Crowns vs Implants-Which One Is Right For Me?
Very few people are fortunate enough to have a naturally straight, white, dazzling smile. Trauma from accidents, aging, genetics, improper dental care as a child, bad habits, and everyday wear can have an effect on the appearance of your teeth. For many, having a confident, radiant smile seems like a distant dream—but it doesn’t have to!
With today’s advancing technology in cosmetic dentistry, you don’t have to live with a smile you don’t love. There are many ways to transform the appearance of your teeth and fall in love with your smile!
Cosmetic dentistry—a term that covers a number of dental treatments designed to enhance the appearance and function of your teeth and mouth—advances more every year. It is used to address issues such as discolored, crooked, chipped, or cracked teeth and more. There are so many options to create a smile you’re confident about, and we can help you determine which option is the right fit for you.
Porcelain Crowns (or Caps)
A crown is used to cover the entire tooth surface, helping to restore its original shape and size. This covering helps to protect and strengthen damaged or weakened teeth that are not a candidate for fillings or other restorations. Crowns are long-lasting and can look nearly identical to a real tooth. They are used for decayed, broken, or fractured teeth, root canals, overly large fillings, and cosmetic enhancements. Dental crowns can be made of gold, porcelain, or porcelain fused to metal; porcelain crowns are popular because they match the natural color and appearance of your teeth.
Your smile may benefit from a crown if a tooth is damaged or decayed to the point that a dental filling will not provide a successful restoration. Crowns can also be used for a number of other restorative and aesthetic purposes, including:
- To protect a tooth following root canal treatment
- To anchor and attach a dental bridge
- To cover and complete a dental implant
- To enhance the beauty of your smile
- To improve a misshapen tooth
- To strengthen a tooth that is fractured or weakened
- To support a large filling when little natural tooth structure remains
Implants
Dental Implants: What are They?
Implants are tooth replacements for patients missing one or more teeth. While helping to improve the aesthetic appearance of the teeth, they are fantastic at restoring the strength and function of the entire smile.
Today’s modern dental implants have significantly evolved from the concept of long-term tooth replacement idealized by dentists decades ago. What used to involve a complex and invasive process has now transformed into the straightforward, gold-standard treatment that dental patients expect.
Essentially, dental implants are artificial tooth roots crafted from biocompatible materials (titanium or ceramic), which are then set into the mouth near the area of the missing tooth. Their design triggers new bone development around them — a process we call “osseointegration” — where the body fuses itself to the implant, making it a permanent part of the mouth. The fact that this process occurs makes implants stronger than even the healthiest of teeth.
Options for Single or Multiple Missing Teeth
With dental implants, patients have a variety of restorative options. Individual implants can support a ceramic crown, making it appropriate for single tooth replacement. But if multiple teeth are involved, we can use implants in pairs to support longer prosthetics, such as multi-tooth dental bridges or an “All-on-4” hybrid denture design.
Advantages of Implants
Choosing to invest in dental implants over more conventional types of treatment offers many advantages to your overall oral health. Rather than altering adjacent teeth to support a fixed prosthesis, implants stand independently and function as if they were natural teeth. This makes it possible to offer our implant patients a number of benefits, including:
- Preservation of natural biting patterns and tooth alignment
- Non-invasive to adjacent teeth (no reshaping or structure removal)
- Enhanced bone support of the jaw and face
- Permanent (non-removable) restorative designs
- Options for dental implant stabilization
- Better return on investment than conventional treatments
The implants of today are the most lifelike tooth replacements available. Not only that, but their extremely high success rate means nearly 98% of dental implants last for the life of patients. They offer the longest return on investment of any modern-day dental restoration.
Learn more about Crowns and Implants at www.bisselldentalgroup.com or by calling the office at (303) 757-6139. Dr. Bissell serves patients in the greater Denver metro area.