“The use of porcelain crowns and bridges can help create a beautiful smile”
Porcelain crowns and bridges
In cosmetic dentistry, porcelain crowns and bridges are commonly used and suggested by cosmetic dentists. Dental crowns and bridges are methods used in restorative and cosmetic dentistry to restore the function of your teeth and/or create a beautiful smile.
Although more expensive than dental veneers, crowns and bridges present a more thorough and long lasting solution.
Fixing Crowded Teeth
When an adult has crooked or crowded teeth, he often thinks he has to deal with it but does not want to go through the long and painful process of orthodontic treatments, thus suffer through life without answers and effectively without smiling.
At Bondi Dental our cosmetic dentist Dr. Andrew Sih can actually transform a mouth and make the teeth look evenly spaced and aligned though modern cosmetic techniques, and one of the options is the use of porcelain dental crowns.
Crowns and Crowding
Dental crowns are most effective in fixing crowded teeth, if you do not prefer orthodontic treatment.
If you choose to go through this procedure, Dr. Andrew Sih at Bondi Dental will carefully examine your oral condition. In order to have a successful procedure, he will have to study the degree of overlapping and the size of your teeth. He will then discuss with you as to how he will proceed to make sure you understand and are in agreement.
He will then prepare and cut the surfaces of each tooth allowing the correct amount of space for each one to achieve an even look. Various other scenarios also present themselves in at this point and Dr. Sih will explain to you in depth before he starts the procedure. With his skills and aesthetic sense, Dr. Sih will achieve a result and the ‘look’ that will be most pleasing and desirable to you.
Porcelain Crowns
Dental porcelain crowns are used to strengthen and restore a tooth to its full function and appearance. A dental crown is custom made to fit over your entire tooth to protect and hold it together.
There are a number of reasons why people need crowns:
- To protect a heavily filled or broken tooth
- To protect a tooth weakened by root canal treatment
- For cosmetic reasons such as fixing crowded teeth
- Crowns are used with dental implants to replace missing tooth
What are porcelain crowns?
Porcelain crowns are made of porcelain fused with inner metal cores, or of a very strong ceramic material called procera which is metal free. Procera crowns are often used for front teeth restorations because this material provides more translucency and enhances the natural look of the crowns.
What is the procedure for dental crowns?
- There will be an initial consultation and examination with our Principal Dentist, Dr. Andrew Sih who will carefully examine your oral condition, discuss with you your dental problems, your requirements and needs, the reason for his recommendations for a dental crown, cost of the crown and the procedure involved.
- Upon your agreement, there will be a 2nd appointment, for ‘cro wn preparation’, at which time he will
- Take an impression of your teeth for a temporary crown
- Start preparing your tooth
- Take another impression of the prepared tooth to send off to the laboratory for fabrication of the permanent crown
- Cement the temporary crown onto your tooth.
This procedure usually takes one hour to complete. He will then check the shade and colour of the new crown paying special attention to match colour with your existing teeth to provide a ‘natural’ look.
If the new crown is for your front tooth, he may ask a professional photographer to take a photo of your existing teeth, for more accurate and natural colour matching.
- After about 10 days, an appointment will be made for you to come in for the crown to be finally fitted. Upon satisfactorily checking the colour and the fit, it is then permanently cemented and the job is now completed
What is a successful dental crown treatment?
According to Dr. Andrew Sih a successful dental crown treatment must meet with the following criteria:
- Provide maximum comfort and natural appearance
- Decay free, biologically sealed
- Occlusally balanced with the correct bite
- Allow no food trap and easy to floss
- Same colour and translucency as the colour teeth
- Follow the same ‘smile line’ of the mouth
- Smooth margin – for healthy gum and easy cleaning
- The shape should not appear bulky and pearly
Crown Failures? Why?
At Bondi Dental, it is not uncommon when we have new patients coming in with ‘crown failures’. Reasons for these failures are due to the facts that:
- The tooth was not properly prepared or cut to allow for the correct amount of space for the crown
- Impressions had not been taken correctly and accurately
- The crown was not properly sealed (leaking problem), resulting in food trap and future decay
- The gum line shrinks because of ill fitting crown, or the gum margin was not prepared properly.
- The bite was incorrect leading to bite discomfort and in severe cases, fracture of the crown
Therefore it is important that you choose a good dentist who is experienced, knowledgeable and skilled.
Dr. Andrew Sih, our cosmetic dentist at Bondi Dental, has had over 30 years experience in dentistry, specializing in crowns and bridges. He is very confident about his work and gives patients a 10 year guarantee on dental crowns.
Caring for dental porcelain crowns:
Bondi Dental in Sydney provides dental care to patients, including porcelain crowns for damaged or decayed teeth. Part of the dental treatment process is learning how to care for the newly added dental crown. Sometimes when patients receive new crowns on their teeth, there is a bit of an adjustment period to get used to the feel of the new dental work.
