Veneers, Crowns and Bridges

Veneers –

The Porcelain (ceramic) veneer is a thin layer of porcelain to cover discoloured, cracked, fractured, badly shaped, and crooked teeth. It only covers the front section of your tooth.  Primarily used on front teeth and especially uppers.  It can be the ceramic restoration of choice to keep the dentistry to a minimum, as there is only a small amount of tooth to reduce by the dentist.  This tooth preparation, which is a small reduction of the front surface enamel, is very minimal so that the porcelain can actually sit on your tooth and look perfectly part of your tooth.  When veneers are placed on most of the front teeth it can be known as the ‘Hollywood Smile!’ These can also be made in composite resin (white filling material) with the porcelain being higher strength and better cosmetics. The process can take as little as 2 appointments with only 1-2 weeks from start to finish.

Crowns –

Crowns, or Caps, are the dentist’s best restoration for both strength and cosmetics.  This is because they actually cover most or in some cases the entire tooth structure.  They are particularly useful when a tooth is very broken down or already has a very large filling that needs replacement. The general rule of whether a crown is required clinically or not, is the amount of natural tooth structure left after a fracture has occurred, or removal of a filling.  The dentists at Planet Dental will attempt to maintain your own natural tooth structure before we decide to crown.  If a crown is required it will restore function and appearance. Some patients ask for crowns for aesthetic reasons only and this can be discussed with your dentist. Materials used at Planet are all ceramic-based which are more biocompatible to the body than metal alloy based crowns – these alloys can have some known harmful metals included and cannot always be determined and quantified exactly. Our favourite material at this time is Zirconium which is mined here in WA and is an inert metal.  It actually crystallises and becomes extremely strong.  To put it in simple terms, Zirconia is approx. 10 times stronger than human enamel!  Our Lab technicians are experts in the milling and creating of these crowns and they will look as perfect as a tooth should be.  On some occasions, we also agree with a full Gold restoration due to the high gold content (approx 80%) with pure silver and a small amount of copper.  These metal crowns are not to be confused with metal fillings that include mercury.  We are a mercury-free and mercury-safe practice.

Bridges –

When we lose a tooth we require it to be replaced for function and/or cosmetics. A bridge is one option that a dentist has to construct a new tooth for you.  A bridge is basically a crown as above but rather than being placed onto a tooth, it is placed into the gap between your teeth.  The adjacent teeth then have to support this ‘false’ tooth but being crowned themselves or minimally bonded to.  The different designs of a bridge can be discussed with your dentist as each is quite specific to your needs.