Dental Crowns and Bridges in Pikesville, MD

If you have been dealing with damaged or missing teeth, you might find that many of the areas of your life have become challenging. You might feel self-conscious about your appearance, so you avoid smiling or speaking in social or professional situations. You might also find that people are making unfair judgments about you and your appearance. Chewing your favorite foods could suddenly be difficult, meaning you might be avoiding healthy vegetables and chewy meats. This can negatively impact your overall health.

You don’t have to live this way. With dental crowns and bridges, we can repair or replace teeth so you can live your best life again. With dental crowns and bridges, your smile can look and function just as it should.

Talk to our dentists at Naylors Court Dental to find out more about repairing or replacing teeth so you can have a smile that looks as beautiful as it works.

Here is a list of questions to help you decide if it’s time to improve your smile. We also welcome you to contact us directly with your questions and concerns.

• What can I do about my damaged or missing teeth?
• What are dental crowns?
• When do you recommend dental crowns?
• Why do I need to have a dental crown after a root canal?
• Why do I need a dental crown instead of a filling?
• How do I care for a dental crown?
• What are dental bridges?
• Why is it important to replace missing teeth?
• What are the benefits of crowns and bridges?
• How can I find out more about crowns and bridges?

What can I do about my damaged or missing teeth?

Feeling confident about your smile can be difficult when your teeth are damaged or missing. Such dental conditions are typically caused by cavities which can cause pain, infection, and difficulty chewing as well as worsening other health problems.

When a cavity becomes too large and a tooth can no longer be restored with a filling alone, a crown becomes the ideal treatment to rebuild and support the tooth. When a tooth has been removed and a gap is present, a bridge can be considered to fill the space.

What are dental crowns?

When your tooth becomes fractured, cracked, decayed, or otherwise damaged beyond repair, a crown is a great, affordable solution. A crown fits over an individual damaged tooth and is designed to look and feel just like the other teeth in your mouth. Typically constructed from ceramic or porcelain, crowns are highly durable.

In making a dental crown for a patient of our Pikesville, MD dental practice, we first removed any decayed area and replace it with a filling. Then we shape the tooth and make a mold to create a customized crown to match the shape and color of your natural teeth. At your next visit, we will cement the crown into place.

Crowns support teeth to prevent breakage while also improving their appearance. You can care for a crown just like you do for the other teeth in your mouth: Brush and floss regularly as directed by our office. We can inspect your crown during biannual cleanings and checkups to ensure it stays exceptionally clean and is in good shape.

When do you recommend dental crowns?

We often recommend dental crowns for our Pikesville, MD patients because they are the best option to extend the life of your tooth—often for many years. We may recommend dental crowns in the following situations:

• A back molar has an old, large filling that has become fractured, and too much of the tooth has been removed to make replacing the filling an option.
• A tooth is damaged or broken.
• A tooth is misshapen or discolored (and resistant to teeth bleaching) .
• A root canal has been performed and a dental crown is needed to protect the remaining tooth structure from breaking because the living material has been removed from the tooth.

Why do I need to have a dental crown after a root canal?

When you need a root canal, it is usually because of an infection that has taken hold in the root of your tooth. The root canal procedure removes the infection as well as the living tissue—nerves and pulp—from the tooth. Without a dental crown to protect the remaining tooth structure, the tooth has a tendency to become brittle because of the lack of living tissue in the tooth root. A root canal will protect your tooth and give you back full function.

Why do I need a dental crown instead of a filling?

When you have tooth decay, it needs to be removed before we can place a dental filling to prevent the tooth decay from spreading. Often, if there is too much decay, or if there is already a large filling in place that is beginning to fail, there isn’t enough of the tooth structure left to use a dental filling. We will recommend a dental crown to our Pikesville, MD patients to save the tooth structure and ensure they can chew comfortably again.

How do I care for a dental crown?

There is little difference in caring for a tooth that is capped versus a tooth that hasn’t been. Take care of your crown just as you would your natural teeth. The crown itself cannot develop decay, but bacteria can get in underneath the crown, so it’s crucial that you brush and floss regularly to protect your gum health.

What are dental bridges?

A bridge is constructed of several crowns linked together to replace a missing tooth. The end crowns are cemented over the teeth next to the space, allowing us to fill in the gap created by the missing teeth.

Like a crown, a bridge is constructed of porcelain or ceramic, ensuring strength, durability, and visual harmony with other teeth. When you ask the dentists at our Pikesville, MD dental office, they will tell you that caring for dental bridges is as simple as good oral hygiene practices at home and regular cleanings and checkups with our office.

Why is it important to replace missing teeth?

If you've been delaying restoration of damaged or missing teeth because you aren't convinced treatment is entirely necessary, we want to encourage you to take action as soon as possible.

A fracture or crack in a tooth can worsen over time and eventually cause a tooth to be unrepairable. Missing teeth can affect the health and stability of the other teeth in your mouth, leading to further tooth loss over time. Once a tooth is removed, the nearby teeth can shift into the open space, and cause your bite to change, increase gum problems, and increase the chance of jaw problems or TMD (temporomandibular joint disease) .

If teeth are damaged with cavities, they can often crack spontaneously, leading to unnecessary and sometimes unbearable pain. Besides affecting your quality of life, these conditions can jeopardize your nutrition by making it difficult to eat crunchy or chewy foods.

What are the benefits of crowns and bridges?

Besides ending the pain and aesthetic unease associated with damaged teeth, crowns and bridges at our Pikesville, MD dental clinic will prevent more critical dental health issues down the line.

They can also provide additional benefits, including normal eating, pain-free living, cosmetic improvement, and prevention of cavities and gum disease. People who opt for crowns and bridges can restore a healthy lifestyle as well as their self-confidence.

How can I find out more about crowns and bridges?

At Naylors Court Dental Partners in Pikesville, MD, we have successfully treated countless patients suffering from broken and missing teeth by placing crowns and bridges. Please see our photo gallery for several examples. We invite you to call our office today to schedule an appointment with Drs. Jennifer and Moe Virmani: (410) 684-0173.