- Monday- Friday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM / Saturday 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
- 5200 S Archer Ave, Ste 3 Chicago, IL 60632
Dental Crowns and Bridges
Lasting and elegant dental solutions
Are you missing a tooth? Do you have a tooth that stands out because it’s stained, broken, or misshapen? Is a highly sensitive tooth keeping you from enjoying the hot and cold foods you love? Does the way your teeth look cause you to hide your smile behind your hand?
If any of those scenarios sounds familiar to you, then you’re probably a prime candidate for a beautiful crown or bridge from Archer Dental. Tooth crowns are a great option for restoring a tooth that has was broken, had a big cavity or damaged for any other reason. Your dentist at Archer Dental will recommend you a crown that is durable and natural-looking while resolving other oral health issues. After a dental restoration work the patient will regain the functionality of their tooth without needing a dental implant. If you are looking for a dentist in 60632, 60629 or 60639, call 773-781-1345 to schedule your consultation to evaluate your options regarding dental crowns and dental bridges.
Do you need a dental crown?
Also known as caps and are commonly thought of as ‘gold teeth.’ In reality, however, your crown doesn’t have to be made of something as visible as gold. Most crowns these days are made from pure ceramic or have a metal core and porcelain covering.
At Archer Dental, we commonly recommend crowns for teeth with:
- Extensive decay
- Root canal treatment
- Multiple and/or large fillings
- Fractures
- Worn enamel
We also place caps designed to fit over the top of a dental implant.
Installing a dental crown
Our highly recommended dentists for dental crowns will carefully trim away any old fillings, cavities, and damaged tissues from your tooth. This leaves behind the solid but weak and sensitive core part of your tooth.
Then the dentist will take an impression of this prepared tooth and use that as the foundation for designing the cap. Your customized tooth cap will protect and support the exposed core, keeping your tooth healthy… and letting you hold onto it longer!
Bridging the gap
What can you do if your tooth is missing altogether? Luckily, our successful crown technology can help you out there, as well. A dental bridge is a false tooth suspended over the spot where a tooth used to be. This fake tooth is called a ‘pontic’ and it’s supported by crowns placed on the teeth on either side of the gap. In other words, it’s usually 3 crowns bonded together, with the missing tooth in the middle and the bridge holding on to the adjacent teeth.
So why even bother with closing that gap, at all? You may feel that it’s not a big deal to be missing a back tooth. But in reality, completing your smile with a restoration like a bridge is going to have a bigger effect than you might realize.
The benefits of a dental bridge are:
- Prevents teeth from shifting out of alignments
- Takes years off of your smile
- Helps you chew normally
- Enhances the natural beauty of your smile
Dental crowns and bridges will give your teeth years of protection and support. But besides this, they’re going to look great because of being color-matched to your smile. Choose Archer Dental if you are looking for restorative options in Chicago. Schedule your appointment today!
What is the process for getting a dental crown or bridge?
This procedure typically requires two visits to the dentist. Most dental offices will send your impression to the dental lab to prepare the crown itself.
During the first visit
During your first visit, the damaged tooth will be examined and prepared. Digital X-rays will be taken for further examination. In some cases, a root canal treatment will be performed before your dental crown procedure when X-rays show that the pulp of the tooth has been damaged by a bacterial infection. Pulp is soft tissue inside a tooth that contains connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. It may become inflamed if tooth decay is not treated on time.
The tooth will be filed down on the top and around the sides in order to make space for the crown. We try to preserve as much of the tooth as possible, but the amount of tooth that gets filed away will depend on the type of crown. All-metal dental crowns are thinner and don’t need as much of the tooth removed as all-porcelain or porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. If too much of your tooth is missing — due to damage or decay — a filling material can be used to “build up” enough tooth structure for the crown to cover.
After reshaping the tooth, a paste or putty is used to make a copy (also called a impression) of the tooth that’s going to receive the crown. Impressions of the teeth above and below the tooth that’s getting the dental crown will also be made. This is done to make sure that the crown will not affect your bite.
The impressions are sent to a dental laboratory. The laboratory makes the crowns and usually returns them to the dentist’s office in two to three weeks. During this first office visit, your dentist will make a temporary crown to cover and protect the prepared tooth while you’re waiting on the permanent crown.
The second visit
At the second visit, the permanent crown is placed on your tooth. First, the temporary crown is removed and the fit and color of the permanent crown is checked. If everything is okay, a local anesthetic (“numbing” drug) is sometimes used to numb the tooth and the new crown is permanently cemented in place.
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Contact Us
Please know that you can always contact our dental team by calling 773-581-1345, making an appointment through the contact form, or stopping by the Archer Dental Chicago office at 5200 S Archer Ave, Ste #3, Chicago, IL 60632.
Dental glossary
Crown lengthening
It’s a surgical procedure to expose more of the tooth structure by reshaping/raising position of the gum. It is done so that the new crown has enough surface area to be held in place.
Dentin hypersensitivity
Dentin hypersensitivity is a pain response to a various stimuli (touch, temperature, pressure). It occurs when dentin is exposed or tooth enamel is worn down.
Alveolar ridge
Is a bony ridge that contains the sockets of the teeth. The alveolar ridge is an important structure for healthy teeth and successful dental implants.
Dental crown
They are tooth shaped caps made of ceramics, metal or other materials, that are placed on top of damaged teeth. Crowns are used when there is so much damage to the tooth that fillings can not be used.
Preventive dentistry
Preventive dentistry focuses on maintaining oral health in order to prevent the spread tooth decay and infections in the mouth.
Dental bridge
Dental bridge is when two or more dental crowns are connected to each other. Bridge is installed on the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth, essentially bridging the gap.