Veneers, crown and bridges

Crowns

Indicated for:

• Protection of teeth that are heavily restored and also after root canal treatment.
• Severely worn down dentition requiring full mouth rehabilitation

Materials used for crowns:

• EMAX (for anterior aesthetic regions where translucency is vital)
• Opalite (monolithic zirconia; where strength is critical, with Generation 2, translucency has greatly improved so it is also possible to use for anterior regions)

Bridges

• Bridges utilize the teeth on either side to help replace the missing tooth.
• The bridge is permanently cemented into place.
• Common material used include porcelain fused to metal bridges and also zirconia bridges
• This method of replacing missing tooth involves reduction of the teeth on either side. This is fine for teeth that will benefit from the extra protection of the crown but we do not advise it for teeth that have no previous restorations, a dental implant may be better in those cases.

Veneers

• Veneers can be direct composite veneers or porcelain veneers.
• Composite veneers:
• Cheaper than porcelain veneers.
• Done in one visit.
• Requires more maintenance and more prone to chipping.
• Usually does not require trimming of tooth.
• Porcelain veneer.
• Higher cost.
• Require 2 visits to complete.
• May require tooth reduction.
• Better aesthetics and strength compared to composite. Lower maintenance long term.