What Crowns and Bridges Can Do for You

What Crowns and Bridges Can Do for You

Crowns and bridges can do much for you and your smile. When used in conjunction with one another, crowns and dental crownsbridges can do more than just restore your smile by replacing missing teeth. When teeth are missing, several side effects can occur, such as loss of support for facial muscles. By filling in the gaps from missing teeth, crowns and bridges can address many of the concerns associated with having teeth missing, such as providing support for sagging facial muscles. Dr. Mehr Tucker is your dentist for crowns and bridges in Rockville, MD.

How Crowns and Bridges Work

Dental crowns are caps placed over weak or damaged teeth to strengthen and protect them, as well as to restore normal tooth functioning. Dental bridges contain artificial teeth, called pontics, that fill in the gaps where natural teeth are missing. Dental bridges essentially “bridge” the gaps between the remaining natural teeth.

Crowns can be used in conjunction with a dental bridge to hold it securely in place. In such cases, there is a crown on each end of the bridge with pontics in between the two crowns. The crowns fit over the natural teeth on either side of the gap to anchor the bridge in place. Once the crowns have been placed over the corresponding teeth and the bridge is in place, the pontics fill in the gap and your smile is restored.

Benefits of Crowns and Bridges

There are many benefits to filling in the gaps where teeth are missing with crowns and bridges. As mentioned, missing teeth mean there is less support for facial muscles, which can result in drooping and sagging. Using a bridge with crowns to fill in the gaps and replace missing teeth helps support the facial muscles and restore the natural shape of the face. Filling in the gaps where teeth are missing can also improve speech by correcting the placement of the tongue, which can be altered by the gaps.

Additional benefits of crowns and bridges include restoration of biting and chewing functions, as well as reducing wear and tear on the natural teeth. Without a full set of teeth, the remaining teeth must compensate for those that are missing and take on the extra work of biting and chewing food, which can result in additional strain and wear and tear on those remaining teeth. Replacing missing teeth with crowns and bridges can address these concerns. Your dentist for crowns and bridges in Rockville can determine if a bridge with crowns would work for you.

Crowns and bridges can do many things for you, not the least of which is restoring your smile. For crowns and bridges in Rockville, MD, schedule an appointment with Dr. Tucker by calling the dental office at (301) 963-8900 or email at [email protected].