All About Dental Crowns

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Dental crowns serve to restore the strength and good looks to an otherwise not so perfect tooth. They are natural looking covers that go over a tooth and hold the tooth together by surrounding the tooth. Some people refer to dental crowns as caps because that sort of describes what they do. Read below to find out how dental crowns are the solution for many common dental problems.

A dental crown goes over the tooth and restores it to it’s natural, beautiful state.

There are many causes for a tooth to need a dental crown. Some times it is due to a cavity which may be a result of bad eating habits, lack-luster daily cleaning or irregularites in dental visits. Sometimes the need for a crown is the result of a traumatic injury to the teeth that leaves them broken and sometimes it is for cosmetic reasons. Other reasons include good old-fashioned wear and tear, tooth grinding or acid erosion.

Crowns used to be made of either gold or porcelain baked on to metal. Some were even stainless steel, but they were just temporary and not designed for long-term wear. New materials are now available that allow the use of “all-ceramic” crowns. They have a beautiful life-like appearance and studies support their success. These crowns are made out of lithium disilicate or zirconia. They are milled either in our office or in a dental lab. They offer a nice metal free option that eliminates the possibility of showing the dreaded black line around the edges if your gums recede a bit. Yes, you can still get a crown that is all gold. Some people prefer not to use gold because it stands out from the other teeth in appearance. At the same time, if the crown is on a back molar, some people feel the cosmetic issue is not a big one. We will discuss the types of materials available if a crown is recommended.

To prepare for a crown, the tooth is shaped by taking a little off of each side and top of tooth so that when the crown is put over the tooth, the resulting tooth is back to its original size. About .5 to 2 mm is removed to make a crown with the correct thickness in order to ensure adequate strength and beauty. An impression or digital optical scan of the tooth is then made in order to create an appropriate mold for the crown. Then, a temporary crown is made and cemented temporarily on the tooth to help protect it until the crown is made. We determine the color of the crown so that the tooth will blend in naturally witht the adjacent teeth. During the next visit, when the permanent crown is ready, the temporary crown is removed, the fit is confirmed and the crown is cemented in place. The first appointment usually lasts for about 1-1.5 hours and the second appointment is about 30 minutes.

How long does a dental crown last? Dental crowns tend to last between 5 to 15 years on average. This depends on the amount of wear and tear it is subjected to and also the oral hygiene habits of the individual. Are there any alternative to a dental crown? Often times there is no adequate alternative to a dental crown. In some cases, a large filling may be able to be done instead. This will undoubtably decrease our optimism for the tooth holding up over time. Sometimes a partial crown or onlay may be done. If a crown is being done for cosmetic reasons, often a porcelain veneer can be a more conservative option. Can a crowned tooth get a cavity? A crowned tooth is not protected from getting cavities. Even though the tooth is covered up with the crown, the tooth is vulnerable right where the crown meets the root surface which is approximately at the gum line. Therefore, one must continue to follow good oral hygiene habits to prevent ruining the crown. What are the possible risks the patient may face, after getting a dental crown? There is a possibility of the nerve in the tooth becoming irreversibly inflamed. This is usually due to vibration that occurs during the crown preparation. If a crack has microscopically grown to enter the nerve space, then the nerve will eventually become inflammed. This process can be sped up with the crown preparation. Instead of it happening over 6 months or so, if can happen right away. The sign of this is a tooth that gets achy, throbs and/or is sore to bite on. This may necessitate a root canal treatment or in some cases, extraction.

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