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Crowns and Bridges

What is Crown Tooth Repair Used for?

A crown tooth repair involves the application of a cap that looks like a real tooth onto the surface of your actual tooth. This is used for teeth that are chipped, stained, or otherwise impaired. Using a crown allows you to protect your actual tooth much easier. A broken tooth can allow bacteria to get into the roots and nerves of the damaged tooth. Covering this broken area with a crown protects the longevity of the tooth, while also improving its appearance.

Dental Crown West Orange, NJ

How Long do Crowns Last From Bagoff Dental Arts?

Here at Bagoff Dental Arts in West Orange, NJ we want your dental crown to last for as long as possible. Generally a dental crown will last for up to 15 years. However, some crowns can last for the rest of your lifetime. This all depends greatly on how well you care for your dental crown.

Crowning or Capping a Tooth

Dental Crowns – Crowning or capping a tooth will usually take two to three visits. At the first visit, your tooth is prepared to receive its new crown. First, it is shaped to fit inside the new covering. This will involve some drilling to give the tooth a uniform shape. The tooth and the surrounding area will be numbed beforehand. If there is very little tooth structure left to begin with, the tooth may have to be built up with filling material, rather than filed down, to support the crown.

After the tooth is prepared, impressions of your teeth are taken, either digitally or with reliable, putty-like impression materials, and sent to the dental laboratory. There, the impressions will be used to make models of your teeth for the creation of a crown. The models will serve as guides to the highly skilled lab technicians, who will ensure that your new crown is designed to enhance your smile and function well within your bite.

Before you leave the office, a temporary crown will be attached to your tooth to protect it until the permanent crown is ready. At the second visit, your permanent crown will be attached to your tooth with either a resin that hardens when exposed to a special light source, or a type of permanent cement.

Dental Crowns West Orange, NJ

Creating a Bridge

Dental Bridgework – Crowns can also be used to create a lifelike replacement for a missing tooth. This is done with bridgework, which spans the space of the missing tooth and requires at least three crowns. Two of those crowns will be placed over healthy teeth on either side of the missing tooth; these healthy teeth are referred to as abutment teeth. The two crowned abutment teeth become supports for a third crown placed in between them; that third crown is referred to as a pontic. If more than one tooth is missing, more crowns will be needed to bridge the gap in between the abutment teeth.

The number of abutment teeth necessary to replace missing teeth is influenced by the number of missing teeth, the size and length of the abutment tooth roots, the amount of bone support each abutment tooth has, as well as where in the mouth the missing tooth is located. For example, if you have three missing teeth, four abutment teeth may be necessary, thereby creating a seven-tooth bridge. Engineering and designing of the bridge requires an understanding of how to replace teeth, as well as the biology of the supporting gum and bone tissue.

Creating a Bridge West Orange, NJ

How Do I Care for Dental Crowns?

If you brush your teeth, floss, and are careful about the foods you eat you will extend the life of your crown. For example, regarding foods you want to avoid sticky or hard foods, as well as chewing on ice. Also you want to see your dentist at Bagoff Dental Arts in West Orange, NJ for regular dental exams to further protect your crown from wear and damage.

Getting a Dental Crown in West Orange, NJ

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