Crowns are made from high quality, natural looking porcelain to improve your smile and blend naturally with your own teeth.  Crowns are designed to strengthen and protect the remaining tooth structure, improve the tooth’s overall appearance as well as restore former strength, function and natural appearance.  Placed over prepared front or back teeth much like a cap, crowns are widely used to protect teeth that have undergone root-canal treatment.

Bridges replace singular or multiple missing teeth.  Bridges consist of an artificial tooth that is firmly anchored to the natural tooth on each side of the gap.  Importantly bridges support the surrounding teeth by preventing moving or shifting within the mouth.  Restoring a missing tooth with a bridge prevents teeth from shifting, maintains the natural bite and improves chewing ability.  The bridges are custom-made in a laboratory and are fitted for each patient in conformation with the patient’s bite, and the size and length of the natural teeth.

The process involved
For these treatments, the patient is required to undertake two appointments.  One is to prepare the tooth or teeth for treatment and the other is to fit the crown or bridge.  Occasionally a root-canal treatment (RCT) and post may be required if the nerve within the tooth has died or been removed.

During the first appointment a thin layer of enamel is removed from all surfaces of the tooth.  From here, impressions are taken to record exactly how you bite together so that we can ensure your new tooth will be properly fitted.  We will place a temporary crown over the prepared tooth for a period of approximately two weeks so that the laboratory can make the new crown.