Crown And Bridge

A dental crown, also known as a cap, is a type of tooth-restoration treatment. When a tooth is badly damaged and cannot be repaired by simple filling, an artificial crown fabricated from various materials can be fitted onto the prepared natural-tooth stump.

Indications for dental crowns

1. Teeth with large cavities or defects, or discoloured in grey-brown shades. Crowns restore both strength and aesthetics.

2. Fractured teeth or residual roots caused by trauma. Crown-restoration is possible if the root has sufficient length, healthy periodontal support and has received complete root-canal therapy.

3. Poor-shaped teeth unsuitable for orthodontic treatment.

4. Unfavourable tooth colour or morphology, such as tetracycline-stained teeth or peg-shaped teeth.

Fixed Dental Bridge

A fixed bridge is a non-removable prosthesis. In popular terms, replacing one missing tooth often requires work on two adjacent teeth. The natural teeth on both sides of the edentulous gap act as abutments (piers), supporting the pontic (false tooth) in-between to recover chewing function.

Features

Compared with removable dentures, fixed bridges provide stronger biting force and do not require daily removal for cleaning, bringing greater convenience in daily-life.

However, fixed bridges have limitations. Since occlusal loads are borne by the neighbouring abutment teeth, the risk of over-loading damage rises with the number of missing teeth. Long bridges are also prone to failure from uneven stress distribution.

Fixed bridges are generally not recommended for restoring more than two consecutive missing posterior teeth. They are better suited for single or a few separated missing teeth. Cases with extensive or full-arch tooth-loss are usually not suitable for bridgework; removable dentures or dental-implant treatment would be alternative options.

Disadvantages

Adjacent natural teeth must be reduced in size to serve as bridge abutments, which carries potential risks. Tooth preparation may trigger dentine hypersensitivity. In some cases, pulp injury requires root-canal treatment, leaving the tooth more brittle.

Food debris tends to accumulate along the margin between bridge and natural-tooth, raising the risk of secondary caries on abutment teeth. Thorough oral-hygiene maintenance and regular dental check-ups are essential after bridge placement.