Crown and bridgework

Crowns and bridges are fixed tooth replacements.
They are either made entirely of ceramic or ceramic
combined with a gold-platinum alloy (porcelain
bonded onto metal).

A crown is considered if the crown of the patient’s
original tooth is badly destroyed but the root of the
tooth is still intact. The tooth may have to undergo
root canal treatment beforehand (see “Root canal
treatment”). It can then also be fitted with a post
crown.

A bridge can be used to deal with gaps between
the teeth if there is no longer any root left. The teeth
before and after the gap (“abutment teeth”) are
ground back and fitted with crowns – between
which the “pontics” are suspended – to recreate
a continuous row of teeth.

As an alternative, implantology may also be used
for bridgework. The advantage of this approach is
that it does not require abutment teeth and these
teeth do not have to be ground back
(see “Implantology”).