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5 Problems that Crowns and Bridges Correct
Missing or damaged teeth are no laughing matter. They’re not a smiling matter, either. Fixing your teeth, though, can inspire a confident smile again. Following are five ways crowns and bridges resolve dental problems and restore confidence.

Dental crowns and bridges are custom-crafted and fitted dental appliances that restore the form and function of your smile. Unlike dental implants that require extensive oral surgery, crowns and bridges are a simple fix.

When you have damaged or missing teeth, the worst thing you can do is ignore them. Without repair or restoration, those problem teeth may create issues in all your other teeth and endanger your health.

At Miracle Smile Dental, our caring and knowledgeable dentist, Nisha Modi, DMD, urges you to fix or replace problem teeth as soon as possible to protect your oral and overall health. At our Aubrey, Texas, office, she offers dental crowns and bridges to help you smile again.

What problems can crowns and bridges correct? Below are five of them.

1. Missing teeth

Whether you have one missing tooth in the back of your mouth or more than one right in the middle of your best smile, replacing a missing tooth is an emergency. When a tooth goes missing, so does the support it lends to surrounding teeth.

The tooth above or below the gap also gets endangered over time. It can undergo a process called “super-eruption,” where it grows toward the gap in your gums and may become loose or fall out.

Dr. Modi recommends a dental bridge as a quick, cost-effective, and minimally invasive fix for one or several missing teeth. She has the lab craft false teeth to replace your missing teeth that match the shape, length, and color of your natural teeth.

She also modifies the two teeth on either side of the gap in your gums. Those teeth are called the abutment teeth and secure the bridge across the span.

She orders dental crowns to cover the modified abutment teeth. The abutment crowns are attached to the bridge that replaces and spans your missing teeth.

2. Missing jawbone

If you lost your teeth some time ago or have poor oral health due to disease or neglect, you may have lost mass in your jaw bones. You can’t replace missing teeth with dental implants without sufficient bone in your jaw.

If your focus is on implants, you may agree to undergo a lengthy procedure called bone grafting, where we add new bone to your jaw. If you want to skip that step, go to a dental bridge secured by crowns.

3. The cost of tooth replacement

Even if you have sufficient jawbone for a dental implant, you may not have the funds to support it. Unfortunately, most dental insurance plans consider dental implants a cosmetic procedure.

In contrast, crowns and bridges are necessary for function. Your dental plan may entirely or partially cover the cost of crowns or bridges.

4. Cracked or chipped teeth

You might think you can live with a cracked or chipped tooth as long as it doesn’t hurt. But cracks and chips in your teeth are like an open-house invitation to bacteria.

Every time you eat, sugars and acids from your food flood through the cracks and fissures, taking in a slew of bacteria. Those bacteria further erode your enamel and the pulp in your teeth, putting you at risk for tooth, gum, and systemic infections.

If you wait too long to treat a damaged tooth, you may need to extract and replace it with an implant, bridge, or dentures. But a dental crown can rescue your damaged tooth while allowing it to stay in place.

Dr. Modi modifies your damaged tooth and cleans or performs a root canal to remove debris or accumulated infectious material. She then orders a customized crown that perfectly mimics your natural tooth color and shape. The crown gets cemented firmly to protect the underlying tooth from further damage or infection.

5. Ground-down teeth

When you were a child, your molars were hills and valleys that could tear apart your food when you chewed, making it easy to swallow and digest. As you grow older, your molars flatten out due to wear and tear.

In addition, you may have an unconscious habit called bruxism, in which you grind or clench your teeth — particularly at night while you sleep. Flat molars don’t chew your food as efficiently and may lead to digestive issues.

A dental crown restores your youthful chewing surface. You can bite, chew, and digest efficiently.

Do you have dental problems you’ve neglected because you’re not sure there’s a solution right for you? Learn how dental bridges and crowns can solve your problems and bring a smile to your face. Call us at 469-765-3567 today or book an appointment using our convenient online scheduling tool.