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Dental knowledge: crowns and bridges

Crowns and bridges are ways of closing gaps without implants.

Where the loss of substance is great, your dentist will crown a tooth to restore its chewing function and shape. Gaps are closed for medical and aesthetic reasons, in order to balance the chewing forces in the mouth. If the neighbouring teeth have no large fillings and no damage, implantology suggests itself as the way to preserve that healthy tooth substance.

If the adjacent teeth need work in any case, or if other reasons rule out an implant, a fixed bridge is an alternative. Where a good aesthetic effect is wanted, pure metal-free ceramic crowns and bridges offer good options. Ceramic is compelling in its transparency, light refraction, colour and structure.

Sensitive patients are becoming ever more demanding about how well medical materials are tolerated, and about the biocompatibility of dental restorations in particular. A growing group of patients reacts sensitively to the allergenic properties of the materials used in conventional dental prosthetics. For restorations that are biocompatible in the long term and aesthetically demanding, metal-free ceramics such as zirconia are therefore used more and more widely across dentistry.

Answered briefly

Frequently asked questions

If the loss of substance is large, the dentist crowns a tooth in order to restore its chewing function and its shape. The crown is placed over the remaining tooth. If a good aesthetic effect is to be achieved, metal-free crowns made of ceramic are a good option.
Gaps are closed for medical and aesthetic reasons, so that the chewing forces in the mouth are distributed harmoniously again. Depending on the condition of the neighbouring teeth, an implant or a fixed bridge can be considered for that.
If the neighbouring teeth are free of larger fillings and damage, implantology is a good option, because this healthy tooth substance is preserved. If the neighbouring teeth need treatment anyway, or if there are other reasons that rule out an implant, the fixed bridge is an alternative.