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Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are caps placed on top of damaged teeth. Crowns are used to protect, cover and restore the shape of your teeth when fillings don’t solve the problem. Dental crowns can be made out of metals, porcelain, resin and ceramics. They typically don’t require special care over time other than regular good oral hygiene.
Procedure Details Risks / Benefits Recovery and Outlook Additional Details.
OVERVIEW
The damaged or decayed tooth is reshaped and a dental crown is placed on top of the tooth.
A dental crown can be made of many different materials and placed on top of your damaged tooth.
What are dental crowns?
Over time, your teeth can get damaged. This can happen for a variety of reasons, like tooth decay, injuries or just use over time. Your teeth can lose their shape or size. Dental crowns are tooth-shaped “caps” that can be placed over your tooth. Think of it like a snug hat for your tooth. The crown restores the tooth’s shape, size, strength and appearance.
The dental crown is cemented into place on your tooth and it covers the visible portion of the tooth.
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Why would I need a dental crown?
You may need a dental crown for several reasons, including:
Protecting a weak tooth (possibly from decay) from breaking or to keep the weak tooth together if parts of it are cracked.
Restoring a broken tooth or a severely worn down tooth.
Covering and supporting a tooth with a large filling and not much tooth remaining.
Holding a dental bridge in place.
Covering misshapen or severely discolored teeth.
Covering a dental implant.
Covering a tooth that’s been treated with a root canal.
What are onlays and 3/4 crowns?
There are many types of crowns that can be used on your teeth. Onlays and 3/4 crowns are types of dental crowns that don’t cover as much of your underlying tooth as traditional dental crowns. A traditional crown will cover your entire tooth. Onlays and 3/4 crowns may be appropriate when you still have a solid tooth structure. It’s considered a more conservative approach compared to full coverage of your crown. In this procedure, your dentist removes the affected area and performs a reshaping of the tooth to receive the crown.
