Abstract: A temporary or long-term provisional crown includes a shell having a top wall defining an occlusal surface, a buccal sidewall, a lingual sidewall, and opposite mesio-distal sidewalls, connected to the top wall and buccal and lingual sidewalls and spaced apart to define a central cavity to fit over a prepared tooth. A quantity of resin is disposed in the central cavity of the shell and is preferably shaped to conform to a prepared tooth. A partial opening is preferably arranged in one or more of the mesio-distal sidewalls to permit resin to protrude mesio-distally from the cavity to contact an adjacent tooth.

Abstract: A quadrant and/or anterior shell for making a bridge or multi-tooth crown includes a plurality of integrally formed shell segments. Each shell segment corresponds to a different tooth in the respective quadrant and/or anterior region. Each shell has an occlusal surface, formed on a top wall, that replicates the occlusal surface of a natural tooth. A method of forming bridges or crowns using such shells includes selecting or sectioning off an appropriate section of the shell. The selected shell section is filled with resin. The shell section is positioned over prepared teeth, and, in the case of a bridge, also over a gap in the patient's dentition. Resin extrudes from mesio-distal sides and gingival margins of the shell section to form good proximal and gingival contacts. Once the resin has set, the resin and shell section are shaped to form the final crown or bridge.