Crowns

A crown is a “covering” for a natural tooth.

Natural teeth that would benefit by a crown include:

1. A tooth that is structurally compromised, missing one or more points (cusps) or has been rebuilt with a filling. Such a tooth is at risk for breaking down further which could compromise the tooth beyond repair.
2. A tooth that has been root canalled. Root canalled teeth often have a deep hole drilled down the center of the tooth and are potentially at risk of cracking.
3. A tooth that has multiple visible small cracks or crazes.
4. A discolored, misshaped or unaesthetic tooth.
5. Teeth that have been severely worn down and have poor chewing efficiency. In such cases, many teeth are crown to rebuild the bite.

Crowns often involve 2 appointments.

At the first appointment, a “temporary” impression mold is taken of the tooth. The tooth is then trimmed down and a “working” impression mold is made of this trimmed down tooth. A commercial dental laboratory fabricates the final crown. The patient is sent home with a temporary acrylic crown (made chairside from the temporary impression mold), cemented with a soft cement.

At the second appointment, the temporary acrylic crown is teased off the trimmed tooth and the final crown is permanently cemented with a hard cement.

Different types of crowns include: full metal crowns, porcelain fused to mental crowns and all porcelain crowns.

All Porcelain crown	Newer porcelain crowns made with a zirconia substructure with porcelain added on top High fracture resistance Excellent aesthetics and translucency
Porcelain fuse to metal crown	metal substructure, porcelain is then added to the visible area of the tooth.  strength advantages  sometimes unaesthetic if recession occurs		Lab model of prepared tooth	Crown made on lab model
Full Metal Crown	Made from metal only so highest fracture resistance Highest wear resistance Unaesthetic? Depends on your preference