Crowns and bridges are a more affordable alternative to dental implants. Crowns are “caps” that go on top of decayed or damaged teeth. This helps them restore their natural look and function. Bridges perform a similar function but instead of going on top of damage teeth, they’re placed where missing teeth are and are anchored to neighboring teeth. Crowns can also be used to work with bridges and dental implants.
Modern crowns are typically made with porcelain and are used when cavity has damaged a tooth to the point that a filling isn’t enough to restore a tooth. Metals like gold alloys can be used as well albeit not having the natural look that porcelain has. Porcelain crowns can improve upon the look of the original tooth and be used to cover a tooth that has had root canal treatment.
Bridges need a minimum of three crowns, two of which, called abutment teeth, will hold the crown in the middle. The two abutment teeth are placed on top of natural teeth. Before they are placed, some of the natural teeth will be trimmed away to make space for the abutment teeth.
