Porcelain Crowns We love the whole idea of crowns. We know that a lot of people think crowns are for royalty, but we use crowns all the time to save your teeth. They aren't for decoration, and they aren't for the top of your head, the crowns that we use are for the top of your teeth. If you don't know about crowns, give Zhou Dental Care a few minutes to talk to you about crowns and why they are so important. What Are Crowns?You may have heard crowns called dental caps - that's because the crowns cap (or cover) the top of your tooth all the way down to the gumline. Crowns have been used for centuries as a way to cover damaged teeth and protect them. In the past, we made crowns from precious metals like silver and gold. In fact, precious metal crowns were seen as a status symbol for decades. Now, however, crowns are usually porcelain over a metal cap, so that the crown looks like your original teeth, and so your tooth is protected. The porcelain over metal cap technique makes crowns strong, and it takes a great deal of force to make them break or crack. What Are Crowns Used For?We use crowns for a lot of different reasons. We sometimes use a crown to make a tooth stronger if a large filling is in place in the tooth. Forty or fifty years ago, practitioners used to completely drill out a tooth to get rid of the cavity, which left the tooth weak and less able to fight infection, or a blow to the face. Now we know that we need to drill the hole in a cavity as small as possible to keep the tooth strong and healthy. This helps to preserve the tooth. A lot of adults have fillings from 40 or 50 years ago, and over time, spaces between the tooth and the filling can grow and expand. This could cause tooth loss. A crown placed over the tooth with a large filling in it protects the tooth. We might also use crowns to cover teeth that were broken, chipped, split or fractured. Sometimes, teeth can crack because of a blow to the face, and other times, an adult will bite down on a pretzel or a peanut, and break a tooth. Crowns can cover the remaining parts of the tooth to protect it. How Are Crowns Done?In order to fix your tooth, we will first place a temporary crown on your damaged tooth. Before we place the temporary crown, we make a mold of your cracked, chipped or broken tooth. We then make a crown from the mold of your tooth, so that it fits your mouth exactly. When your crown is ready, we need to sand your tooth down (just a little) and cement your new crown in over your tooth. Placing a crown is relatively easy and pain free. Do you have a damaged tooth? Do you have questions about the crown procedure? Why not give Zhou Dental Care a call at 503-282-3884. |
