Dental Prosthesis
A dental crown allows you to re-establish both the dental function and aesthetics of a highly damaged tooth.
The term dental prostheses refers to 2 types of prostheses:
Removable dental prosthesis: – total or partial, also referred to as dentures. The disadvantage is its lack of stability and great discomfort, as the prosthesis has to fasten to adjacent teeth using metallic hooks or be stuck as best one can to naked gums . A prosthesis for the upper teeth often has to be placed on the palate. This encumbers taste perception and changes your way of talking. To solve this problem, a
removable prosthesis can be fixed to dental implant, thus allowing for a very great improvement in stability and mastication.
Fixed dental prosthesis: The ideal solution in terms of aesthetics and mastication, this type of prosthesis is called a dental crown when it only replaces a single tooth or a dental bridge when it replaces several teeth. By definition, it is fixed (cemented) to one or more teeth or dental implants..
Dental prostheses are manufactured by a prosthetic technician. The work is done by hand. The quality of the result depends on the material used (ceramic-metallic crown, gold and ceramic crown or 100% ceramic crown, made of zircon or zirconium), the time spent and the talent of the prosthetic technician.
Dental Crown
Dental crown: this is a very up-to-date kind of treatment. A headpiece for a tooth damaged in an accident or by a cavity, replacing the visible part of this tooth. Aesthetic appearance is essential as the crown (contrary to the dental implant) can be seen, especially when it replaces a front tooth. Its functional aspect (stability, solidity) is also very important.
Ceramic Crown(Zircon)
Zircon or zirconium-type ceramic is the material closest to the aesthetics of a real tooth. To the point that certain dentists cannot tell the difference between a ceramic crown and a real tooth at first sight. Our dentists specialise in dental reconstruction using ceramic crowns. The alternative is a ceramic-metallic crown (the metal can be a precious metal such as gold). The advantage of a ceramic crown is that it is more translucent and does not allow a grey edging to appear at the base of the tooth over time. Moreover, it does not contain any metal, which is an advantage in avoiding allergies.
Dental Bridge
Dental bridge: a bridge is a series of dental crowns stuck together. We can distinguish two cases:
- When several adjacent teeth need to be treated, we fit a bridge on all the teeth concerned
- When a tooth needs to be replaced and it is not possible to fit a dental implant, we fit a bridge supported by the two adjacent teeth. Such a bridge has a good appearance and is perfectly functional. It’s disadvantage is that two healthy teeth have to be cut and the bone under the tooth which is being replaced is reduced little by little, which is not the case with a dental implant.
Treatment Stages
The time taken to complete a dental crown or bridge is around 4 to 7 days.
Preparation of the tooth under local anaesthetic – the tooth is sculpted to receive the future dental crown.
Taking a cast of the tooth to be treated (to prepare a crown which is perfectly suited to your tooth) or of several teeth in the case of a larger reconstruction using a bridge.
Fitting a provisional crown (for aesthetic purposes and to protect the tooth during the preparation of the permanent crown).
Fitting a permanent dental crown or bridge which gives the teeth a natural aesthetic appearance once more, as well as normal mastication function. In principle, a crown lasts for decades.
If the crown or bridge is fitted on an implant, step 1 is replaced by the fitting of the dental implant.
