Crowns/ Bridges

We want you to love your smile and feel comfortable with it, crowns and bridges can offer this! A crown can strengthen and improve the appearance of your teeth.

A dental bridge is a custom-made device that can replace one or more missing teeth. They are anchored on neighboring teeth, these teeth will be prepped as crowns. Bridges are sometimes referred to as a fixed denture, they look natural and remain in your mouth at all times.

A dental crown, or cap, is a tooth-like cover for an already existing tooth that has been prepared by Dr. Hopkins or Dr. Kunz. Crowns and bridges can be made from many materials such as semi-precious or precious metals, porcelain or a combination of metal fused to porcelain.

Benefits of Crown and Bridge Treatment:

Restores lost teeth and supports remaining teeth
Restores and maintains natural bite
Prevents stress on natural teeth
Improves speech, smile, and chewing ability
Helps prevent further decay
Prevents tilting and shifting of other teeth

Procedure:

At the first appointment you can expect getting numb. Doctor will then prepare the tooth for a crown or teeth for a bridge. At least 3 impressions will be taken, these will be used to make your temporary crown and actual crown. The temporary crown will protect that tooth until we have made you the perfect crown. It is important to know the temporary is made out of a hard plastic material that is only temporarily bonded, this means eating things that are chewy, such as gum or caramel will cause the temporary to fall off.
At the second and final appointment, Doctor will remove the temporary and try on the new crown. If any adjustments need to be made they will be done before the permanent cement is placed. Doctor will also take the time to check the color of the crown, and biting and chewing surfaces. If everything is comfortable and looks right, doctor will then permanently cement crown. An x-ray will be taken to ensure no extra cement is left behind. It is common for some sensitivity after this procedure.