Crowns, Bridges, Inlays, Onlys

We provide dental restorations, including crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays, to improve the strength and appearance of your teeth.

Crowns

Crowns are used to restore and protect heavily filled, worn and root filled teeth which may become weaker. They can also be used to improve the appearance of discoloured, fractured or misshapen teeth.

Crowns can be made of metal, porcelain, porcelain bonded to metal inside for strength, and newer ceramic materials. They can look and feel like natural teeth and can last for many years if you look after your mouth and teeth carefully.

Your dentist will be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different options available to you to help you decide what is best for you.

The treatment involves the careful preparation of the tooth, followed by impressions. A temporary crown will be placed to protect the tooth until the final crown is permanently fitted.

Bridges

A bridge replaces a missing tooth or teeth and can be:

• Conventional which means crowning the teeth either side of the space and then the missing tooth is an artificial tooth attached to these two crowns.
• Resin Retained (Maryland) where the missing tooth is attached to one or both adjacent teeth by adhesive wings. (only suitable for small spaces)

Bridges are made of metal and porcelain or sometimes just ceramic and they can improve the way you look, bite, chew and speak. They can last many years if looked after properly and can also prevent natural teeth from moving or tilting.

Inlays/Onlays

An inlay is like a small filling which fits into the biting surface of a tooth, whereas an onlay covers and overlaps some of the tooth cusps. They can be made out of metal, porcelain and composite resin and are bonded to the tooth surface.

They involve less drilling of tooth tissue than conventional crowns so can be a more conservative option if the teeth are not too heavily filled or broken down.