At Smile Builders, we understand that every tooth plays a specific role in your mouth. When one becomes severely damaged or goes missing, the effects ripple throughout your entire bite. Dr. Preston Cobbins creates custom restorations that fit seamlessly with your natural teeth, protecting what remains while preventing future problems from developing.
When You Need a Dental Crown
Dental crowns cap the entire visible portion of a damaged tooth, surrounding it with protective material that restores its shape, strength, and appearance. Think of a crown as a helmet for your tooth—it shields the vulnerable structure underneath while letting you use the tooth normally again.
Several situations call for crown placement:
- Large cavities or fractures that compromise too much tooth structure for a regular filling to work effectively
- Root canal-treated teeth that become brittle and need protection from breaking during normal chewing
- Severely worn teeth from grinding that have lost significant height and need rebuilding
- Cosmetically damaged teeth with extensive staining, chips, or misshaping that bonding can’t adequately address
- Dental implant restoration, where the crown serves as the visible tooth portion attached to the implant
Many patients come to us after living with a damaged tooth for months or even years, avoiding certain foods and chewing only on one side. Once we place their crown, they’re amazed at how natural it feels to use that tooth again without thinking twice about it.
The Crown Preparation Process
Getting a crown typically requires two appointments spaced about two weeks apart. During your first visit, we prepare the tooth by removing damaged areas and reshaping it to accommodate the crown. This preparation creates enough space for the crown material while preserving as much healthy tooth structure as possible.
We then take detailed impressions of the prepared tooth and surrounding teeth. These impressions ensure your permanent crown fits perfectly and matches your bite precisely. You’ll wear a temporary crown while our dental lab crafts your custom restoration. The temporary protects your tooth and maintains spacing, though you’ll need to avoid sticky or hard foods during this period.
Your second appointment involves removing the temporary crown and placing the permanent one. We check the fit, color match, and bite carefully before permanently cementing the crown in place. Most patients adjust to their new crown within a few days as it starts feeling like a natural part of their mouth.
Types of Crown Materials Available
Modern dentistry offers several crown materials, each with specific advantages depending on your situation and priorities. We help you choose the option that best balances durability, aesthetics, and cost for your particular tooth.
Porcelain Crowns
All-porcelain crowns provide the most natural appearance, making them ideal for front teeth where aesthetics matter most. The translucent quality mimics natural enamel beautifully, and we can match the exact shade of your surrounding teeth. These crowns contain no metal, which eliminates the dark line that sometimes appears at the gum line with other types.
Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal Crowns
These crowns combine a metal base for strength with a porcelain exterior for appearance. They work well for back teeth that endure heavy chewing forces while still maintaining a tooth-colored look. The metal substructure provides exceptional durability, though they’re slightly less translucent than all-porcelain options.
Zirconia Crowns
Zirconia offers remarkable strength in a tooth-colored material. These crowns resist chipping and fracturing better than traditional porcelain while maintaining excellent aesthetics. Many dentists choose zirconia for back teeth in patients who grind their teeth or have particularly strong bites.
Understanding Dental Bridges
Bridges literally bridge the gap left by one or more missing teeth. Traditional bridges consist of crowns on the teeth adjacent to the gap (called abutment teeth) connected to one or more artificial teeth (called pontics) that fill the space. The entire restoration bonds permanently in place, functioning just like your natural teeth.
Missing teeth create problems beyond the obvious gap in your smile. Surrounding teeth drift into the empty space over time, causing misalignment and bite issues. The bone in that area also deteriorates without the stimulation that tooth roots provide. Bridges prevent these complications while restoring your ability to chew effectively and speak clearly.
What Makes You a Good Bridge Candidate
Successful bridge placement requires healthy teeth on both sides of the gap to serve as anchors. These abutment teeth need sufficient structure and strong supporting bone to handle the additional forces they’ll bear. We evaluate your oral health thoroughly during your consultation to determine if a bridge will work well for your situation.
Some patients aren’t ideal bridge candidates because:
- Adjacent teeth have extensive decay or damage that compromises their ability to support the bridge.
- Gum disease has weakened the supporting structures around potential abutment teeth.
- Multiple consecutive teeth are missing, making a bridge impractical.
- Bone loss is significant in the area where teeth are missing.
In these situations, we discuss alternative options like dental implants or partial dentures that might better suit your needs and provide longer-lasting results.
Caring for Your Crowns and Bridges
Crowns and bridges in Byram can last 10-15 years or longer with proper maintenance. You’ll brush and floss around crowns just like natural teeth, though bridges require special flossing techniques to clean underneath the pontic. We’ll show you exactly how to use floss threaders or water flossers to keep the area healthy.
Regular checkups remain essential because we need to monitor the margins where crowns meet your natural teeth. These areas can accumulate plaque if not cleaned thoroughly, potentially leading to decay at the edge of the restoration. Catching problems early means simple repairs rather than complete crown replacement.
Avoid using your teeth as tools, and consider a nightguard if you grind your teeth while sleeping. These simple precautions protect your investment and keep your restorations functioning beautifully for years.
Ready to Restore Your Smile?
Stop compensating for damaged or missing teeth. Schedule your consultation at Smile Builders today and discover how custom crowns and bridges can bring back the strength and confidence your smile deserves. We’ll create a restoration plan that fits your needs perfectly.