Here are some helpful tips and possible problems to watch out for with your new dental crown:
- Practice good oral hygiene: Having a crown in your mouth is the same in most respects as having a regular natural tooth. You still need to practice good oral hygiene with daily brushing and flossing. Just because you have a crown on your tooth doesn’t mean you can forget about your daily dental care routine – the rest of your natural tooth (under the crown) is still vulnerable to cavities and needs to be cared for.
- Watch out for sensitivity and discomfort: Having a dental crown put in is a rather big change for your tooth and the nearby area within your mouth, which is why dentists use anaesthetic for this procedure. Once your crown is in place and the anaesthetic starts to wear off, you might expect to feel some discomfort or sensitivity – in particular, you might feel extra sensitive to heat and cold. Your dentist might recommend brushing your teeth with special toothpaste for sensitive teeth, and can even write you a prescription for sensitive toothpaste if needed. If you have more severe pain when you bite down on the newly crowned tooth, this might be a sign that the crown is sitting too high on the tooth and this can be easily adjusted by your dentist.
- Crowns can chip and break: Dental crowns are meant to be sturdy and long-lasting, but just like any other type of dental work (and just like natural teeth) they are not invulnerable and can sometimes chip or break. (In the case of gold crowns, the gold metal itself does not usually break,) If your crown has a small chip in it, your dentist may be able to repair it. If the damage is extensive, the crown will need to be replaced. Common causes of broken dental crowns include accidental trauma (falls, bike accidents, sporting injuries) or particularly hard-to-chew foods. If you have a dental crown, you don’t need to completely revamp your diet and lifestyle, but you do need to be mindful of what you eat and how you chew it – watch out for hard nuts, crab shells etc.
- Allergic reactions: It’s very rare, but some people can have an allergic reaction to the mix of metals and porcelain in a dental crown. This allergic reaction is usually not severe, and it usually shows up as an inflammation in the gums. If you feel that your crown is causing an allergic reaction, talk to your dentist – or if you know that you are allergic to certain metals, talk to your dentist about an all-porcelain crown (procera) or other options.
Porcelain Bridges
A dental bridge is a permanently fixed denture with three units (or more) of crowns joined together to replace a missing tooth (or a gap) in the centre. Not only does a dental bridge restore smiles and chewing functions, it also serves an important purpose of preventing moving, or mis-alignment of existing teeth.
Porcelain bridges are made of porcelain fused on metal, or in the case of front teeth restoration, for better aesthetic results, strong ceramic material called procera is used. Procera is completely metal free, providing more translucency and enhances the natural look of the crowns.
There are a number of reasons why people need bridges:
- To replace missing tooth/teeth
- For cosmetic reasons
- To restore chewing functions
- Dental bridges are used with dental implants to replace missing teeth
What is the procedure for dental bridges?
The procedures for preparing a dental bridge are the same as preparing a dental crown as mentioned above. The difference is that, instead of preparing one tooth for the crown, in the case of a dental bridge, two teeth adjacent to the missing tooth are prepared to accommodate the bridge.
According to Dr. Andrew Sih a successful dental bridge restoration must meet with the following criteria:
- Provide maximum comfort and natural appearance
- Decay free, biologically sealed
- Occlusally balanced with the correct bite
- Allow no food trap and easy to floss
- Same colour and translucency as the colour teeth
- Natural colour which matches with existing teeth
- Follow the same ‘smile line’ of the mouth
- Smooth margin – for healthy gum and easy cleaning
- The shape should not appear bulky and pearly
Bridge failures? Why?
At Bondi Dental, it is not uncommon when we have new patients coming in with ‘bridge failures’. Reasons for these failures are due to the facts that:
- The teeth was not properly prepared or cut to allow for the correct amount of space for the anchoring crowns
- Impressions were not taken correctly and accurately
- The bridge was not properly sealed (leaking problem), resulting in food trap and future decay
- The gum line shrinks because of ill fitting crowns, or the gum margin was not prepared properly.
- The bite was incorrect leading to bite discomfort and in severe cases, fracture of the bridge
Therefore it is important that you choose a good dentist who is experienced, knowledgeable and skilled.
Dr. Andrew Sih, our cosmetic dentist at Bondi Dental, has had over 30 years experience in dentistry, specializing in crowns and bridges. He is very confident about his work and would give patients a 3 year guarantee on dental bridges.
Caring for porcelain dental bridges :
Caring for dental bridges are the same as caring for dental crowns as mentioned above. However because the units of crowns are joined together in the case of a dental bridge, individual flossing is not possible and a bridge floss threader is recommended.
If you require a dental crown or bridge to restore your look or chewing function, call Bondi Dental now, at (02) 9365 3988