When you smile in the mirror, are you happy with what you see reflecting back? As dental professionals, our primary concern is establishing and maintaining your oral health. After all, it’s essential to build a foundation before addressing smile flaws. It would be like trying to decorate a room that is falling apart.
When you have a chipped or cracked tooth, our focus is to treat and protect it while also respecting the beauty of your smile. If you are missing a tooth, we can fill in the gap in your smile and restore your ability to eat and speak like normal.
Dental crowns and bridges are similar dental procedures that treat two very different oral health conditions. At Pallotto Dental Care, you can count on our dentists to create comfortable and attractive dental crowns and bridges to complement and enhance our patients’ smiles. We use the highest quality materials, and each of our dentists’ value continuing education to provide up-to-date and exemplary dentistry continually.
Dental Crowns To Repair & Protect Your Teeth
If a tooth sustains damage from deep decay, a crack due to clenching and grinding, or a broken filling—a dental crown can restore the tooth’s comfort and function by providing complete coverage and support.
Our Lansing, IL dentists, design each dental crown so that it fits your bite perfectly. While dental crowns come in a wide variety of materials, including full gold to metal-and-porcelain blends, many patients choose to have porcelain dental crowns because of their natural, translucent appearance.
Our dentists will recommend the type of dental crown that will offer the best results and cosmetic appearance—depending on the patient’s unique needs and lifestyle.
What To Expect During Your Dental Crown Procedure
Tooth crowns usually take two dental appointments to complete. At your first dental appointment, we will prepare the tooth for the dental crown and make an impression of your smile to send to our dental lab. Our dentists will choose the proper shading to ensure an attractive result. We will also place a temporary dental crown to protect the tooth while your permanent dental crown is fabricated.
At the second appointment, one of our top Lansing dentists will permanently cement the crown. This will keep out bacteria and decay from entering weak points and causing infection. They will also make final adjustments to the crown so that your upper and lower teeth come together correctly.
The dental procedure is pain-free, but if any patients experience dental anxiety before their appointment, we are happy to offer sedation dentistry to ensure that they feel comfortable and relaxed. We encourage our patients to let anyone on our friendly dental team know about any fears, stresses, or anxiety that come up before the dental procedure.
Dental Bridges To Replace A Missing Tooth
When tooth loss occurs, many patients opt for a dental bridge. Dental bridges utilize two dental crowns placed over neighboring teeth that hold an artificial tooth in place. Like dental crowns, bridges require two dental appointments to place on your teeth. Dental bridges in Lansing, IL, also require some special care to keep them clean. We will recommend products to make oral care easier.
Dental bridges provide many excellent benefits, including:
- Reduces pressure when chewing and biting
- Restores ability to bite and chew
- Prevents teeth from shifting and exposing roots
- Minimizes tooth decay and gum disease
- Restores your ability to smile, speak, and bite
Dr. Josephine Pallotto and Dr. Anthony Pallotto can help patients determine what their tooth replacement options are and which one works best for their needs.
Why Replacing A Missing Tooth Is Important
Sometimes patients wonder why it is necessary to replace a missing tooth if it is not visible when they smile. Leaving a gap between teeth allows them to shift, which can negatively impact a properly aligned bite. Shifting teeth may also expose roots, making teeth more susceptible to dental decay and periodontal disease.
While dental bridges do not prevent bone loss, they are still an excellent option for patients seeking an alternative to dental implants. A custom dental bridge may improve speech and allow patients to enjoy a wider variety of foods in addition to completing their smiles after tooth loss or extraction.
The only dental restoration that will prevent bone loss is dental implants, but this dental procedure requires surgery—which may not be a viable option for patients. Dental bridges are a non-surgical alternative to restore a smile and its functions.
Contact Our Lansing, IL Dental Office For An Appointment
Do you have a chipped, cracked, or broken tooth? Are you missing one or multiple teeth that are affecting your quality of life? At Pallotto Dental Care, we offer a variety of dental procedures that can improve your appearance, smile, and even your speech.
The personalized dentistry we provide allows patients to enjoy more confidence, greater comfort, and better oral health. We enjoy taking our time with patients to ensure that they have great results and feel confident in the dental care they receive here at Pallotto Dental Care.
Please don’t hesitate to call our Lansing dental office today to get your smile back on track.
FAQs
Taking care of your new dental crown or bridge is simple and easy. Dental crowns themselves cannot get cavities, but the tooth under the tooth crown is still vulnerable, which is why a regular home care routine is essential in protecting your smile.
Aftercare is as simple as brushing and flossing every day, just like with your natural teeth. Maintaining regular dental check-ups and exams is crucial so that your dentist can prevent small oral issues from growing into severe dental problems.
We understand that our patients want to make sure that their dental investment will last for a long time. The good news is that the materials we use to fabricate your dental crown and bridge allow your dental prosthetics to be durable and long-lasting.
You can extend the shelf-life of your dental investment by ensuring that your oral health at home is diligent through daily brushing and flossing. Dental crowns and bridges that are well taken care of can last ten or more years, which is an excellent investment in your smile.
Without proper care and maintenance, we may have to redo the dental crown or bridge if there is tooth decay underneath the dental prosthetic. So don’t forget to brush and floss to keep your smile strong and healthy!
