Restorative Care
Crowns
Crowns
Crowns provide support for teeth that are otherwise comprimised. This is accomplished by surrounding the weakened tooth with a tough restoration, similar to a cast on a broken bone. The main difference is that a crown in permanent. Crowns are made of various materials. The most common have a metal substructure covered by tooth colored porcelain that is matched to your teeth. Others are made of all porcelain, and occasionally all gold crowns are still fabricated. Your dentist will determine which is best for your particular situation.
Why might your dentist recommend a crown?
- broken tooth missing significant tooth structure
- cracked tooth with chewing senitivity
- large/old failing filling
- root canal treated tooth
What is involved in crowning a tooth?
- If the tooth has an older/failing filling, the filling is replaced to ensure that no tooth decay will be trapped under the crown.
- The tooth is then prepared to allow enough room to receive a crown. There are minimum space requirements that a dental lab requires to fabricate a strong restoration.
- A high accuracy impression is taken of the prepared tooth so that the final crown can be fabricated.
- Most often, the case is sent to a lab for fabrication, and a temporary crown is placed over the prepared tooth in the interim.
- When the permanent crown is finished, the temporary crown is removed and the permanent crown cemented with permanent cement.
- The final result is an esthetic and strong restoration that will provide long term success.
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