Crowns and Bridges

Crowns and bridges provide an affordable way to repair or replace damaged, severely decaying, or extracted teeth. At Glow Dental, cosmetic and family dentist Jihye Park, DDS, uses crowns and bridges to transform smiles and encourage optimal oral health. To see if you’re a candidate for crowns or bridges today, call the office in Closter, New Jersey, or book online.

What are crowns and bridges?

Crowns and bridges are dental restorations that repair or replace damaged, decaying, or missing teeth. Though similar, they aren’t the same things:

Crowns

A crown is a cap that Dr. Park bonds on top of a damaged or decaying permanent tooth. The crown restores your chewing and biting abilities, while improving the shape and size of the tooth.

Bridges

A bridge fills a gap in your smile where a permanent tooth used to be. There are several types of bridges, but almost all of them have an artificial tooth and two crowns or a metal frame. Dr. Park bonds the crowns or the metal frame to the existing teeth on either side of the gap in your smile.

When are crowns and bridges needed?

At Glow Dental, Dr. Park uses crowns to:

• Protect weak teeth
• Restore broken or worn down teeth
• Hold dental bridges in place
• Cover dental implants
• Complete root canal therapy

Dr. Park uses bridges to replace teeth lost to extraction, trauma, or poor oral hygiene.

What does getting crowns and bridges involve?

At Glow Dental, getting crowns and bridges takes two visits spaced several weeks apart.

Process for getting a crown

Dr. Park completes an oral exam and takes a series of digital X-rays. She then administers a local anesthetic and removes the decaying or damaged portion of your tooth enamel. Dr. Park takes impressions of your tooth and covers it with a temporary crown. Then, she sends your impressions to a dental lab.

The lab creates a custom dental crown from ceramic or another material. When it’s ready, several weeks later, you return to Glow Dental. Dr. Park replaces your temporary crown with the permanent one and checks your bite.

Process for getting a bridge

Dr. Park completes an oral exam and takes digital X-rays. If you’re missing a single tooth and the surrounding teeth look healthy, you qualify for a bridge.

Dr. Park takes impressions of your mouth and sends them to a dental lab. The lab then uses the impressions to create a custom dental bridge.

Several weeks later, when your bridge is finished, you return to Glow Dental. Dr. Park places the artificial tooth into your empty socket and carefully bonds the bridge in place. Then, she checks your bite and explains how to care for the bridge.

Call Glow Dental to learn more about the benefits of crowns and bridges today, or book a consultation online.