Dental Crowns & Bridges
If you have missing, decayed, or broken teeth, dental crowns and bridges can bring your smile back to full health and function. A crown covers a damaged tooth, and a bridge fills the gap left by a missing tooth.
At Fontenot Family Dentistry, we know how uncomfortable and even embarrassing it can be when your teeth don't work properly. You may find you can’t chew your favorite foods or pronounce certain words clearly. Social and business interactions are challenging because you feel too self-conscious about your smile to share it confidently.
You don't need to live with these limitations! Our high-quality crowns and bridges blend perfectly with your smile and restore comfortable chewing function.
What Is a Dental Crown?
A tooth crown is a custom-crafted restoration that covers a tooth’s entire visible surface. Our dentissts often use ceramic and zirconia because it's the material that looks most like a real tooth; however, we can also use a combination of ceramic and metal called porcelain-fused-to-metal, depending on your preference.
When Do You Recommend a Dental Crown?
We often recommend crowns in the following situations:
- Strengthen a cracked or broken tooth
- Restore a tooth with a large cavity
- Cover a dental implant
- Stabilize dental bridgework
- Protect a tooth weakened by root canal treatment or multiple fillings
- Improve the appearance of a discolored or misshapen tooth
What’s Involved with Getting a Dental Crown?
Getting a crown is a process that requires two appointments spaced 2–3 weeks apart. The first involves reducing the tooth's size so the new restoration fits properly. Next, we take comfortable digital impressions, select the perfect shade of white to match your smile, and create a temporary crown.
A custom dental lab fabricates your final restoration using high-quality materials. When your new crown is ready, you’ll return to our Scott or Carencro dental office, where we check it for fit and cement it securely to the tooth.
A tooth crown can last 5–15 years or longer, but you can extend its lifespan by practicing consistent oral hygiene and staying current with exams and teeth cleanings.
Why Replace a Missing Tooth with a Bridge?
It’s crucial to replace a missing tooth as soon as possible. The gap in your smile affects your self-confidence and can significantly impact your oral health in several ways:
- Teeth adjacent to the gap can tilt and shift, causing misalignment and discomfort when chewing.
- Tooth loss makes remaining teeth work harder, leading to cracked, worn, and broken teeth.
- Changes in how you chew increase stress on your jaw joint, leading to TMJ pain and dysfunction.
- The bone in the area of the lost tooth starts to shrink, loosening surrounding teeth and leading to additional tooth loss.
A custom dental bridge made using premium materials restores your mouth to full health, function, and beauty. Getting a bridge follows the same steps as a dental crown and takes 2–3 weeks to complete.
Your new restoration will match your smile perfectly so you can smile confidently again.
Do You Have Broken or Missing Teeth?
Schedule an appointment at our Scott or Carencro, LA, dental office today to see if a crown or bridge is right for you!
