Crowns Vs. Bridges: What's the Difference and Which Option Is Best for You?

Unfortunately, flawless smiles almost never happen naturally. In fact, maintaining a beautiful smile can take some work, especially as you get older. 

Fortunately, restorations like crowns and bridges can help, improving both your smile and your oral health. But while crowns and bridges are both popular and common, many people don’t know how they’re used or how they differ. 

At Dentist at Rock Creek in Cypress, Texas, KimCuc Vo, DDS, and Sandra Raouf, DDS, offer both crowns and bridges using advanced materials and state-of-the-art dental technology. In this post, they offer a brief overview of both of these restorations to help you understand why we may recommend one restoration over another.

Dental crowns

Dental crowns may not be as glamorous as the crowns worn by royalty, but they serve an arguably more important role: They help restore damaged teeth while adding a layer of strength and protection, too. 

Made of durable porcelain, dental crowns are designed to fit over the entire visible part of a tooth, hugging its contours for a secure, comfortable fit. Crowns are made using advanced materials and techniques, allowing them to blend beautifully with the rest of your teeth.

Crowns are extremely versatile, used in restorative treatments and for cosmetic purposes, too. Depending on your needs, we might recommend a crown for teeth that are:

• Cracked, chipped, or broken
• Badly damaged by decay
• Treated by a root canal
• Deeply discolored
• Misshapen

With good care, today’s crowns can last for many years.

Applying a crown takes two office visits: one to shape and prepare your tooth, and one to place the finished crown on your tooth using strong dental adhesive. 

During the first visit, we also make an impression to serve as a mold for your crown, and we put a temporary crown on your tooth to protect it while the final crown is being made.

Bridges

While a crown helps preserve and protect a natural tooth, a bridge replaces one or more teeth lost to decay, infection, trauma, or extraction. A bridge is aptly named because, just like the bridges that span a body of water, a dental bridge spans the gap left by those missing teeth.

Bridges feature a supportive framework topped by one or more artificial teeth (sometimes also called crowns). The bridge attaches to the teeth on either side of the gap, either using an adhesive or clips that allow you to remove the bridge if needed.

Interestingly, crowns also play a role in bridge treatment. Typically, we apply a crown to the teeth that support your bridge, giving them an added layer of protection and strength.

Like a crown, a bridge usually takes two office visits. At the first visit, we prepare your teeth for crowns and take an impression of the area, including the gap. During the second visit, we place the crowns and the bridge and adjust them for a comfortable, secure fit.

Custom care for your unique needs

Choosing between a crown and a bridge primarily depends on whether you’re having a damaged tooth repaired (crown) or having a missing tooth replaced (bridge). In either case, your restoration helps maintain your oral health, support your normal bite pattern, and enhance your beautiful, confident smile.

To learn more about crowns, bridges, and the other state-of-the-art restorations our team offers, call 832-534-3801 or book an appointment online with our team at Dentist at Rock Creek today.