Dental Crowns
A dental crown, or cap, is a restoration that covers the entire surface of your tooth. It is custom made to fit over the entire tooth, starting at the gum line, in order to restore the tooth to its original shape and size.
A crown is usually recommended:
- to prevent a weak or severely decayed tooth from breaking.
- to restore a tooth with broken tooth structure.
- to support a dental bridge.
- to protect a tooth following root canal treatment.
- cover discolored or deformed teeth
How long does it take to fit a dental crown?
Fitting a crown requires at least two visits to our office. Initially, we will remove decay, shape the tooth, and fit it with a temporary crown of either plastic or metal.
On the subsequent visit, we will remove the temporary crown and then fit and adjust the final crown. Finally, we will cement the crown into place and you have a new beautiful looking tooth.
Types of Crowns
- Metal — ideal for back molars, metal crowns don’t chip, break, and rarely wear down. Less tooth structure needs to be removed compared to other crown materials. Also, the gum tissue or gingiva is typically healthier adjacent to a metal crown than to a porcelain crown. The metals used are gold alloy or a base-metal alloy such as titanium.
- Porcelain-fused-to-metal — Porcelain fused to metal crowns or pfms are just as they sound, a metal coping surrounds the tooth and a layer of porcelain is fired onto the coping which fuses the porcelain to the metal understructure. Pfms can be used for either front or back teeth. They are stronger than all porcelain crowns and more closely resemble natural teeth than all metal crowns.
- All ceramic or all-porcelain — These crowns have very good esthetics. All ceramic crowns are a good choice for front teeth where less chewing force occurs and where maximum esthetics are a priority.