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Fillings aren’t always enough to repair severely damaged or decayed teeth. At Iliff Family Dental in Aurora, Colorado, Christopher Henes, DDS, offers high-quality crowns and bridges to treat decayed, broken, and even missing teeth. The practice is home to the latest dental technology to ensure your treatment is fast and comfortable. To learn more about crown and bridge treatments, call the Iliff Family Dental office or schedule an appointment online today.
What are crowns and bridges?
If you have missing teeth, crowns and bridges are dental treatments that may help repair damaged or decayed teeth and restore your smile.
Crowns
Crowns are caps that fit over the visible portion of damaged or decayed teeth. They mold to the exact shape of your teeth, so they blend in seamlessly with the rest of your smile. While there are many different types of crown materials, Iliff Family Dental offers porcelain crowns because they’re durable, stain-resistant, and match the natural shade of your teeth.
Bridges
A dental bridge replaces missing teeth, and traditionally consists of two crowns with an artificial tooth in the center. The crowns fit over the teeth surrounding your missing tooth to stabilize the device.
What can crowns and bridges treat?
While bridges exclusively replace missing teeth, crowns may help repair numerous dental concerns, including:
- Severe tooth decay
- Fractured teeth
- Chipped teeth
- Discolored teeth
- Misshapen teeth
- Teeth worn from grinding (bruxism)
Once placed, a crown completely restores the shape and size of a damaged tooth to improve your bite and enhance your appearance.
What is the crowns and bridges process like?
With state-of-the-art technology on-site, the Iliff Family Dental team offers CEREC® same-day crowns for those who want to restore their teeth without attending the two separate appointments (as required by the traditional crowns and bridges process).
During the first visit, the team takes digital X-rays and performs a dental exam to create your treatment plan. Next, they reshape your affected teeth to make room for the restorations. Finally, they take digital impressions of your teeth to create crowns that fit perfectly.
Creating a crown at an outside laboratory can take about two to three weeks, during which time you wear temporary restorations to protect your teeth. If you choose CEREC crowns, the team uses an on-site milling machine to make your restoration in one appointment.
When you return for your second visit, the team removes your temporary restorations and cements your permanent crowns and bridges in place. Once placed, crowns and bridges fully restore your smile.
To learn more about crowns and bridges, call the Iliff Family Dental office or schedule an appointment online today.
