What are tooth crowns for? If you’ve got broken teeth, weak teeth, or even missing teeth, you may already know the answer. Dental crowns are the perfect solution to various problems, helping improve or maintain your dental health and providing an excellent cosmetic result.
What are tooth crowns for and when are they used?
Dental crowns are perfect to place over damaged and worn teeth. Often referred to as caps, they usually sit on top of an existing tooth, protecting fragile teeth from further damage and disguising any defects. A dental crown can also be used in a bridge or dental implant to replace a missing tooth, helping to restore a beautiful, healthy smile with no unsightly gaps.
Let’s take a look at other uses of dental crowns.
Repair damaged teeth
Repair damaged teethA dental crown is a technique that helps to disguise broken teeth.
Placing the crown over the tooth encases the visible portion, covering up the damaged parts of the tooth.
Dental crowns can also help hide discoloured or misshapen teeth or teeth that are unsightly for one reason or another.
Strengthen fragile teeth
Whether you’ve had an accident or a cavity, your teeth may be weakened and need a little extra help to continue to function correctly. A dental crown is one of the best ways to strengthen and support a fragile tooth that has been damaged by accident, trauma or dental work.
Sometimes, the tooth structure is compromised when extensive tooth decay is removed with a dental procedure, such as fillings or a root canal. By fitting a dental crown, the tooth structure is strengthened so that the tooth can function normally.
Tooth replacement
Dental crowns are used in the fabrication of bridges, which are prosthetic appliances that replace one or more missing teeth. Crowns are placed over the teeth (also known as abutment teeth) that support the bridge that fills the gap left by the missing teeth.
A dental crown also tops a dental implant to replace a missing tooth. The dental implant replaces the missing root below the gum line and is embedded into the jaw. The crown replaces the visible portion of the tooth above the gum line, and together they create a structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing replacement for the missing tooth.
What to expect during the dental crown procedure?
At No Gaps Dental, we use the latest CEREC crowns for restoring broken or weak teeth and guess what? CEREC crowns can be designed, created, and fitted in just one dental appointment.
The procedure involves preparing the tooth same as for a conventional crown, but the process is quite different from that point
- A small hand-held scanner takes images of the prepared tooth or teeth without the need for messy alginate.
- The images are sent to our onsite computer that utilises the data to design a custom crown that fits precisely.
- The design is then fed into the CEREC milling unit, and a block of porcelain that closely matches the surrounding teeth is chosen.
- The unit sculpts a custom crown in less than 30 minutes while the patient waits.
- Finally, the crown is tested for size and colour, the bite is checked, and the crown is bonded securely.
Replacing missing teeth with dental crowns as part of a bridge
The process of fitting a dental crown as part of a bridge typically occurs throughout two separate appointments.
During the first appointment, your dentist will prepare any teeth that need to be reshaped to accommodate the bridge. This is performed under a local anaesthetic to ease any discomfort and usually takes around 30 minutes
After the teeth have been reshaped to receive the dental crowns, the dentist will take impressions of your mouth and place a temporary bridge over the prepared teeth to protect them between appointments. The impressions are sent off to a dental lab, which custom-makes your permanent bridge. This process can take anywhere from one to two weeks, depending on the type of dental bridge is and what materials are used.
During the second appointment, you’ll return to the dentist’s office to have the temporary bridge removed and the permanent bridge fitted and adjusted by your dentist.
Replacing a missing tooth as part of a dental implant
Dental implants involve multiple steps, including the surgical procedure to insert the implant into the jawbone. After surgery, the area is left to heal and for the natural process of osseointegration to occur, which is when the implant fuses with the jawbone to create a robust platform on which to attach the artificial tooth (crown).
Attaching the dental crown takes considerably less time than the initial installation of the implant itself. It requires the dentist to connect the crown to the abutment which helps absorb the bite force.
What are tooth crowns for? – The upshot
The simple answer to the question of ‘what are tooth crowns for’ is that dental crowns form the backbone of many restorative dentistry procedures, replacing missing teeth and preserving your natural teeth so that they remain healthy and functional for many years to come.
Are you considering dental crowns?
As you can see, dental crowns are incredibly versatile and can be used for both restorative and cosmetic purposes. If you’re unhappy with the appearance of a misshapen or discoloured tooth, or you’ve broken a tooth, then a dental crown could offer the perfect solution. We offer CEREC crowns that can be completed in a single visit, and because they’re carefully matched to the shade of the surrounding teeth, they blend in seamlessly. No one will know your secret.
If you’d like to find out more, schedule a consultation with the experienced dentists at No Gaps Dental. With 15 locations scattered around Sydney’s Metro district, there’s sure to be one near you.
Call us now on (02) 8806 0227 to find out more.
References
Colgate – What is CEREC in Dentistry?
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/dental-visits/what-is-cerec-in-dentistry
News Medical.Net – Types of Dental Bridges
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Types-of-Dental-Bridges.aspx
Mayo Clinic – Dental Implant Surgery
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/dental-implant-surgery/about/pac-20384622