What's the Difference Between a Crown and a Bridge?

Your smile is often the first thing people notice about you and can have a direct effect on your self-confidence and self-esteem. If your smile is damaged in any way, you might find yourself wary of smiling or hesitant to eat or talk in public. This can cause problems with your social life, relationships, and even school or work activities.

At Smylique Dentistry in Rochester, New York, Dr. Indra Quagliata provides cosmetic dentistry services focused on repairing your smile and leaving you feeling confident and unafraid to flash a grin. Depending on what your needs are and what kind of damage has been done to your teeth, she can fit a crown, design a bridge, or even place an implant to perfect your smile once more. 

Crowns

A crown is also called a dental cap. It’s a restoration used to cover the top surface of a tooth after work is completed to repair or replace the tooth. Crowns can be made of precious metal such as gold or hard substances like porcelain that looks and feels like your original tooth. 

You might need a crown to complete a restoration after:

• A cavity has destroyed most of the chewing surface of your tooth, leaving damage too big for a filling
• A root canalhas remove infected tooth root and your tooth has been filled with a sterile substance to prevent reinfection
• A dental implant has replaced a tooth that you lost or that had to be extracted because of damage or decay

With proper care, a crown can last for decades. If a crown becomes damaged in any way, it’s easy to replace to keep your smile looking fantastic.

Bridges

A bridge, or partial denture, is designed to cover a gap left by one or more missing teeth. It can replace a single tooth, several teeth next to each other in a line, or teeth missing in different parts of the same jaw (upper or lower). 

Dr. Quagliata carefully takes imprints of your existing teeth and fabricates the bridge to fit snugly in your mouth. It may connect to the teeth remaining in your mouth as a fixed bridge or have a retainer that fits under your tongue or against your upper soft palate to form a removable denture. 

Restorations that look like your original teeth are permanently fixed to the bridge. Once it’s in place, your smile will look even and natural, and no one will know you are missing any teeth.

If you’d like to learn more about crowns and bridges, call IQ Dentistry at 585-207-2159, or contact us online to book an appointment.