Crowns & Bridges

Forest Hill & Nearby Suburbs

20-22 Brentford Square, Forest Hill VIC 3131

You depend on your smile for almost everything. From enjoying your favourite foods to talking with your friends, healthy teeth are an essential part of a balanced lifestyle. But when they break, erode or go missing, our custom crowns and bridges can help!

Custom Dental Crowns

A crown is a protective restoration that preserves your tooth for the long haul. It covers the entire surface up to the gumlines, reinforcing the structure underneath. That way the weak or compromised tooth doesn’t deteriorate with continued, everyday use.

Any time there’s damage that’s too severe to repair with a new filling, a crown is usually recommended. The crown itself is essentially a protective covering for the remaining enamel.

Some common examples of when you might need a crown include teeth with

Large fillings
Big chips or fractures
Aggressive wear
Recent root canal treatment

…or a tooth that’s being replaced with a single dental implant.

The Australian Dental Board says that most dental crowns last about 10 years. But from our previous experience, we often see caps last up to 20, 30 or 40 years. But of course every person and their situation is different.

Fixed Dental Bridge

Bridges are restorations designed to replace a missing tooth or teeth. They strengthen the teeth beside the missing tooth, by covering them with functional crowns that support a ceramic “tooth” between them. The ceramic crown looks like a natural tooth, filling in the gap in your smile.

We recommend bridges if a tooth is lost or cracked and needs to be extracted. If you prefer not to wear a partial denture or aren’t ready for a dental implant, bridges provide a long-term solution.

As a fixed restoration, bridges won’t wobble while you’re eating and do not come in and out like a partial. By filling in the open space in your bite, bridges help preserve natural tooth spacing so that the adjacent teeth don’t tilt or lean into the gap.

The Treatment Process

Crown and bridge treatments typically require two visits about 10-14 days apart. The first appointment is approximately an hour and a half, allowing ample time to prep your supporting tooth/teeth and an impression. We send the scan or moulds of your bite to our lab, where the permanent restoration is created by hand.

Your second appointment only takes about 30 minutes to complete. We’ll remove your temporary crown (if applicable) then try the permanent restoration over your tooth. After we’ve checked the fit, we’ll use a permanent bonding agent to cement the cap or bridge into place.

Home Care and Maintenance

It’s important to keep your crown or bridge clean, as plaque tends to collect around the edges near your gumlines. Brush your tooth thoroughly each day, paying particular attention to the margins nearest the gums. Floss daily; for bridges, use a floss threader to loop the strand of floss under your fixed restoration.

People who clench and grind their teeth may want to consider wearing a nightguard, to prevent accidental fractures in the porcelain.