If you have any teeth that are damaged, decayed, or missing, the best thing for you to do is seek out treatment as soon as possible so you can restore both your smile’s appearance and strength. Three of the most common approaches dentists use to fix these kinds of problems involve dental crowns, bridges, and dental implants. Each one has a specific set of conditions they are ideally suited for, and today, we’re going to let you know which one may be exactly what your smile needs.
Rebuild Broken Teeth with Dental Crowns
A dental crown is a tooth-shaped restoration that simply fits over the top of and fully encapsulates a damaged tooth. It can be used to repair teeth that:
- Have a cavity too large to be repaired with a filling
- Have been fractured due to trauma
- Have just undergone root canal treatment
A dental crown is able to accomplish two very important things. Firstly, it’s able to protect a tooth from further damage or decay, and it can also restore a tooth cosmetically. Dental crowns can even be used to help the teeth come together more uniformly if a patient has bite alignment issues.
Replace Your Missing Teeth with a Dental Bridge
A dental bridge, on the other hand, is intended to replace missing teeth. It consists of two dental crowns placed on the teeth surrounding the gap in a person’s smile, and these are attached to a prosthetic tooth or teeth in order to fill in the space.
They not only help a person get their complete smile back, but they can also be used to improve a patient’s ability to eat and speak comfortably. They can even prevent other associated issues due to tooth loss, such as the teeth shifting into the open gap.
The Ultimate Solution with Dental Implants
Dental implants are also used to replace missing teeth, but they do it in a way much different than dental bridges. Instead of relying on supporting crowns, a dental implant consists of a small titanium post that is placed directly into the jawbone in order to mimic the root structure of a lost tooth. This can then be attached to a variety of prosthetics that can be used to replace everything from a single tooth to an entire row of teeth.
This prosthetic root makes dental implants very special because in addition to providing unrivaled support for the replacement teeth, it also supports the jawbone from within, which keeps it from resorbing over time. This is something dental bridges simply can’t do.
Which One is Right For You?
Discuss your options with Dr. Page . If you have a tooth that has loss significant structure, a dental crown will likely be our first suggestion. If you have a missing tooth or teeth, however, you may have a choice between a dental bridge or dental implants, and the one that is most appropriate for you will depend on your particular situation.
In any case, when your smile needs a little help, contact our office to find a solution. With our expertise, we will make sure your teeth look great, feel even better, and allow you to smile with confidence.
About the Author
Dr. Erin Page is a general, cosmetic, and implant dentist in Schenectady, NY. Over the course of her career, she has rebuilt hundreds of smiles using these treatments. Dr. Page practices at Capital Smiles, and she can be reached through her website or by phone at (518) 374-0317.