Rebuild Your Smile with Crowns and Bridges

The art of dentistry is beautifully exemplified in dental crowns, or caps, that fit over damaged, decayed or an unattractive tooth. It can also entirely replace a tooth as part of dental bridgework. Dr. Adam Pasono offers his Green Bay, WI, patients both crowns and bridges.

More About Crowns

Crown completely cover teeth above the gum line, unlike dental veneers that cover a tooth's front surface. Crowns reinforce teeth by adding to its already existing tooth structure.

Crowns are made of high-tech porcelains (dental ceramics) and are indecipherable from natural teeth and are durable. Other materials used include:

• porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns (PFM), made of a metal interior and a porcelain exterior
• all-porcelain crowns with zirconia (strongest ceramic)

The crowning procedure takes two visits. During the first visit, the tooth is shaped to fit inside the cap. If there is little tooth structure to start, your Green Bay dentist builds up the tooth using filling material. Then impressions of your teeth are taken and sent to the dental laboratory to make models of your teeth for custom-made dental crowns. During the second visit, a permanent crown is attached to your tooth using a resin that hardens when exposed to a special light source.

More About Bridges

Bridges are lifelike appliances that replace missing teeth. They span the space of missing teeth, requiring at least three crowns. Two of those crowns are placed over healthy teeth on either side of the missing tooth to support the third crown placed between them.

The length of the bridge or number of crowns needed is influenced by:

• the number of missing teeth
• the size and length of the supporting-tooth roots
• the amount of bone support each supporting-tooth has
• the exact location of the missing tooth

Crowns and bridges can be used to improve the look of your smile and the function of your teeth. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call our Green Bay, WI, dentist Dr. Adam Pasono at (920) 432-8492 today!