A dental crown is a tooth-shaped dental restoration which completely covers the tooth and restores its strength and appearance. Crowns can be made of various materials including porcelain, zirconia, glass ceramics, alloys, gold, or a combination of these materials. Crowns should look, feel, and function the same as natural teeth.
Treatment takes place over the course of two appointments. The first appointment involves shaping the tooth, matching the shade of the final crown to your natural teeth, making an impression of the prepared tooth, and providing a temporary crown while the final crown is custom made in a dental lab.
At the second appointment our dentist will remove the temporary crown and cement the permanent crown, adjusting it as necessary for it to fit amongst the natural teeth.
What teeth need crowns?
Crowns are used by dentists to restore teeth in a variety of scenarios:
- To support teeth with large fillings
A large filling may structurally weaken a tooth over time, making it susceptible to breaking down further. Our dentists routinely check for signs of stress and cracks around all fillings. It’s a good idea for patients to report any feelings of weakness in their teeth while chewing food. - To repair chipped or broken teeth
Similar to teeth with large fillings, teeth with chips or breaks have lost structural integrity and can easily become more damaged. These teeth may need to be extracted if they are not crowned. - To reinforce root canal teeth
During the course of a normal root canal procedure, the removal of internal tooth material may leave it in a weakened state. In the large majority of cases a crown is necessary to provide for a long lasting restoration on these teeth. - To improve the appearance of teeth
In cosmetic dentistry, crowns are a popular choice for restoring the appearance of teeth. They can be used on teeth that resist teeth-whitening procedures, those which have been substantially ground down, or even to correct minor cases of space discrepancy such as spacing or crowding. - To complete a dental implant
After a single tooth dental implant is placed it needs to be restored with a crown.