Can I Protect My Broken Tooth? Your San Diego Dentist will show you how with Crowns or Bridges.

Crowns and Bridges

Porcelain Crowns

Crowns can be placed for many reasons: if the tooth has a large cavity, has had a root canal therapy, has a large, weak filling, to replace a failing or unacceptable existing crown or for cosmetic improvement. Crowns protect the remaining weak tooth structure from any harm in the future. There are three types of crowns used in the office today with the first two being used most often. Ceramic crowns, meaning that there is no metal used in the crown and it appears very natural looking, porcelain fused to metal which is a metal substructure with a porcelain covering that is also very natural appearing and full gold crowns which are only used in very limited and special circumstances.
The tooth is shaped by Dr. Lange and Dr. Fitzpatrick prior to placing a crown which completely covers the weakened or damaged tooth structure remaining above the gum line. Porcelain crowns are shaped and color matched to the surrounding teeth in your mouth.

Bridges

A bridge is another alternative to replace a tooth or teeth that have been lost. Typically when one or two teeth are lost and there are teeth on either side of the space a bridge can be placed. Teeth on either side of the space would link an artificial tooth together in the middle. The bridge is cemented into the mouth and will remain in place. It usually takes Dr. Lange and Dr. Fitzpatrick two visits to complete the process of placing a bridge.

Inlays, Onlays and Crowns

Inlays/Onlays are lab processed resins or ceramics that are not only stronger for the teeth, but they are more life-like then any other restoration in dentistry today. A La Jolla Dentists can place these restorations by bonding them to the remaining tooth structure after an old filling or a cavity is removed. This allows dentist in La Jolla, Dr. Lange and Dr. Fitzpatrick, to be more conservative while strengthening the tooth at the same time.

Before the age of cosmetic dentistry when a portion of the tooth was lost the only solution was to eliminate the majority of the healthy tooth structure remaining and place a crown. Now onlays/inlays restorations are being placed in teeth where crowns would have been placed in the past. This allows your San Diego cosmetic dentists to save all the remaining healthy tooth structure that would have previously been lost with placement of a crown.