Zirconia crowns and bridges

When a crown, and when a filling

The line is simple. As long as enough of your own tooth is left to hold a filling, we place a filling. When the cavity is so large that the wall of the tooth could crack under biting, the tooth needs something that wraps around it. That is when we suggest a crown.

The same choice comes back after root canal treatment. A tooth treated that way usually has less of its own tissue left, so it needs a crown more often than a tooth with a living pulp. Sometimes it first has to be rebuilt with a glass fibre post, so that the crown has something to hold on to.

Bridge, implant or denture

Three different answers to the same question, a missing tooth.

A bridge is fixed in place and is ready sooner, but it rests on the neighbouring teeth, and those have to be prepared. If those teeth need crowns anyway, that speaks for a bridge. If they are healthy and untouched, it is worth thinking twice.

An implant leaves the neighbouring teeth alone, because it stands in its own place in the bone. In return it needs enough bone and time to heal.

A denture is removable. It is the answer for larger gaps and for a smaller budget.

At the consultation we say which of the three is possible in your case, and why.

Why zirconia

Zirconia is a full-ceramic material, so the work has no metal core. That means no dark line at the gum, which crowns built on metal can show over time. We build the work in layers, so that its shape and colour match the rest of your teeth.

What the treatment looks like

1. Consultation and plan. We look at the tooth and, if needed, take a radiograph or a CBCT 3D scan.
2. Preparing the tooth. Sometimes the tooth first needs root canal treatment or rebuilding. A crown does not replace treatment, it comes after it.
3. Preparing the shape and taking an impression or a scan.
4. A temporary crown for the time the laboratory needs to make the final work. Nobody walks around without a tooth.
5. Fitting and cementing the finished work.

Most often this takes two visits, three when the tooth needs preparation first.

What to know before you decide

• Preparing a tooth is irreversible. Enamel that has been removed does not come back.
• A crown does not treat what is underneath it. The tooth has to be treated and the gum healthy first, otherwise the work has nothing to stand on.
• For a bridge we also prepare healthy teeth beside the gap. That is why, for a single missing tooth, we usually consider an implant first.
• After preparation a tooth can be sensitive to cold and heat for a few days.
• If you clench or grind your teeth, tell us before we start. It changes the plan and often means an additional splint to protect the work.
• How long the work lasts depends on hygiene, on your bite and on how much of your own tooth is left. We do not promise a number of years, because honestly nobody knows it.

What it costs

The price depends on the type of crown and on how much work the tooth underneath needs. The crown, the build-up under it, the temporary crown and the removal of old work are priced separately. Current rates are in the price list, in the prosthetics section.

How to book

Call: 32 326 06 06. We work Monday to Friday, from 8:00 to 19:00.

There is free parking in front of the building.