Dental Crowns, Veneers and Bridges Restore your smile

Crowns

Crowns are used where a significant amount of tooth structure is lost through disease (decay) or through trauma(fractures). It replaces the bulk of the external tooth structure and can be made in a variety of materials and combination. These include:

1. Gold Crowns: These are the strongest and least problematic crowns to construct. It is ideal for people who grind their teeth. Unfortunately, it is losing its favour with patients due to its metallic appearance.
2. Porcelain fused to gold crowns:
   • These are the strongest “white” crowns that can be made. It consists of a metallic substructure, usually a gold alloy with porcelain fused over its external surface. It, therefore, has the strength of gold/metallic crown with the aesthetics of porcelain.
   • Unfortunately, because of the metal substructure, it cannot compare aesthetically with the newer “All Ceramic Restorations”.
3. All Ceramic crowns:
   • These are the newest and most aesthetic crowns currently. Unlike the porcelain fused to metal crowns, most “all ceramic crowns” have a strong ceramic substructure with porcelain fused over. Because the substructure is not metallic, a better transmission of light provides each restoration with a very natural appearance.
   • Long term data is not available for all systems and whilst good laboratory longevity results have been achieved, it does not have the same track record as porcelain fused to metal or with gold crowns yet.
   • Crowns, when done properly, can provide strength and restore your tooth to its former function and appearance. Because of its shape, it envelopes the remaining tooth to prevent it from the fracture.

Crowns require several visits to complete

• The first visit usually involves removing all old filling and or delay the placement of a core foundation. This core foundation can be made either from amalgam filling or from composite filling material.
• In the second visit, the tooth is anaesthetized and prepared and a scan made. The crown is prepared in house using a Cerec machine and can be fitted the same day. These are called same day crowns and made using the CAD CAM system

Ceramic and Composite Veneers

Dental Veneers are custom made shells of tooth coloured material, made up of ceramic or composite and which cover the front of your teeth. They are an extremely effective solution for patients seeking to correct discoloured, chipped or fractured teeth.

Our veneers can restore your smile and are specially designed to offer excellent colour, shape and size creating a flawless, perfect smile line. Veneers can solve many of the concerns and issues associated with teeth that are chipped, crooked, stained or discoloured. They can restore confidence and self-esteem offering an improved quality of life.

Although we can provide both composite resin Veneers and ceramic veneers, ceramic is the most ideal material for a dental veneer as it is stronger, more durable and will give you better aesthetic results. Ceramic offers the life-like translucency of tooth enamel due to a better reflection of light, achieving a more natural result.

The final seating appointment is where the new restoration is cemented on to the tooth.

For most crowns, depending on the oral hygiene regimen of the individual, a 12-15 years average functional use is common. Obviously, this is dependent on many factors such as diet, oral hygiene and whether the patient grinds there teeth uncontrollably or not.

Bridges

Where possible, and where there are enough supporting teeth, it may be possible to prepare the teeth adjacent to the spaces to support a “fixed” bridge that returns the comfort, appearance and stability of the original teeth. Bridgework is a sophisticated procedure requiring several appointments but the long term benefits to the patient is the comfort of not having a removable prosthesis in the mouth and the appearance of the bridge.

In some cases having something “fixed” will prevent the embarrassment of removable dentures slipping when talking or eating.

Please feel free to call (02) 9723 5757 for more information or to book an appointment.