Bridges are similar to crowns and do all the functions of a crown plus they also replace missing teeth. A bridge is basically two crowns connected by a "dummy" tooth (teeth) that replaces the missing tooth (teeth). The bridge helps prevent the teeth from drifting and tilting into the space opened up by the missing tooth. This tends to create an uneven bite, difficult areas to clean and sensitivity due to the exposure of the root surface to the oral environment.

Crowns and Bridges can be made of a variety of materials. Usually there is a strong core material and a more esthetic veneer material. The core or framework can be metal or some of the new ceramic materials.

The metal is classified by how much noble metal is in the alloy. The noble metals are basically gold, silver and platinum. There is non-precious metal with no noble metal, semi-precious metal with some (generally about 30%) noble metal and high noble with over 50% noble metals. The reasons for using the noble metals is that they are very stable in the mouth, they are compatible with the oral structures, cause relatively few allergic reactions, are easily bonded to porcelain veneers giving better aesthetics, can be made to match many of the physical properties of the tooth like expansion/contraction due to temperature changes in the mouth and finally to have the luxury of having gold in your teeth.

The veneer on a metal crown is usually porcelain or some mixture of porcelain and plastic that is matched to the color of the surrounding teeth. Discussion with your dentist is the best way to decide on the choice of materials.

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