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A crown is a
"restoration" that covers a tooth to restore it to its normal shape
and size.
A crown provides strength and improves the appearance of the tooth it
"covers". It is placed on an individual tooth much like a thimble over
your finger. It is a stationary, custom made cover for any tooth
that has sustained significant loss of structure.
Reasons for
crowns:
 | A crown is needed to protect a tooth that just had a root canal because
these teeth tend to become brittle and are more apt to fracture |
| To protect a weak tooth from fracturing (see
illustration below) |
| Cracked tooth to hold it together and seal the tooth from
decay |
| Cover discolored teeth |
| Restore a weaken tooth |
| Improve cosmetic appearance |
| Large damage by decay |
| To support the replacement tooth/teeth in a bridge |
| Weaken tooth structure due to large fillings |
| Restores and maintains the natural bite |
Teeth that have been treated
with root canals but did not have crowns placed on them were lost
at a rate six times greater than teeth with crowns**
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Teeth with large fillings "flex
more" forcing the tooth apart
and stress fractures develop.
 *
| Problems caused by biting
pressures on a filled teeth will result in:
1. Part of the tooth break off
2. Go into the nerve
3. Nerve damage causing pain and infection
4. The tooth splits in half |
The crown
is a protective restoration that covers the biting surface of
a tooth to prevent the tooth from flexing outward.
The crown is
like a cast that protects a broken bone, but unlike a
broken bone, the crack
and weakness in the tooth WILL NEVER HEAL!
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Remember this
tooth is injured. and the treatment outcome is not
predictable. The crown is the best choice at avoiding
further problems and to make the tooth as strong as possible
to try to prevent further tooth damage. There is no guarantee
of an ideal outcome. Depending on the severity of the
damage to the tooth there may be post op sensitivity or the
tooth may need a root canal.
This procedure usually takes about
two appointments. At the first appointment :
| This procedure begins by giving you a local anesthetic. |
| The tooth is prepared for a
crown by reducing it's size so the crown can fit over the tooth and fit into the
space between the teeth on either side of it. |
| Records will be taken to determine
color, bite, length and shape of your crown. |
| After the tooth is prepared we use a thin piece of retraction
cord which is placed around your tooth in order to get the impression
material under the gum where the crown ends. |
| An impression
of the teeth and gums
is made next. This impression is used to make a stone model of this
area. The retraction cord is than removed. |
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| This stone model is sent to a lab where
your crown is hand craved in wax and heated metal is placed where the wax was in
the "lost wax" technique to make your individual personal
crown. There are many kinds of crowns from stainless steel to
fine porcelain to gold. |
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Visit: How
to make a restoration
Visit: Types of crowns
If the crown is gold a minimum amount
of tooth can be shaved off because
the gold can be fairly thin. If the crown is white or porcelain more tooth must
be shaved to make room.
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Detailed porcelain crown
All porcelain crowns are
made by hand layering powdered porcelains which are baked in an oven to fuse the
porcelain together just like used in fine porcelain dishware.
Porcelain fused to gold
We have keep the prices of our gold and porcelain fused to gold crowns affordable because we
want you to choose the best to give you the longest and best wearing
value.
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A temporary crown
will than be placed over this area to protect your teeth and the gum tissues
between dental visits. Sometimes, temporary crowns become loose
between visits. If this occurs, please contact us immediately because
recementing the temporary crown is very important. |
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On the second appointment:
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The
temporary crown will be removed. |
|
Your tooth will be fitted with the permanent
crown. |
|
Once the fit is perfect than it will be cemented into
place. To preserve the longest life of your crown see crown
care. |
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* Dentistry Today, March 2001, Dr Korpi and
Henrickson
**Crown Improves Endodontic Survival, Journal of Prosthetic
Dentistry, Vol 87, Issue 3 March 2002.
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