Crown and Bridge Regular dental care is a great way to maintain a healthy smile, on occasion more than maintenance is needed. Crowns are a common form of restorative dentistry and can be the ideal solution to restore teeth that have been damaged by decay, excessively worn, root canalled, fractured, or weakened by bulky fillings. These restorations are crafted from porcelain and made to fit around the natural tooth structure to protect it from further damage or decay. The porcelain material is matched to the colour and shape of your existing teeth so that the newly crowned tooth fits perfectly and naturally into your smile. After you have met with Dr. Elke and made the choice to restore your smile through the use of crowns the procedure is generally spread over two visits. During the first visit Dr. Elke will prepare the tooth, take an impression, fabricate and affix a temporary crown. The impression of your tooth is sent to a dental lab that will create the porcelain crown that will be permanently secured to the prepared tooth at your next visit. In just a few short visits you will see an improvement in both function and aesthetics, giving you a reason to smile. While crowns focus on repairing or correcting individual teeth, bridges can be used to replace and repair a span of missing or damaged teeth. Basically a bridge is a replacement tooth that is anchored by healthy teeth on each side. The healthy teeth usually need crowns to support the bridge. It’s possible now that porcelain bridges can be made without metal for use in the front of the mouth. If you are self-conscious about your smile because of an old unsightly bridge or missing teeth, Dr. Elke will be happy to help restore your smile and confidence with a functional and aesthetically pleasing porcelain bridge. In most cases porcelain bridges are the quickest, most comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing way to solve the problem of missing teeth. Although Crowns and Bridges are forms of restorative dentistry used to improve function, they are also commonly used in to improve aesthetics. If you take some time to view our smile gallery you will see the dramatic difference that can be made with both treatments.     521 6th Street South, Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 2E1 site design