Your tooth enamel is intended to be hard enough to allow you to chew and grind tough foods. Unfortunately, tooth enamel is not intended to absorb a powerful blow to the face or the force of a hard fall. In fact, there are times when this has the potential to crack, fracture or severely damage the entire tooth.
Sometimes the damage can be so extensive that Dr. Michael Doty can’t even save the tooth with a root canal. Should this prove to be the case, the broken tooth will need to be extracted to prevent pain and further complications. This often prompts Dr. Michael Doty to recommend restoring the tooth with a bridge.
This standard piece of dental work is essentially one single unit that is cemented onto crowns anchored on abutments formed from the two closest teeth.
During your first appointment, Dr. Michael Doty will use a drill to remove the tooth enamel from the two closest teeth. Then he will take an impression of the area, before covering each abutment with a hard plastic temporary crown.
The impression will be sent on to a dental lab, to serve as a guide for crafting your bridge.
When it’s ready Dr. Michael Doty will call you back in to remove the temporary crowns and cement your new bridge into place.
If you have a cracked, fractured or otherwise broken a tooth, you should call Dr. Michael Doty’s clinic in Abingdon, Virginia at 276-628-6251 for immediate treatment.