Dental Crowns are a way to restore damaged, broken or weakened teeth. Along with repairing any damage, they can also strengthen teeth which prevents further risks to the tooth. Crowns can be made from a variety of materials, with advantages for certain teeth.
Generally, ceramic crowns, e-max, are used for the front of the mouth, while teeth further back may be metal. More recently, manufactured ceramic crowns (Zirconia Ceramic) are strong enough to be used on teeth at the back of the mouth, and offer an alternative more natural looking restoration.
Tooth crowns are also known as ‘caps’. They are each crafted individually to fit perfectly over your tooth, in order to provide protection, strength and a healthy, natural appearance. Crowns are ideal for damaged teeth that do not require a whole replacement of the tooth. Heavily filled teeth can be sensitive and painful, and may present a risk of tooth fracture. So we suggest having such teeth treated as soon as you are able to do so, to keep them functioning healthily for longer.
Crowns Are Needed To:
- Protect a weak tooth from breaking or to hold together parts of a cracked tooth
- Restore an already broken tooth or a tooth that has been severely worn down
- Cover and support a tooth with a large filling when there isn’t a lot of tooth left
- Provide better success to a tooth which has had root canal treatment
- Hold a dental bridge in place
- Cover misshapen or severely discoloured teeth
- Cover a dental implant
- Make a cosmetic modification
The Procedure
The tooth may have to undergo root canal treatment first, also known as “removing the nerve of the tooth”. The crown is sometimes held in place by a post in the root canal if a lot of the tooth is missing.
We use a soft material to make an exact impression of the tooth that is to be crowned and the nearby teeth. Our dental technician uses the impressions to make a bespoke fitting crown of your choice.
A temporary crown made of plastic or metal is put over the tooth until the permanent crown is made, which usually takes approximately 2 weeks. You can chew on a temporary crown but it won’t be as strong as the finished one. When the crown is ready, the temporary one is removed and the permanent one put it its place. We will make small adjustments to make sure you can bite comfortably.
