When a tooth becomes severely decayed or damaged, these are situations in which a filling or dental bonding are not enough to repair the tooth. To avoid worsening symptoms and the risk of tooth loss, you need a complete restoration. In today’s blog, your St. Louis, MO, dentist’s office explains how we can repair and restore a tooth with a custom, lifelike dental crown.
The Situations That Call For Them
A dental crown covers the tooth, capping it to address an array of restorative concerns. For example, tooth decay beyond the ability to be addressed with a filling, or cracked or chipped teeth. Placement could help reshape malformed teeth and improve overall bite balance and chewing function as well. As we will discuss further on, they even aid in the treatment of missing teeth! The key to their success is that each one we provide has been custom-made specifically for your tooth.
Preparing and Placing Them
To begin, we will examine your smile to see if a crown is needed. If so, we can numb the tooth before we carefully remove structure from it, making room for your finished crown. Our team then takes detailed digital images of the tooth from multiple angles, and uses this to create a 3D impression. The impression enables us to design and fabricate crowns in a dental lab setting. When ready, we will check the fit, make any necessary adjustments, and then place the restoration with a powerful bonding agent. For the more visible front teeth, we can use porcelain to provide a durable restoration that blends with your smile. For the side and rear teeth, which endure greater bite forces, our team can instead use zirconia, which is far more durable.
Addressing Tooth Loss
What if you have lost natural teeth? If you have a gap of one, two or up the three missing teeth, we could help with a dental bridge. Made from porcelain, this prosthetic contains new teeth, with crowns connected to one or both ends. We attach the prosthetic to the abutment teeth, the ones on each side of the gap, to restore a natural looking smile. If you have an individual missing tooth, we could insert a dental implant and connect the crown to it, providing a durable chewing surface and a lifelike appearance.
If you have any questions about our dental restorations, or if you’re ready to schedule a visit soon, then contact our team today.
Our St. Louis, MO Dentist’s Office Discusses Dental Restorations
We want to help you preserve the health and function of your smile. For more information on our restorative and prosthetic care, then reach out to Magnolia Family Dental in St. Louis, MO today at 314-822-4521.
