How Crowns And Bridges Can Help Improve Your Smile

Repairing damage, restoring lost teeth and improving the appearance of unattractive teeth can be as simple as adding crowns or bridges to your smile. Your family dentist in Elkhart, IN, Dr. Sangyoung Lee, offers the restorations at Elkhart Dental Center.

When crowns are a good option

Dental crowns are synthetic restorations that are hollow inside. The restorations look just like the top parts of teeth and are designed to slip over teeth, encasing them completely. Before you receive a crown, your tooth must be reduced in size slightly in order to accommodate the restoration.

Since crowns must endure years of chewing and biting, they're made of ceramic, resin, porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal and other durable materials.

During a visit to the Elkhart dental office, a crown may be recommended if:

• You're unhappy with the appearance of a tooth: Sometimes cosmetic smile issues can be caused by a single problem tooth. Crowns conceal discolored teeth, make oddly shaped teeth look perfectly uniform, and extend the length of short teeth.
• Your tooth is fragile: Weak teeth are more likely to fracture, usually without warning. A crown stabilizes and protects a fragile tooth and may be recommended if your tooth is cracked, brittle or crumbling, or if the tooth was treated with root canal therapy.
• You broke your tooth: Adding a crown to a broken tooth restores its normal function and also makes biting and chewing possible once again. Breaks are often quite painful. Once the broken ends of your tooth are covered with a dental crown, your pain will disappear.
• You lost a tooth: Crowns can be connected to dental implants to restore lost teeth. Implants are synthetic roots that bond to your jawbone.

How a bridge can help you

Bridges offer another way to restore lost teeth and are frequently used to replace one or two missing teeth. The restorations consist of one or two artificial teeth connected to crowns on either end. The crown portion of the bridge slips over supporting teeth and keeps your bridge securely attached.

Could your smile use a little help? Crowns and bridges may offer the perfect solution. Call your Elkhart, IN, family dentist, Dr. Lee of Elkhart Dental Center, at (574) 522-0156 to schedule your appointment.