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Crowns and Bridges Why are teeth crowned? Crowns can be the ideal restoration for teeth. The main reasons why we use a crown are as follows: To strengthen a tooth that has become weakened by having a large filling To improve the appearance of discoloured teeth or fillings To protect a brittle root filled tooth To restore a tooth damaged by an accident To hold a bridge or denture firmly in place What is involved? Crowning a tooth normally requires two visits: The first visit involves reshaping the outer surface of the tooth/filling. An impression is taken to allow the laboratory to construct the crown. The tooth is covered with an acrylic temporary crown. If porcelain is being used, then a shade is also taken to match your existing teeth. At the shorter, second appointment, the finished crown is tried in, any necessary adjustments made and is then cemented to hold it into position. What are bridges? Bridges are used to replace a missing tooth or teeth. A bridge is made by constructing crowns on the teeth at either side of the space, and then joining these two crowns together by placing a false tooth in the space. Conventional bridges require the teeth on either side of the gap to be reshaped, whereas the newer type of adhesive bridges require minimal tooth reduction. Providing you have enough strong teeth with good bone support, bridges can be a better long term way of replacing teeth than using dentures.