Our Services
Crown & Bridges/Veneers
Crowns
Crowns is done generally where there have been a very large filling or root canal treated teeth. Sometimes a crown might be need for someone who has a very strong bite or grinding. This is because the crowns allows the whole tooth to be surrounded and prevents from future fractures or wear of the tooth. There is 2-3 types of crowns depending of the type, cost and appearance of the tooth.
All porcelain or Emax crown are nowadays routinely done for both front teeth and back teeth. The crown has no metal underlying which allows a very natural looking tooth with no grey shadows. As a routine, we generally suggest all anterior teeth to be done in all ceramic or emax crowns.
Porcelain fused to metal crown are suggested when the tooth had been root canal treated or is very dark or discoloured underneath. The metal allows a very strong material and is useful in bridges to form a strong bridges.
Bridges
Bridges are basically two crowns with a missing tooth joined together. This is useful to replace single or missing teeth quickly without the need for dentures.
Crowns and bridges are generally done in 2 visits. The first visit, we generally prepare the tooth by removing about 2-3 mm of tooth structure all around. Then an impression is made of the preparation. A shade of the tooth and picture of the tooth is taken and sent to the technician. Then a temporary crown is made for the tooth until the proper crown is returned. In the second visit, the temporary crown is removed and the permanent crown is then checked for correct shade, fit and shape, before being cemented.
Veneers
Veneers are customised shell of either porcelain or composite material placed over the front of the tooth. Often this is done to correct discoloured, stained, misshapen or crooked teeth. They are often used to improve a smile or part of an overall treatment plan to correct crooked teeth without braces.
There are 2 types of veneers which are composite veneers or porcelain veneers.
Composite veneers: This is often a single visit to the dentist in which a white composite is placed over the tooth that needed to be corrected. The advantage of this is often quick and can produce results in a single visit. However, the composite filling is not as stain resistant and wear resistant. It tends to pick up stains readily and might need a replacement in a few years.
Porcelain veneers: This requires 2 visits to the dentist in which a porcelain veneer is cemented to the front of the teeth to be corrected. In the first visit, the tooth is generally prepared to allow the placement of the veneer. An impression is then done to allow the technician to correctly make the veneer. A picture is taken with a shade to allow correct matching of the shade and shape of the surrounding teeth. Depending on the teeth, a temporary veneer is placed. After about a week, the porcelain veneer is cemented to the underlying tooth.
