Procedures Using Fixed Prosthodontics

• Crown

  A crown is used to cover a tooth and may be commonly called a "cap." Dental Crowns are completed in two visits. The teeth to be crowned are prepared by a dentist, and records are given to a certified dental assistant or technician to construct the temporary prosthesis. The records include models, which are replicas of a patient's teeth, and the impressions used to make these models. There are many methods of crown fabrication, each using a different material. Our crowns are "custom crafted," meaning they are designed specifically for you. You may have read of "crowns in a day," as prosthdontists, we've found those treatments may not be the ideal solution. Teeth in a Day procedures usually remove too much of the existing tooth and complications can occur. Your crown may be made of gold or other similar metals, porcelain, or a combination of the two.

• Bridge

  A bridge is used to span, or bridge, an edentulous area (space where teeth are missing), usually by connecting to fixed restorations on adjacent teeth. The teeth used to support the bridge are called abutments. A bridge may also refer to a single-piece multiple unit fixed partial dentures (many single-unit crowns either cast or fused together). The part of the bridge which replaces a missing tooth and are attached to the abutments is known as a "pontic." For multiple missing teeth, some cases may have several pontics.

• Inlay

  An inlay is a restoration which lies within the confines of the cusps. These restorations are considered to be more conservative than onlays or crowns because less tooth structure is removed in preparation for the restoration. They are usually used when tooth destruction is less than half the distance between cusp tips.

• Onlay

  An onlay is a method of tooth restoration, which covers, protects or reinforces one or more cusps. Onlays are methods for restoring teeth in an indirect way. Onlays are often used when teeth present extensive destruction due to caries or to trauma.

• Dental Veneer

  Often called "porcelain veneers," or "lumineers," a dental veneer is is a thin layer of restorative material placed over a tooth surface, either to improve the esthetics of a tooth, or to restore.