Crown & Bridge

Crowns are used to strengthen teeth compromised by wear, cracks, and large fillings. Crown technology has improved to now offer more attractive and wear-resistant choices. This gives our Arlington dental team more flexibility in planning for different circumstances.

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Dental crowns are sometimes called caps. They're put on top of teeth to restore them to their best size and shape after large fillings, breaks, or weakening forces such as clenching and grinding. In all these cases, crowns serve to strengthen teeth and also provide protection. Crowns are also used to restore single teeth after root canals, to attach bridges, to cover dental implants, and even as a preventive measure when a tooth is in imminent danger of cracking. Crowns and dental implant restorations can be made of various materials, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Porcelain most closely mimics natural tooth appearance in color and texture, so we prefer it.
 

While crowns do provide protection, they're not a guaranteed forever fix. Most insurance companies consider a crown a success when it has optimal function for at least five years, so if the crown doesn't last during that period of time then they'll most often pay for a replacement crown. Of course we want your crown to last much longer, so we look forward to seeing you for regular dental checkups when we can monitor your dental restorations and other aspects of your oral health. As with all your teeth, the tooth with your dental crown needs proper brushing and flossing daily along with other precautions like not chewing ice or pen caps.

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Bridges replace missing teeth by attaching to your strong existing teeth. Like crowns, newer choices add to greater possibilities.