Crowns and Dental Bridges
If you have damaged or missing teeth, your smile can be held back in a multitude of ways. Teeth that aren’t able to function properly hinder your ability to chew, while teeth that appear unattractive affect the aesthetic of a smile. Both attribute to the overall health of your mouth, and if left untreated, can lead to further complications, tooth loss, and damage. For many, such problems can be easily addressed with two prosthetic dental solutions; crowns and bridges!
Crowns are dental restorations used to cover and restore teeth that are broken, chipped, misshapen, decayed, or severely worn down. Additionally, they can be placed on top of dental implants to provide tooth-like structure and function. Crowns are typically made of porcelain or ceramic, matched to the color and shape of your natural teeth, and cemented to a metal base for added strength.
Bridges are restoration solutions used to replace one or more missing teeth in cases where there are remaining, healthy teeth surrounding them. Made of porcelain and cemented onto a metal brace, bridges are placed onto the surrounding teeth and are intended to fill in the gap and literally bridge the teeth. This prevents teeth from rotating or shifting into the gap of a missing tooth, which can lead to further complications such as a bad bite or TMJ.
At Lopour & Associates DDS, our Albuquerque cosmetic dentists take pride in providing each patient with personalized dental solutions and treatments to restore their smile and oral health. Call us at (505) 298-7475 to schedule a consultation and see if your smile would benefit from crowns or bridges to achieve the following:
- Cover visibly damaged, misshapen, or discolored tooth or teeth
- Subside consistent tooth pain or sensitivity
- Protect a weak tooth from becoming more damaged
- Restore a damaged tooth
- Attach a bridge
- Cover a dental implant
Creating Crowns & Bridges
During your first exam, Dr. LoPour will assess the tooth or teeth to determine the damage and recommend the best solution to fix it. Upon confirming your candidacy for crowns or bridges, Dr. LoPour will prepare the area by removing all decay and reducing the size of the tooth or teeth so that a crown or bridge can be placed over them. If there is extensive decay or damage to a tooth, we’ll add a build up material to fill the area so that the crown or bridge has a strong foundation to properly anchor to. Impressions of your teeth will be taken and then sent to a dental lab where a crown or bridge will be made in either porcelain or ceramic, as specified by Dr. LoPour. During this phase, a temporary crown or bridge will often be placed to cover and protect the area of the prepared tooth. The second visit will be to install the crown or bridge. After checking that the newly created crown or bridge is the right, shape, size, and color, Dr. LoPour will use a dental cement to carefully secure it into place.
The quality of after and oral care practiced by the patient will determine the longevity of crowns and bridges. It’s important to practice good oral hygiene to keep teeth and gums healthy and strong in order to support your crown or bridge. Additionally, patients will be cautioned to avoid chewing hard foods, ice, or other hard objects, as this can wear the crown or bridge and cause it to become loose or fall out.
Restore Your Smile at LoPour!
No matter if you’re missing one tooth or multiple, we’re here to help you restore your smile and its functionality! Trust the team at LoPour & Associates DDS for the leading cosmetic dental care in Albuquerque—visit us today or call us at (505) 298-7475!
