Decayed, broken, and missing teeth affect your oral health and your self-confidence. When a tooth has suffered structural or cosmetic damage, a dental crown can restore a tooth’s function and appearance.
A crown is a custom-made “cap” that covers the entire visible surface of a tooth. Your dentist might recommend a crown to:
- Strengthen and protect a tooth if extensive decay hasn’t left enough healthy tooth structure for a traditional filling
- Protect a cracked, broken, or brittle tooth from further damage
- Restore and reinforce a tooth after a root canal procedure
- Cover a deeply discolored or irregularly shaped tooth
- Complete a dental implant procedure
- Serve as an anchor for a dental bridge
Most crown placements require two appointments. During the first visit, tooth preparation includes reshaping the top and sides of the tooth so the crown fits comfortably. If too much healthy tooth structure has been lost, the dentist builds up the tooth with filling material so that it will support a crown securely.
At MetroSmiles we preform the entire crown procedure in about an hour. Dr. Block designs, creates, and cements an all porcelain crown in about an hour using the Cerec digital crown system.
This system uses computer aided milling to produce the most accurate crowns available. It uses advanced 3D imaging to capture the prepared tooth in a video impression which is used to design and fabricate the crown in one day; eliminating the need for messy uncomfortable impressions and a second visit. These crowns are made of durable ceramic materials which are preferred to the old porcelain fused to metal crowns that sometimes have the porcelain separate from the metal. These crowns are long lasting, durable, and esthetically pleasing.