Crowns And Bridges

Overview

A crown is a covering that encases the entire tooth structure, restoring it to its original shape and size. A Crown is most commonly used to protect and strengthen a tooth structures that cannot be restored with filling or other types of restorations. However, crowns—especially porcelain crowns can also be used to restore teeth for cosmetic reasons. Although there are several types of crowns, porcelain crowns are the most popular, because this material resembles your natural tooth enamel very closely. Porcelain crowns are made to match the shape, size, and color or your teeth giving you a natural, long-lasting beautiful smile. They are highly durable and will last many years.

Reasons for Crowns

A crown may be prescribed by your Dentist to:

• Broken or fractured teeth
• Cosmetic enhancement
• Cover a dental implant
• Decayed teeth
• Final phase of root canal therapy

Crown Types

Your Dentist will recommend the best type of crown for your dental restoration needs based on the chewing placement and structure of the tooth or implant that requires protection. There are three types of crowns. Each type has its own characteristics and qualities:

Full Porcelain

Porcelain is attractive, strong, stable, and highly resistant to wear. It offers a high level of biocompatibility because it does not contain metal.

A porcelain crown provides the best natural color match to the rest of your teeth and is an excellent choice for front teeth. The aesthetic quality of a porcelain crown requires that the Dentist be highly skilled in the use of CEREC® CAD/CAM technology.

Full-Metal

Metal offers strength and endurance. A metal crown may be recommended for back teeth where the forces of biting and chewing are the greatest. A metal crown rarely chips or breaks. In addition, it requires minimal removal of tooth structure.

A gold or other high-noble metal crown offers biocompatibility. A base metal crown is often the least expensive treatment options; however, it lacks biocompatibility and may cause allergic reactions or gumline discoloration.

Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal

Porcelain-fused-to-metal offers the benefits of a natural surface color that resembles the rest of your teeth and the strength of a metal substructure.

While there are several advantages to selecting this type of crown, it requires the removal of more tooth structure than other types of crowns. This means that there is greater potential for patient discomfort during the treatment procedure.

Patient Experience

Getting a crown usually requires two appointments. Your first appointment will include taking several highly accurate molds (impressions) or digitally scanning your teeth that will be used to create a custom crown. A mold will be also taken to make your temporary crown, which will stay in place for several weeks until your new crown has been fabricated by a dental laboratory. While the tooth is numb, the dentist will prepare the tooth and remove any decay and shape the surface to properly fit the crown. Once these tasks are accomplished, your temporary crown will be placed with temporary cement and you bite checked to ensure the crown fits properly. During the time you have the temporary on your tooth you will be encouraged not to floss. You will also be asked to be careful eating on the temporary as to ensure not to loosen the fit. At the second appointment, your temporary crown will be removed, the tooth will be disinfected, and your new crown will be carefully placed to ensure the spacing and bite is accurate. A radiograph will be taken to confirm the proper fitting of the crown prior to cementing with permanent cement. You will be given instructions and encourage to have regular dental visits to check your new crown and make sure it still preforming well.