A crown is a “covering” for a natural tooth.
Natural teeth that would benefit by a crown include:
- A tooth that is structurally compromised, missing one or more points (cusps) or has been rebuilt with a filling. Such a tooth is at risk for breaking down further which could compromise the tooth beyond repair.
- A tooth that has been root canalled. Root canalled teeth often have a deep hole drilled down the center of the tooth and are potentially at risk of cracking.
- A tooth that has multiple visible small cracks or crazes.
- A discolored, misshaped or unaesthetic tooth.
- Teeth that have been severely worn down and have poor chewing efficiency. In such cases, many teeth are crown to rebuild the bite.
Crowns often involve 2 appointments.
At the first appointment, a “temporary” impression mold is taken of the tooth. The tooth is then trimmed down and a “working” impression mold is made of this trimmed down tooth. A commercial dental laboratory fabricates the final crown. The patient is sent home with a temporary acrylic crown (made chairside from the temporary impression mold), cemented with a soft cement.
At the second appointment, the temporary acrylic crown is teased off the trimmed tooth and the final crown is permanently cemented with a hard cement.
Different types of crowns include: full metal crowns, porcelain fused to mental crowns and all porcelain crowns.
