Prosthodontic Treatment
Crown And Bridge:
Crowns and bridges used in dental procedures are basically the fixed prosthetic devices. They differ from the removable prosthetic devices such as dentures that can be removed and cleaned; crowns and bridges on the other hand are cemented or fixed to the existing teeth or implants, and thus require a dentist's assistance to remove them.
Mechanism of Crowns:
A crown is used in dental procedures that require the dentist to entirely cover or more precisely "cap" a damaged/spoiled tooth in a person. It is not only used to strengthen the damaged tooth, but a crown can also work towards improving its appearance, form or alignment. A crown can also be used to cap a tooth implant, to render tooth-like shape and structure to facilitate function. Crowns are more interesting in the sense; there are porcelain or ceramic crowns that can suit the colour of your natural teeth. Also there are certain other materials that take in gold and metal alloys, acrylic as well as ceramic. The alloy mix makes the crown stronger than the normal porcelain and in most cases is used in the case of back teeth. The most often used crown type is porcelain bonded to a metal shell, as it takes in both strength and beauty.
Indications to do Crown:
- Crown can be used to replace a large filling inside the mouth, which does not have or contain enough teeth to fill in the space.
- Timely crowning can guard a weak tooth from breaking or rupturing.
- To restore a fractured tooth from getting damaged
- In attaching a bridge
- In the purpose of covering a dental implant
- To cover a discoloured or improperly shaped tooth
- To protect and cover a tooth that has been through root canal treatment
How do Bridges Work?
A bridge is advised to those with one or more missing teeth. The extra gaps these missing teeth leave in your mouth needs to be mended, as they can lead to rotate and shift the remaining teeth to fill in the empty space, thus resulting in bad bite. Thus improperly structured teeth can also give rise to gum disease and in certain other cases temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
In such cases, bridges work to span the space due to missing teeth. You can arrest such disorders arising out of missing teeth, by cementing bridges to the natural teeth or implants lying adjacent to the gap or empty space. In dental terminology these teeth are named abutments and are used as anchors for placing the bridge. A replacement tooth, referred to as a pontic, is fixed to the crowns that cover the abutments. Just as in the case of crowns, bridges too allow a choice of materials to suit the location of the missing tooth (or teeth), the function it has to perform, aesthetic appeal and also the cost involved. On selecting porcelain or ceramic bridges you get a colour that goes with your natural teeth.
Dentures:
Dentures are artificial substitutes for replacing the lost/missing teeth and strengthen the adjoining tissues to facilitate better functioning, dental health and aesthetics value. In simple terms, dentures are alternative for lost teeth.
Complete dentures:
A complete denture helps replace the entire row of teeth and adjoining oral tissues thus restoring better function, good dental health and visual appearance of the patient. This can be done for the lost teeth in the upper as well as the lower jaw bones. When either of the upper or the lower denture is made then it is termed as single denture.
Immediate dentures:
Prepared prior to the removal of teeth, immediate dentures replace the teeth as soon as the original teeth are removed. An impression of the teeth and guns are taken before creating immediate dentures, so that the dentures can fit the area on removing the teeth.
Partial Dentures:
Using Partial Dentures comes as an affordable alternative in replacing lost teeth or long spans of missing teeth, if the patient finds fixed prosthesis a costly affair. Framed out of cast metal alloy and strong plastics these dentures need to be kept clean every time the patient eats or drinks. Removable cast partial dentures usually consist of replacement teeth attached to pink or gum-colored plastic bases, which are connected by metal framework.
Implantology:
Dental implants are employed as an effective stand-by to bridges in the place if tooth/teeth. This is done by filling a titanium implant in the toothless part of the jawbone. The jawbone that combines with the titanium surface provides a strong anchorage for the implant. The implant supports dental prosthesis placed over it. Whether it is for single tooth replacement or an entire row of teeth, dental implants are now recognized as the remedy for a complete range of teeth problems.
The dental implant procedure begins only after a thorough diagnosis and treatment planning. A recipient area that takes in the similar dimension and form of the implant is made in the jawbone by drilling, and the implant is placed in that surface. In normal cases, the prescribed healing period is 3-6 months, which is when the jawbone completed fuses with the implant. When the healing is complete, then dental prosthesis is constructed over the implant.
