Crowns
What Are Dental Crowns?
Dental crowns are synthetic caps usually made of porcelain – that are placed on the top of your tooth. Crowns restore the function and appearance of your teeth following a restorative procedure like root canals.
How Do Dental Crowns Work?
When tooth decay becomes serious, crowns are used to treat large portions of teeth that must be removed. Crowns are also used to attach bridges, cover implants, or prevent cracked teeth from getting worse.
Am I A Good Candidate For Crowns?
We typically recommend dental crowns to patients who are suffering from severely decayed, chipped, or cracked teeth. Patients with weak teeth prone to breaking can also benefit from being treated with dental crowns.
The Dental Crown Procedure
First, a cast is made from your existing tooth. An impression is then made and sent to a lab that makes your crown. A temporary crown may be applied until your permanent crown is ready.
Created in Treatment
Dental crowns are synthetic caps – usually made of a material like porcelain – that are placed on the top of your tooth.
Crowns are typically used to restore the function of your teeth as well as their appearance following a restorative procedure such as a root canal. When decay in a tooth has become so advanced that large portions of the tooth need to be removed, crowns are often the solution.
Crowns are also used to attach bridges, cover implants, or prevent cracked teeth from becoming worse. Crowns also serve an aesthetic purpose and are applied when a discolored or stained tooth needs to be restored to its natural appearance
The Dental Crown Procedure
A tooth must usually be reduced in size to accommodate a dental crown. A cast is made of the existing tooth and an impression is made. The impression is sent to a special lab, which manufactures a custom-designed crown. In some cases, a temporary crown is applied until the permanent crown is ready. Permanent crowns are cemented in place.
Crowns are sometimes confused with veneers, but they are quite different. Veneers are typically applied only to relatively small areas.
How To Care for Your Dental Crowns
With proper care, a good quality crown could last up to eight years or longer. It is very important to floss in the area of the crown to avoid excess plaque or collection of debris around the restoration.
Certain behaviors such as jaw clenching or bruxism (teeth grinding) significantly shorten the life of a crown. Moreover, eating brittle foods, ice or hard candy can compromise the adhesion of the crown, or even damage the crown.
Crowns are sometimes confused with veneers, but they are quite different. Veneers are typically applied only to relatively small areas.
