Crowns

Crowns are usually made of a material like porcelain, placed on the top of a tooth. Crowns are typically used to restore a tooth’s function and 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 must be removed, crowns are often used to restore the tooth.   What have seen more recently, is teeth with deep cracks due to clenching (probably at night for which we strongly recommend an occlusal splint), crunching on ice, chewing nails and cuticals, etc.  Teeth with deep cracks will need crowns to “hold” them together and help prevent further serious problems of root canals and possibly an extraction if the cracks extend  to where they cannot be saved.  Implants are then an excellent option for replacement.

Crowns are also used to attach bridges, cover implants, prevent a cracked tooth from becoming worse, or an existing filling is in jeopardy of becoming loose or dislocated. Crowns also serve an aesthetic use, and are applied when a discolored or stained tooth needs to be restored to its natural appearance.

Procedure

The first step is to prepare the tooth for a crown, which requires us to reduce the tooth so the lab has enough room to produce a life-like crown.  We then take an impression, select the proper color for the crown and make a temporary, at which time the first appointment is completed.   Depending on the circumstance, we can also provide a “CEREC” crown made the same day of the crown preparation, which will save time and the use of a “provisional crown” or “temporary crown”.

Before your new crown is cemented on the second appointment, we check the fit, the contacts, the bite and the color to make sure it has the same characteristics of your natural teeth.

Crowns are sometimes confused with veneers, but they are quite different. Veneers are typically applied only to relatively small areas.