A dental crown, or cap, is a tooth restoration that covers all or nearly all the tooth structure above the gums. Crowns used to be made of gold, metal, or porcelain over metal. These were functional, but not nearly as esthetic or natural looking as our modern tooth-colored Zirconia crowns. Zirconia crowns are much better at resisting fracture and will not wear down the other teeth in your mouth as quickly as the old porcelain crowns have in the past.
Teeth most often require crowns when they become structurally weak. Teeth that have large white or metal fillings become weaker as the fillings get larger, and become more prone to having a large chunk break off. When your filling covers more than half of the tooth, or if one of the sides of the tooth becomes dangerously thin due to decay or an old failing filling, the filling is converted to a crown. Crowns last much longer than fillings. In some cases, a tooth will require a crown to improve the shape of it, either for esthetics or function. Some people develop very small teeth that need to be built up, or have worn their teeth down from years of clenching and grinding. The new Zirconia crowns hold up much better to grinding and wear, and are great for establishing a balanced and supported bite.
Crowns are usually a two-appointment process. On the first appointment we will replace any old or failing fillings in the tooth, and prepare the tooth for a crown by removing 0.5-1 mm of tooth structure on each side. The tooth is then scanned with our 3-D scanner and a temporary crown is fabricated and cemented on the tooth. The 3-D scan is sent to a dental laboratory where the crown is made by a professional lab technician. Usually about 2 weeks later we will have you return for the second appointment where the final crown will have the fit confirmed and will be cemented.
The 3-D scanner that our office uses has enabled us to be significantly more precise and to have more predictability with our crowns. Our Zirconia crowns also allow us to be more conservative with the tooth preparations so that we can help your restorations and teeth stay healthy longer. We will go above and beyond to make sure you have an excellent experience at Dyras Dental! If you have any questions about how crowns can improve your dental health and function, please call us today!
