Crowns

Crowns (also known as caps) are done when the Dentist prepares the tooth due to decay, fracture or for cosmetic reasons. The Dentist prepares the tooth where all the sides of the tooth are "cut down" and parallel with a high-speed hand piece. An impression is then taken and a temporary crown is made. Later, one of three permanent crowns is then fabricated in the lab. Your choices for the type of crowns include:

• Solid gold crown
• Porcelain over gold crown (commonly called PVC crown)
• Procera crown (has no metal substructure located in it)

Procera crowns are the most aesthetic and are usually done for cosmetic reasons and completed on front teeth.

The main reasons that Dentists complete crowns are due to decay and fracture. However, we do crowns for other reasons (mentioned above).

With today's dentistry and the dental materials that are utilized, very aesthetic results can be achieved. We can match your natural teeth to enhance and change your smile. We still have the proven technology of gold crowns on back teeth--typically used for "heavy" biters, bruxers or patients that grind their teeth at night.

The type of crown Dr. Prehn recommends for you will be determined only after a thorough examination, evaluation and consultation appointment. In the end, the type of crown you choose is ultimately your decision.

Fixed Cemented Bridges

Bridges are a series of crowns utilized to replace missing teeth. They are fabricated using your natural teeth on each side of your space (or missing teeth). A crown (or cap) is placed on either side of this span and the "fake" tooth, in the middle of the span, is called a pontic. The pontic is soldered together and jointly the series of crowns are made into one unit. This is then cemented over the top of your existing teeth in a permanent fashion.

Bridges can be a minimum of three crowns in length or up to 16 crowns in length—depending on the design and the area of needed replacement.

With the advent of implants, sometimes you can now place an implant in an area where you used to have a tooth--instead of a bridge.

Unlike single crowns (or caps), a bridge is a series of crowns. Bridges can be fabricated from solid metal or porcelain over metal (commonly called a porcelain veneer bridge). New technology is also allowing us to do a solid porcelain bridge using no metal.

Fixed bridges are only fabricated after a thorough examination, evaluation and consultation. Fixed bridges are commonly used in full-mouth reconstruction, but can also be used on a limited basis for a single missing tooth. Although implants are preferable for replacing missing teeth, bridges have been performed in dentistry for over 80 years and are still a very proven technology. In some cases, they are recommended over the implant option.