The Role of Crowns in Dental Restoration Crowns are essential for strengthening teeth that have been heavily filled or broken, especially when more than 50% of the tooth is lost. A porcelain crown replaces the entire enamel by encasing the tooth with a solid piece of porcelain about one to one and a half millimeters thick. This provides significant reinforcement, particularly crucial for back teeth used extensively in chewing.
Materials Used in Modern Crowns Historically made from gold or metal fused with porcelain, modern crowns are now typically crafted entirely from pressed enamel—a type of solid porcelain offering strength comparable to natural tooth enamel. This advancement ensures better durability and aesthetic appeal.
Bridges as Solutions for Missing Teeth Porcelain bridges replace missing teeth using adjacent healthy teeth as anchors after preparing them with crowns. While effective for single or multiple missing teeth, larger spans increase pressure on anchoring teeth. Alternatives include partial dentures (removable) and implants (fixed), though implants require sufficient bone density and can be costly.