General dentistry should take care of your basic tooth-care needs, but sometimes neglect, accidents, or disease can cause irreparable damage to your teeth. Prosthodontics procedures can help you get a natural, healthy smile back, but what’s the difference between bridges and crowns and caps? Understanding the difference between these procedures can help you discuss your prosthodontics needs with your dentist and get that smile back to its original beauty.

Crowns and Caps

When teeth are heavily decayed, repairing the damage with a simple filling is often not enough. A prosthodontics crown “caps” the tooth, placing a false tooth over the damaged one to restore the function and look of the original. Crowns are used in situations where part of the tooth is still available to bond to. If you’ve chipped a tooth, suffered damage from decay, or had a tooth weakened by a fracture or a large filling, your prosthodontics specialist may recommend a crown.

Bridges

Bridges are used in situations where a patient is missing a tooth entirely. This can happen because of extensive decay or in the case of an accident. The loss of a tooth will obviously not look attractive, but it will also have huge implications on the health of the rest of your teeth, since the surrounding teeth will lean to try to compensate for the gap. This situation requires a prosthodontics procedure that replaces the tooth. Since there is no remaining tooth to attach the prosthetic to as in the case of crowns and caps, a bridge connects the prosthetic to two crowns that are permanently bonded to the teeth on either side.

After your crowns, caps, or bridges are in place, you’ll need to discuss your general dentistry with your prosthodontics specialist. Some very basic tooth care will change slightly, since the new tooth will require extra attention. Bridges in particular can be difficult to floss properly. Don’t skimp on cleaning, though – the rest of your teeth should stay healthy for a long time!

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