Crowns and bridges are an effective option for restoring your smile when teeth are missing. They can also restore function by giving you a full set of teeth for more easily eating a variety of foods. Additionally, crowns and bridges help minimize some of the side effects that can occur after tooth loss. Dr. Lance Anderson and our experienced dental team can restore your smile with crowns & bridges at our office in Wichita.
What are Crowns and Bridges?
Dental crowns are hollow caps that can be placed over weak or damaged teeth to strengthen and restore them. A crown looks just like a natural tooth and can also be placed on top of a dental implant to replace a missing tooth. When used with bridgework, crowns help securely anchor the dental bridge in place.
A bridge is a dental appliance that serves the purpose of replacing a section of missing teeth. A dental bridge literally bridges the gap between teeth by filling in the empty spaces where there are no teeth. Bridges contain pontics, which are the artificial teeth. When crowns and bridges are used together, a crown is positioned at either end of the dental bridge with the pontics in between. The crowns can be placed over existing teeth or dental implants and help hold the bridgework in place.
How Crowns and Bridges Help
Crowns and bridges can help your smile in several ways, including restoring both beauty and function. Crowns and bridges restore beauty by giving you a full set of teeth so there are no gaps in your smile. Having a full set of teeth means the function is also restored since you can readily bite and chew a variety of foods with the crowns and bridges.
Another way crowns and bridges help is by minimizing many of the side effects that can occur following tooth loss. For example, following tooth loss, the remaining teeth take on the work of the missing ones, which can put additional strain on the teeth that remain. By filling in the gaps where teeth are missing, biting and chewing functions can be more evenly distributed across a full set of teeth, which eliminates excess strain on the natural teeth.
Tooth loss can also result in facial sagging since there are fewer teeth to support the muscles of the face. Drooping and sagging can be diminished by restoring your smile with crowns and bridgework. Finally, speech can sometimes be affected by the excess space caused by tooth loss. Filling in those gaps helps improve speech since there are no spaces for the tongue to slip through when speaking. The skilled dentist at our office in Wichita can have custom crowns & bridges created for you.
Crowns and bridges make it possible to restore your smile, improve tooth function, and combat the side effects of tooth loss. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Anderson to learn more about crowns & bridges by calling our office in Wichita at (316) 687-2104.