Crowns happen to be one of the commonest form of restorations that is available to keep the functionality and appearance of the teeth. There can be many occasions when you can be asked to go for dental crowns. If you are advised to get one but still have hundreds of questions regarding it, then this article has the answers to what you are looking for.
Here an attempt is made to bring to you some of the facts related to dental crown that will help you to clarify your doubts and move forward with the treatment.
What is a crown? Does it make the tooth stronger?
A crown is nothing but an artificial replacement that helps in the restoration of a missing tooth structure by being placed on a dental implant or by surrounding the remaining coronal tooth structure. With the help of a crown, you can restore the functioning and the aesthetics of natural tooth. Dental crowns are permanently cemented on existing implants that can be removed by the dentist.
What are the crowns made of?
There are three types of materials that are commonly used.
Gold: The usage of gold has considerably declined due to the progress made in the dental science and the significance of aesthetics. Nevertheless, they are still the best option till date.
Porcelain Fused to Metal: In this case, both porcelain and metal (precious and non-precious) are used for the crown. PFM crowns are still very commonly used for the back teeth. But for the front teeth these are still not used because of the aesthetic reasons.
All Ceramic: These are the results of a true revolution in the dental industry. These crowns that are “metal free” are suitable in most cases. They combine high strength, biocompatibility, high aesthetics that ensure long term success.
When does a tooth need a crown?
There can be various reasons when you may need a crown.
Crowns can be used to close spaces between the teeth. These teeth will include anything like chipped, fixed, worn and poorly shaped teeth.
After a Root Canal Therapy (RCT), crowns are highly recommended for the protection of the teeth, especially the molars and premolars. Crowns help in protecting the teeth that are susceptible to fracturing, splitting or breaking through the roots.
In some cases, the crown can be placed on a cracked tooth. This offers maximum protection and also prevents the loss of tooth.
The crown can be the restoration of choice when there is excessive loss of tooth structure like decays and fractures.
Crowns can also restore the functionality and aesthetics when there is severe loss of enamel.
For those teeth where very large filling is used to restore them and where the left-over tooth structure is really small it is recommended to place the crowns for preventing fractures and cracks.
The above are some of the facts related to the dental crowning as suggested by the Long Island cosmetic dentist. Now that you have gathered knowledge about what is dental crowning all about and why it is used you can go ahead with your treatment more confidently and restore your white pearls for years to come.