Versatile dental crowns preserve damaged teeth and replace teeth as part of a dental bridge

Our “family” at Hoover Dental Center in Los Angeles, California, takes pride in keeping your family’s natural crowns healthy and looking and functioning their best! The teeth that naturally erupted and developed with us each include a natural crown, the white part of the tooth that is visible when we smile. Healthy teeth are stabilized in the jaw with roots that extend into the supportive bone and surround the pulp chamber, which includes blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. As a tooth is maturing, the pulp provides the nourishment that it needs to grow and develop properly. 

Crowns and bridges may be made by dental professionals to resolve damage to the crown or the innermost tissues. Dental crowns restore a portion of the tooth (the natural crown); dental bridges replace a tooth that cannot be preserved with root canal therapy or other endodontic procedures designed to treat deep decay. 

Dental crowns

Also known as “caps,” crowns are made from various dental materials. These materials may include metals (such as gold) and ceramics (such as porcelain). Additionally, porcelain may be fused to metal to combine both the beauty of ceramics and the strength of metals. The material is expertly designed or shaped. It is then applied to the damaged tooth. The natural tooth itself has been “prepared” or shaped. So, the dental crown fits over the tooth seamlessly and securely. Crowns may be used to: 

• Cover up poorly-shaped and deeply-stained teeth 
• Hold together severely cracked or fractured teeth 
• Replace a large or worn filling 
• Strengthen and restore a weak tooth
• Restore a root canal-treated tooth to prevent reinfection 

They may also be used as part of tooth replacement, either in a bridge or when replacement teeth are stabilized by implants that are designed to function like tooth roots. 

Dental bridges 

Patients missing a single tooth or a few teeth may benefit from dental bridges. A bridge to replace one tooth generally involves two crowns and the replacement tooth, which is called a “pontic.” The crowns and pontic are fused together and then cemented to the adjacent teeth on either side of the gap (where the natural tooth used to be). Once cemented to its neighbors, the pontic fills in the gap. And these neighboring, crowned teeth can best support or “anchor” the replacement tooth. As noted, crowns may also be used to replace teeth retained in the jaw by implants. 

Hoover Dental Center looks forward to getting you back to smiling comfortably and confidently again! Call us at (213) 725-2898 to schedule your appointment at our office, conveniently located on Hoover Street, serving all communities of Los Angeles, including Downtown Los Angeles, University Park, Koreatown, and Jefferson Park.