Crowns and Bridges San Francisco

Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures

Crowns and bridges in cosmetic dentistry benefit from the same techniques and materials that were developed for porcelain veneers. Below please find examples utilizing the same treatment sequences and techniques that are applied for the placement of porcelain veneers for simply rejuvenating a smile.

Bridges

bridge_in_cosmetic_dentistry_1 — These photographs show a bridge that does not contain any metal. Note that the molar on the right side of the space needed only a very limited reduction to hold the bridge attachment. A lot of tooth structure was preserved with this bridge design.

bridge_in_cosmetic_dentistry_2 — These photographs show a bridge that does not contain any metal. Note that the molar on the right side of the space needed only a very limited reduction to hold the bridge attachment. A lot of tooth structure was preserved with this bridge design.

bridge_in_cosmetic_dentistry_5 — This patient came with a discolored bridge and crowns that had leaking and dark margins at the gum line. The patient received a 3-unit polymer sub-structure with a thin metal core. The porcelain veneers that were bonded to this bridge sub-structure consisted of same material as the neighboring crowns. Note their natural appearance.

bridge_in_cosmetic_dentistry_6 — This patient came with a discolored bridge and crowns that had leaking and dark margins at the gum line. The patient received a 3-unit polymer sub-structure with a thin metal core. The porcelain veneers that were bonded to this bridge sub-structure consisted of same material as the neighboring crowns. Note their natural appearance.

The patient received an all-porcelain bridge (3G) covering the space of the missing tooth and the two adjacent teeth. He received three additional all-porcelain crowns to create appropriate dental proportions (right).

Crowns

Under certain conditions it is necessary to replace large defects or dental disfigurements that are caused by trauma, gum disease, extreme dental neglect, or other situation that lead to the loss of entire teeth. These specific dental conditions require a combination of both restorative and cosmetic dentistry. The good news is that any of these conditions can be restored to a natural-looking smile.

Do you remember having seen the big dark space that appeared when your conversation partner had this big smile in his/her face?

How often have you seen a person smiling at you and exposing a dark margin of a crown at the gum line, crowns that do not blend in with the remaining teeth because they are too bulky or too opaque?

Well, those are the crowns and bridges of the past. New materials and clinical methods allow us to create invisible tooth restorations. They include naturally translucent all-glass-ceramic crowns, porcelain veneers, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns with butt-joint porcelain margins, zirconia restorations, gingival plastic surgery, and much more.

How do you like your own smile?

This patient had a porcelain crown that contained a metal core. Note the dark margin and the "bleeding" grey of the metal into the gums.

After placement of an all-porcelain crown, the margins appeared clean. The gums look healthy and pink. Dr. Rabanus did this treatment in 1994.

The central photograph shows a porcelain restoration that becomes completely invisible once it is bonded to the tooth. If you want to know more about the material, please go to the Empress page.

How to create a "real" tooth:

Animated sequence