent crowns and set a bridge in place on a temporary basis while you decide if it fits and functions properly. Then, in your third appointment, we will permanently fasten the bridge.
If you think crowns or bridges may be a solution for your dental condition, call Valley Dental Care of Plainfield today to schedule your consultation. We are happy to work with you to decide what the best treatment is for you.