Dental Crowns

Why are Dental Crowns needed?

A crown (or cap) completely covers the tooth above the gums and holds the remaining tooth together, providing excellent longevity.

Dental Crown Process

A crown involves preparing all around the tooth and over the chewing surface to make room for the new crown. Then a mold of the prepared tooth is taken and sent to the laboratory where the crown is made. A temporary crown is made to protect the tooth while the final crown is being constructed. There is an enormous difference in the quality between laboratories. We use the best laboratories we can find. Once the crown returns from the lab (around 2 weeks) we remove the temporary crown and cement the final crown in place.

Indications

Crowns (caps) are indicated for:

• Severely cracked teeth
• Large breaking-down fillings
• Back teeth which have had root canals
• Teeth with little remaining natural tooth structure
• For aesthetic reasons

Types of Dental Crowns

There are three basic types of crowns we offer:

• All-ceramic crown
• Full gold crown (FGC)

An all-ceramic crown (or porcelain with ceramic substrate) is the most beautiful of all crowns. There is no metal so translucency is usually excellent (dependent on the type of materials used for an all ceramic crown). These crowns are usually indicated on front teeth or teeth that are highly visible. We use only the best materials (a combination of beauty, biocompatibility, and strength) for our all-ceramic crowns.

A full gold crown (FGC) is composed of gold and looks gold. We only use high noble metal for our gold crowns (about 72% or 18 carat gold, 3.5% platinum). High noble metal fits better and is much less likely to result in allergies or sensitivities. Full gold crowns are indicated on back teeth with low visibility and are performed rather than a PFM at patient’s request. The primary benefit of a full gold crown is durability.

Other types of crowns include stainless steel (indicated for baby teeth that will be lost), noble metal (less gold and platinum) and base metal crowns.