Free Dental Directory of Diseases, Aliments and Solutions

Dentistry has experienced substantial advancements in the 20th Century; however, there still remain some situations where teeth have been so damaged by decay that they must be removed as shown in the 1st illustration above.

In the 2nd illustration, a crown has been used to cover and protect a damaged tooth, since the roots of teeth extend into the bone of the jaw.

A crown is often used to cover and protect a damaged tooth.  It fits over the part of the tooth located above the bone, but it can not go below the bone. Thus, the more healthy tooth structure your Dentist has available to work with above the bone, the more successful the results.

This is an example of crowning a tooth in a normal situation. The tooth has been damaged, but there is still an adequate amount of healthy tooth structure for the dentist to work with.

In the 3rd illustration, approximately half of the tooth has broken away.  The Dentist barely has enough remaining tooth onto which he can successfully place a crown.

It is almost always impossible for a Dentist to save a tooth if an inadequate amount of healthy tooth structure left above the bone.  In those situations, the only choice remaining is to remove the tooth.

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