Understanding Dental Crowns at Premier Smiles
If your smile does not look the way you would like and needs restoration, but some teeth have cavities or fractures, the best way to enjoy healthy teeth, with a beautiful aesthetic appearance, is the treatment with dental crowns.
Why would the dentist recommend a dental crown?
Crowns are generally needed if the teeth being restored have significant structural damage, loss, cracks, or fractures. To restore proper function, a patient will often require a dental crown.
Reasons for dental crowns:
- More than 50% of teeth are destroyed due to advanced caries - dental crowns prevent complete breakage;
- The teeth need a restoration in terms of shape or color;
- Following a canal treatment;
- The teeth are discolored or have various colors that cannot be remedied by whitening;
- Treatment with dental implants.
Can front teeth dental crowns look natural?
If the front teeth are involved in crowning, absolutely, there are different kinds of materials we can use to make them look as natural as possible.
A porcelain crown is a prosthetic work that covers an abutment or a tooth with a high degree of coronal destruction, thus managing to save it both aesthetically and functionally. The dental crown completely covers the affected tooth. It looks like a tooth, noting that it attaches like a cap over the damaged tooth.
There are several materials from which dental crowns can be made, but the porcelain crowns (tooth colored crown) are the most popular, because they resemble your natural teeth. A porcelain crown provides an aesthetic appearance similar to natural teeth and a very high durability.
Will I need a dental crown after a root canal?
Normally, after a root canal procedure, a crown is recommended because it reinforces the tooth and prevents further damage or cracks.
Can a root canal and dental crown be done in one visit?
The root canal procedure and crown can be done in one visit. However, due to the technical aspects of making a crown, the patient would need to return for a second visit to have the crown inserted.
What does getting a dental crown involve?
A crown procedure usually requires two appointments.
The first visit involves examining and preparing the patient. Before starting this process, our doctors will offer you a consultation to find out if this type of restoration suits you. Once we have decided which is the best treatment option, we move on to tooth preparation.
The first visit will include taking several highly accurate molds (or impressions) that will be used to create your custom crown. The patient goes home with a temporary dental crown, which will stay on your tooth for approximately two weeks until your new crown is fabricated by a dental laboratory.
The second visit takes place as soon as the dental crown is ready. The temporary one is replaced with the permanent one, and the patient enjoys a new, beautiful, and functional smile. The accommodation with the new dental crown is done in a short time, and it then feels exactly like a natural tooth.
Is it painful to have a dental crown placed?
Having a dental crown placed is not painful. It is done under local anesthesia, like other procedures.
What causes pain under a dental crown?
After a crown is placed, the patient might experience discomfort for various reasons. One reason can be mechanical trauma due to the need for a bite adjustment. Sometimes, not all decay is removed from underneath the crown. Additionally, a fracture can develop due to excessive mechanical pressure.
What can be done about cavities under a dental crown?
If cavities are detected under a dental crown, the crown is typically removed, all decay is cleaned from the tooth, and a new crown is made for the patient.
Does dental insurance cover dental crowns?
Most dental insurances cover a percentage of the cost for dental crowns.
Same-day dental crowns in Premier Smiles
Chairside Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramic (CEREC) is a computerized system with the help of which unidentary and small-scale ceramic works can be designed and realized in a single session, extremely precise, aesthetic, and resistant.
With the help of CEREC, superesthetic restorations made of integral ceramics can be designed and realized in the dental offices, in a single appointment.
If you are considering same-day crowns and would like more information, or if you would like to explore your options, make an appointment on our site or at (610) 553-3389.
Advantages of same-day CEREC dental crowns
Almost anyone who needs a ceramic restoration can benefit from CEREC. Exceptions include patients who have a prior history of breaking ceramic devices and those with a deep bite.
Benefits associated with CEREC include:
- Due to the fact that ceramic is a translucent material, the reconstruction with crowns and dental veneers has a very natural look.
- Ceramic is a material very well tolerated by the human body, so allergic reactions are excluded.
- Restorative treatments are more conservative, keeping as much of the tooth enamel as possible.
- It is the optimal option for repairing a cavity.
- Elimination of human error during realization - the dimension being proposed and realized by a specialized computer.
- Fewer dental visits.
- Cost effectiveness.
- Fewer injections and discomfort.
What does a CEREC restoration procedure involve?
First of all, the whole process is computerized. CEREC Cam is an innovative system that uses an intraoral chamber to obtain the exact impression of the tooth to be treated. In this way, the patient gets rid of the discomfort caused by the traditional impression and can be sure that his tooth will have a perfect appearance.
The design is then transmitted to the milling machine, which makes a dental crown from a ceramic cube. Depending on the material used, the doctor adjusts its transparency, making sure that the restored tooth will fit perfectly with the rest of your teeth. Then, the dental crown is applied in the patient's oral cavity, using the same method used in the case of mounting traditional crowns. This technique considerably reduces the time spent in the dental office and allows this type of treatment to be performed in a single visit to the dentist.
When should I schedule a dental crown procedure?
If you’re ready to schedule an exam or would like to learn more about our services, we’d love to hear from you. Call us at (610) 553-3389 or email [email protected]. We look forward to caring for your smile.