What Is a Dental Crown and What Are Its Purposes?

Dental crowns are fixed devices encasing a damaged tooth or a dental implant with a tooth-shaped cap. Dental crown placement happens in an outpatient procedure to restore the strength and functionality besides the appearance of your smile.

The dental crown procedure involves taking molds of a tooth filed down to fabricate a customized crown to fit the tooth. Attachment of the crown with dental cement is the final step of the procedure.

Getting a dental crown over your damaged or decayed tooth is a safe procedure with some risks and complications. However, the difficulties aren’t likely to send you to the emergency dentist in Lincoln seeking treatments unless you are successful in damaging the crown and your tooth beneath in some way.

Dental crowns are the only method available to repair damaged teeth. Discuss all treatment options with dental crowns near you to understand which option is suitable for your needs.

Types of Dental Crowns

You can have a crown from porcelain ceramic blended with other materials. Tooth-coloured ceramic crowns are not editable as metal crowns, but you can have crowns made from gold, copper, and other metals if you prefer.

You can also have porcelain fused to metal crowns made from metal with tooth-coloured porcelain covering it. This variety is more robust than ceramic crowns, but the visibility of the metal near the gums is an issue you will encounter over time.

Other Procedures You May Need before Getting Dental Crowns

If damage and decay have affected the insides of your tooth and the pulp containing nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue, the Lincoln dentist near you recommends you undergo root canal therapy. The treatment sounds fearsome but is an excellent method to preserve your tooth.

The dentist drills into your tooth to remove the infected and inflamed pulp and cleans the root canal before filling it with a rubber-like material gutta-percha. The drilled portion of the tooth is covered with a temporary filling until your dental crown is ready.

What Purposes Do Dental Crowns Serve?

Dentists recommend dental crowns to treat or repair the following conditions:

• Cracked or Chipped Teeth: Some teeth are irreparable using traditional procedures. Severely damaged teeth lead to infections require root canal therapy to preserve the tooth before dental crown placement.
• Dental Implants: If you have missing teeth and choose dental implants to replace them, they are covered by a dental crown.
• Misshapen or Discolored Teeth: If you have misshapen or discoloured teeth and want to enhance their appearance for cosmetic reasons, you can have dental crowns encase them.

Besides, the above dental crowns are helpful for placement with a dental bridge to replace missing teeth and teeth with severe decay to preserve the appearance and functionality of a tooth.

Who Performs the Dental Crown Procedure?

General dentists, pediatric dentists, and prosthodontists all perform the dental crown procedure. In addition, specialists like Dr. Brion Dalton specialize in restoring damaged teeth with crowns and other restorations.

The Dental Crown Procedure

The dental crown procedure starts with you receiving local anaesthesia into the gums near the tooth to ensure you feel no pain during the process. Your dentist must reshape your tooth to ensure the restoration fits snugly over it. Some parts of your tooth are filed to make space for repair.

After that, your dentist makes a mold of a tooth and the neighbouring teeth for the dental lab to make the crowns. You receive a temporary crown over the prepared tooth because the dental lab requires two to three weeks to prepare your customized restoration.

You revisit the dentist in a few weeks for the final placement of the dental crown. The dentist starts the procedure by removing the temporary crown and checks the customized crown for fit and colour. They will make any adjustments required to ensure a proper bite. Your customized crown is finally placed on your prepared tooth with dental cement and bonded to your tooth.

Do Dental Crowns Affect Your Everyday Life?

Dental crowns prevent tooth loss or extraction of a severely damaged or decayed tooth. They are helpful to protect your tooth from further damage. Dental crowns make you feel better about your tooth’s appearance.

Dental crowns will likely not affect your everyday life so long as you maintain oral hygiene appropriately. Follow your dentist’s instructions brushing and flossing every day, and visiting them for exams and cleanings every six months. Your dentist will check the tooth beneath the crown to ensure it is free from decay.

Dental crowns last you for over a decade but require replacements eventually because of wear and tear. However, they serve their purpose adequately by providing strength and functionality to your decayed or damaged tooth.