How can we help you?
The team at Telopea Park Dental loves to answer questions about the many oral health concerns our patients would like addressed.
We have created this list so that you may find answers to many of your questions at any time, day or night.
If you can't find a response to a specific question here, we encourage you to send us a message. On the other hand, if your concern is urgent, we advise you to call us, and we can render assistance promptly.
Dental Crowns and Bridges
After a root canal treatment, the structural integrity of your tooth has been weakened and the remaining tooth structure prone to fracture. This is why your dentist might recommend a dental crown for protection of your root filled tooth, especially for your back teeth (molar, premolar) as they are used continuously when eating throughout the day.
For many patients, getting a crown is no more painful than getting a cavity filled thanks to the use of local anesthetic and modern impression techniques. Most people report feeling comfortable throughout their procedure, feeling a little pressure and movement at times, but not pain.
From start to finish, a conventional crown procedure is usually completed in 2 visits 2 weeks apart.
From start to finish, a conventional dental bridge procedure is usually completed in 2 visits 2 weeks apart.
From start to finish, a conventional dental implant procedure is usually completed in 3 to 6 months.
A broken dental crown can be worrisome, but it’s no cause for panic. There are several options to solve the problem including:
- Bonding composite resin to the broken crown
- Recementing the crown (if the crown and tooth is still intact)
- Replacing the broken crown with a new crown
- Extracting the tooth and replacing it with a dental implant.
Ultimately, you’ll need to see a dentist to fix a broken crown.
Dental crowns are custom made tooth shaped 'caps' placed on top of damaged teeth. Crowns are used to protect, cover and restore the shape of your teeth when fillings do not solve the problem. Dental crowns can be made out of metals, porcelain, resin and ceramics.
A crown is used to cover an existing tooth, while a dental bridge is used to fill in the space or gap caused by one or more missing teeth. In its most simple form a bridge is made up of a false porcelain tooth (pontic) that is held between two porcelain crowns (abutments). The abutments are placed over the existing teeth on either side of the gap in your smile, functioning as anchors for the false tooth.
As general rule crowns cost 4-5 times as much as fillings because they require considerable more chair time and material expense to the dentist. Crowns also give patients a stronger, longer lasting, more permanent and more aesthetic restoration.
Fillings:
- Fillings are done when there is a small chip or hole in a tooth - lots of solid tooth structure remaining after caries removal.
- Fillings are done in one visit, usually taking 15 to 30 minutes of chair time after diagnosis.
Crowns:
- A crown is indicated when the carious destruction in the tooth is larger than ~50% or when a large portion of the tooth has fractured off and there is not enough support for a filling.
- Most crowns require two visits. One for the preparation, impression, and fabrication of a temporary crown (while the permanent crown is made at the local laboratory). The second appointment is needed to remove the temporary crown, fit, adjust, and cement the permanent crown.
- The first appointment (crown prep) is about 90 minutes long, the second appointment (crown insert) about 45 minutes long.
- Also, if the tooth is heavily destroyed, an additional filling under the crown (core build-up) is needed.