Procedure

Dental Crown

What is a dental crown?

A dental crown is a cap that covers the tooth to protect the tooth from further breakdown. 

Dental Crown Procedure

The tooth is shaved or prepared just enough to compensate for the material added back to the tooth. An impression is taken of the prepared tooth, and the temporary crown is made to last for one to two weeks until the permanent crown is fabricated from the dental lab. The more recent advance is the use of digital technology to capture the tooth’s image and make the crown the same day. The permanent crown is made to look like the natural tooth.

Dental Crown Procedure – Animation Video

Applications of Dental Crown

When you have a large Dental Filling or broken tooth, the crown protects the remaining weak tooth structure. The larger the filling, the weaker the remaining tooth structure, more likely the remaining tooth structure will break. With aging, there is more wear and tear from chewing, grinding, acidic food, making the teeth weaker. Any back tooth with a root canal should be crowned as the chance of fracture is more than 50%.

  1. Cracked Tooth
  2. Large Dental Fillings
  3. Root Canal Treatment 
  4. Better Esthetic for the Front Tooth
  5. Closed the Space between Teeth
  6. To Improve the Bite
  7. Dental Implant

Types of Dental Crowns

Crown has been around since ancient times. The modern crown’s history started at the beginning of 1900; crowns have evolved from multi appointment to single appointment or same-day crown.

Traditional Dental Crowns

  • Full Metal
    • Poor Esthetics
    • Will not break, can last for life
    • Use for back teeth
  • Porcelain
    • Weakest
    • Good esthetics
  • Porcelain fused to Metal

Modern Dental Crowns

  • Zirconia
    • Very strong
    • Good esthetics
    • Good for back teeth
    • Cannot bond, therefore, not good for short teeth
  • Lithium disilicate
    • Fair strength
    • Very good esthetics
    • Good for front teeth

Cost of a Dental Crown

A dental crown’s price depends on the quality and type of the material used and how it is fabricated (in-office or sent to a lab). In general, the cost of a dental crown ranges between $800-$1600.

Dr. David Cheng

A practicing dentist with over 30 years of experience and more than 3500 hours of continuing studies. He lives in both Toronto, Canada and Seattle, WA. Besides writing for this website, he practices dentistry in different clinics in Canada and mentors other dentists in the USA and Canada.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also
Close
Back to top button