Porcelain Crowns

Porcelain Crowns

You may need a dental crown in various situations — to protect a tooth that’s rotting, to restore the cosmetic appearance of a broken tooth, for a large filling, or even to protect your tooth after a root canal treatment.

Dental crowns can be used for a number of cosmetic and restorative purposes, especially those that are made of porcelain since they resemble real teeth. Please continue reading for a detailed discussion of porcelain crowns and dental crown procedure.

What is a Dental Crown?

A dental crown is a cap or cover for an existing tooth. If you don’t like the appearance of your actual tooth — because it’s stained, misaligned, broken, or any other reason — the dentist can trim the tooth down to a small size and then attach a dental crown over it. The tooth crown completely covers all of the visible parts of your tooth till around your gums. It essentially acts and looks like a real tooth, just a more aesthetically pleasing one.

What is one of the Best Dental Crown Material?

Porcelain crowns may be extremely popular, but dental crowns are made of a number of different materials such as stainless steel, metal, porcelain-fused-to-metal, composite resin, and ceramic. All of these different materials have different qualities and they’re suitable for different parts of your teeth and functions. You should ideally discuss your options and expectations with your dentist to figure out which material is best for your needs.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is a cost-effective means of making affordable temporary dental crowns for your teeth. Preparing a permanent dental crown takes approximately 2 weeks. In the interim, the dentist can prepare your original tooth to receive the dental crown and then place temporary stainless steel dental crowns. Stainless steel dental crowns are also used on children in order to protect a rotting tooth. Eventually, as the permanent teeth come out, the stainless steel dental crowns automatically come off.

Metal

Metal dental crowns are powerful and permanent crowns ideal for those who want an extremely powerful tooth crown. These are the hardest dental crowns to chip or break. Metal dental crowns are made of alloys with a gold or platinum component. These, however, are used in the molars because they’re highly visible and the molars are areas of high impact so they need a firm and durable material.

Resin

Composite resin dental crowns are reasonable and they can resemble actual teeth. But they are also more capable of breaking or chipping than all other types of dental crowns.

Ceramic

Ceramic dental crowns also resemble actual teeth. Since they’re also fairly strong, they can be used for front or back teeth.

Porcelain-fused-to-Metal

Porcelain crowns, or porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns, are one of the best dental crowns for a number of reasons. Porcelain itself looks and feels just like real teeth and the doctor can even match the shade to your own set of teeth so they look completely real. Since the porcelain is fused to metal, it’s also extremely strong and suitable for use in the back molars as well. The only small issue is that — upon closer inspection — some people may notice a slight metallic lining around the gum line.

Is Ceramic Dental Crown Better than Metal or Stainless Steel?

Ceramic, metal, and stainless steel serve completely different purposes so it’s hard to determine which is better. Ceramic dental crowns are generally used if you want a durable yet tooth-colored dental crown for your teeth. Metal dental crowns are usually used in deeper regions of the teeth that are hidden but receive high impact due to chewing and grinding of teeth. Finally, stainless steel crowns are usually meant for temporary use because of how easily they can be prepared and the fact that they’re affordable.

Schedule a Porcelain Crowns Appointment

When is a Dental Crown Needed?

You may need a tooth cap in the following situations:

  • Protecting a weak or cracked tooth.
  • Restoring a broken tooth.
  • Covering up a tooth with a large filling.
  • Holding dental bridges in place.
  • Covering stained, misaligned, or chipped teeth.
  • Covering dental implants.
  • Saving a child’s tooth from decay.
  • Making general cosmetic changes.

Dental Crown Procedure

Getting dental crowns may take several weeks and at least two sessions with the dentist, but the procedure is actually pretty simple.

Preparations

The dentist examines your tooth and has a discussion about your expectations and options. The dentist will then prepare your tooth to receive the dental crown. This will involve filing the tooth down and removing parts of it so a cap can be attached over it. Doing so may also require building up the core of the tooth.

Impressions

Next, the dentist has to take impressions of your teeth in order to record the changes later and also to ensure that the dental crown fits well. They’ll either digitally scan your teeth or take a mold of your tooth by having you bite down on the mouthpiece. They’ll also take impressions of the exact shade of your teeth.

Temporary Crown

The permanent crown may take around 2 weeks to prepare. In the meantime, it’s important to cover up the spot, which is why they’ll give you a temporary dental crown.

Permanent Crown

Once the porcelain crown is prepared, the dentist will attach it in the right place. Following that, they’ll make some small modifications and adjustments so that it looks completely natural. The crown will then be cemented and it will resemble your actual teeth.

Can a Tooth Crown Crumble?

Your natural anatomical tooth crown can crumble due to various factors — decay, injuries, etc. Even prosthetic dental crowns can crumble, especially if you get materials like composite resin or acrylic resin. Porcelain-fused-to-metal and metal are some of the most durable tooth crowns that are least likely to crumble. But even they can crumble due to external force, if the tooth structure starts decaying, or various other reasons.

How to Know when a Tooth Crown Needs to be Replaced?

In most cases, a tooth crown should last over 10 or 15 years if you take proper care of it. However, several situations may arise in which your tooth crown may need to be replaced.

  • Pain Sensations: The dental crown should completely cover up the tooth underneath the crown. However, if your dental crown is chipped or broken, then the underlying tooth becomes susceptible to decay and it might start aching.
  • Bite Misalignment: Dental crowns should perfectly fit into your mouth without changing your bite. However, if you experience some issues with chewing or talking on one side of your mouth, you need to consult a dentist. It’s possible that your crown may not be perfectly aligned.

Schedule a Porcelain Crowns Appointment

At URBN Dental Uptown , we thoroughly examine your teeth and take precise impressions to design the perfect tooth-colored porcelain crowns. If you have any other questions, please schedule a porcelain crowns appointment today.