A dental crown is a dental restoration that is required for teeth that are heavily restored and teeth that has gone through root canal treatment. A dental bridge is a restorative prosthesis used to replace missing teeth/tooth.

 

Crowns

In simple terms, a dental crown is like a “helmet” for the compromised tooth.

 

Heavily restored teeth- Teeth that are heavily restored are vulnerable to recurrent decay and restorations may not stay. Thus, a dental crown is required as a more permanent restoration. A dental crown can be made of metal, porcelain, porcelain fused to metal, zirconia or resin-hybrid materials.

 

Root canal treated teeth- A root canal treated tooth is a non-vital tooth, meaning there will be no more blood circulation to the tooth, thus, the tooth will eventually become more brittle and duller in colour. A dental crown is indicated for protection of the brittle root canal treated tooth and also as an aesthetic restoration to maintain the colour of the tooth as compared to the surrounding teeth.

 

Bridge

A dental bridge is a restorative prosthesis used to replace missing tooth/teeth. It involves “shaving” down the adjacent teeth in order to secure a multi-unit bridge to cover the gap of the missing tooth/teeth.