Dont rush your brush
An egg timer on your bathroom counter should help you keep track of the 2 minutes that you need to take to properly clean your teeth.
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CROWNS BRIDGES VENEERS
CROWNS: FIXING A BADLY BROKEN TOOTH
If your tooth is badly broken down or has a very large filling and or has a root canal you probably would benefit from having a crown placed on the tooth to protect it form being broken and lost. No matter how well your filling has been placed or no matter how well you take care of your teeth the filling will eventually break. If you are fortunate the break will be above the gum line and the tooth can be repaired, possibly by doing a root canal. This will make the tooth ready to receive a crown. If the fracture is below the gum line past the crest of the supporting bone, the tooth may require an additional crown lengthening procedure or it may have to be extracted and replaced with an implant, bridge or denture. Crowns primarily protect your teeth but are also used to correct a badly stained tooth, correct the shape and or alignment of a tooth.
Crowns can be the same colour of your teeth and made of ceramic, a combination of metal and ceramic or entirely of metal in the back of your mouth. The crown is much stronger than the unsupported filling and if taken care of properly will last an average of 10 years. The better you floss and brush and the less you bite on hard object or the less you grind your teeth the longer they will last.
The process of making a crown involves a short 15 min appointment to take your initial impressions and to match the shade of your tooth. The second appointment takes about 1 hour and the tooth is reduced , a final impression is made and a temporary crown is made to cover the tooth until your final crown is placed on you tooth. There is a 2 week time for the crown to return from the lab and the final appointment is 30 min, at which time the temporary is removed and the permanent crown is permanently cemented into place.
In the case that the tooth can not be restored with a crown you may elect to remove the tooth and replace it with an implant, bridge or denture
BRIDGES:
A bridge is one option to replace one or more missing teeth, (fig 1), as well are implants or dentures. It is important to replace the tooth quickly to prevent drifting or tipping of the neighboring teeth which can lead to other problems. It is fixed into place by healthy teeth on each side of the missing teeth. It is not removable. Since the end teeth must do the work of more then one tooth they must be healthy and strong in the mouth. If either of the teeth are loose you can not use them for the bridge.
The teeth on either side of the space are prepared for crowns, (fig 2). These support the false teeth that fill the space. An impression is made of the prepared teeth and sent to a lab where they fabricate a single piece 3 unit bridge of metal and ceramic, all ceramic or all metal, (fig 3). In the meantime a temporary bridge is placed on the cut teeth to protect them until the bridge returns from the lab in 2 weeks. The bridge is cemented to the 2 healthy abutment teeth as one unit to fill the space (fig 4). With proper brushing, flossing and floss threading under and around the false tooth the bridge life will average 10 years. With excellent care and a lack of bad habits like: biting hard objects, grinding your teeth, or smoking. The life of the bridge will increase.
VENEERS
Veneers are thin layers of porcelain that cover your teeth to correct for poor colour, shape or position. They are a highly effective way to enhance your smile with minimal reduction of tooth material. They can make crooked teeth straighter, discoloured teeth blend in and chipped teeth appear normal in shape or size. They can also fill in gaps or get rid of rotations in some cases. The porcelain veneer is the most natural appearing solution for most cases providing that there is enough tooth remaining to work with.
Veneers are made of a thin, yet very strong, and durable porcelain, which when bonded properly to the tooth will last on average for 4-10 years with normal function. Fillings, on the other hand, will tend to chip, crack and stain with time and will require much more maintenance.
Veneers are made on an impression taken by your dentist after he has removed a small amount of enamel from the tooth to be veneered. The lab makes the veneer from this impression to fit your trimmed tooth exactly. The proper shape, size and colour are communicated to the laboratory to get the ideal result. The lab takes about 7 - 10 days to make the veneer. At the second appointment the veneer is tried in to check its appearance. If all is well it is bonded to your tooth and polished.
Veneers should be brushed after each meal and before bedtime as well as flossed every night. Avoid biting on anything hard, (pens, pencils, finger nails etc.).
Veneers can be a very effective tool to enhance your smile but you must have enough tooth to work with and they have a reduced chance to succeed in people who grind their teeth or who bite heavily on their teeth all of the time.
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