What You Should Know About Crowns
A crown (also referred to as a “cap”) is a restoration that is designed to cover the entire surface of a tooth, all the way down to the gum line. Crowns can be made from a variety of materials, including all-ceramic, porcelain, metal, and gold. If a tooth is very badly decayed, or if the existing filling of a tooth needs to be replaced, Dr. Russell may recommend a crown. This is often an excellent choice when the structure of the remaining natural tooth isn’t strong enough to hold another filling. Crowns are also often used to provide protection for a tooth that has undergone a root canal. One other common use for crowns are as replacement teeth in dental bridges.
What You Should Know About Bridges
If you are missing even a single tooth, it’s important that you replace it as soon as possible. If you don’t, your other teeth will shift in place to fill in the gap left behind by the missing tooth. That can lead to a variety of other problems. One very effective way to replace one or more missing teeth is with a dental bridge. This dental appliance is made of one or more porcelain teeth stacked side by side onto a metal frame with crowns at each end which are supported by the patient’s surrounding natural teeth. The frame has brackets on each end that attach to the patient’s existing natural teeth. Because the porcelain crowns are made to very closely match the shade of the patient’s other teeth, bridges are virtually undetectable by other people.
Dear patients and friends,
I have come to a difficult decision to step away from my dental practice after 30 years in Austin and 41 total years of practicing dentistry. I have enjoyed getting to know and treat every one of you making this decision even more difficult. Retirement will open new opportunities for me and my wife Linda, and we wish every patient the best going forward.
Our website has a form for requesting copies of your treatment records, as well as radiographs which you can print, complete, and either mail or email back to me. I will mail or email those copies to you or to your choice of dental offices within 15 days of receipt of the completed request for a nominal fee of $25. I am required by the State Board of Dental Examiners to maintain patient records for 5 years after the last dental visit on record before disposing of them.
Merrill Russell, DDS
