Prosthodontics deals with the replacement of missing teeth and the associated soft and hard tissues by prostheses (crowns, bridges, dentures) which may be fixed or removable or may be supported and retained by implants.
Prosthodontics is a broad specialty and the subspecialties are:
Fixed Prosthodontics is the branch of Prosthodontics that deals with the restoration of teeth using crowns, bridges, onlays, inlays and veneers. The tooth/teeth are prepared by the dentist and an impression is made to capture this preparation is then sent to the laboratory along with a detailed prescription.
The dental technician fabricates the desired restoration as per the prescription. The finished product cemented in the mouth using various types of cement.
This is commonly referred to as a ‘cap’ and covers part of or the complete tooth. Different materials can be used to make the crown depending on the requirements such as function/aesthetics, patient preference and the condition of the tooth. There are different types of crowns like porcelain fused to metal (PFM) crowns, pressed crown-all ceramic crown, zirconia crowns.
PFM crowns have a thin metal sub-structure to give them strength and can be colour matched to your adjacent teeth. These crowns are the mainstay of modern dentistry and through different layers of porcelain, can be made in several grades of aesthetic quality. Sometimes the metal underlying the crown’s porcelain can show through as a dark line, especially at the gum line and even more so if your gums recede. These crowns can be a good choice for front or back teeth.
All-ceramic or all-porcelain dental crowns provide better natural colour match than any other crown type and may be more suitable for people with metal allergies or cosmetically would like to change their tooth/smile appearance. Unlike other crowns, Pressed Crowns are unsupported by a ‘cap’ or substructure, and gain their strength from their fit and bond to the tooth, acting like new layers of real tooth.
Can Be Minimally Invasive with less preparation. All-ceramic crowns are a good choice for front teeth if clinically suitable.
Zirconia Crowns are similar to Porcelain Bonded Crowns in that they are hand-built with porcelain powder over a substructure, except the substructure is Zirconia. This is a bio-compatible man-made material which is immensely strong but also allows light to pass through it (unlike metal) enabling the most lifelike porcelain restorations possible. It is available in many shades and also, due to its high strength can be used the same way a full metal crown can, but tooth coloured. A Full Contour Zirconia (no additional porcelain), is a good clinical choice for bruxists and grinders who wish not to have metal showing. If you are looking for an all-ceramic restoration that is fantastic aesthetically and is ultimately strong, then Zirconia is the recommended choice.
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Dental veneers (sometimes called porcelain veneers or dental porcelain laminates) are thin, custom-made shells of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front surface of teeth to improve your appearance. These shells are bonded to the front of the teeth changing their color, shape, size, or length. Dentists also recommend using veneers to strengthen worn teeth. It is also applied to yellow teeth that won't whiten.Veneers are an effective option for aging patients with worn dentition. In many cases, minimal to no tooth preparation is needed when using porcelain veneers. There are two main types of material used to fabricate a veneer: composite and dental porcelain.Composite veneer can last approximately 4 years.They can change their color within time.Porcelain veneers are not made of enamel like the front of your natural teeth. This actually gives you some benefits. The main advantage is that they do not stain like your normal teeth would. Bring on the coffee and dark liquids, you can’t stain your new porcelain veneers.Veneers are maximum about 0.5 millimeters thick.
Before preparation starts dentist takes photos ( intraoral and portrait) to perform digital smile design, so the patient can see the new smile on computer and impression for diagnostic models and impression for a wax up,which can help patient and dentist to decide right color, length and shape of the veneers. Later we can use it for a temporary venner until the permanent one is made.
We have traditional silicon impressions and digital scanner for high accurate impressions.
