2 APPOINTMENTS NEEDED
Dental crowns: also referred to as “dental caps,” “tooth crowns,” or “tooth caps,” crowns are fixed prosthetic devices that are cemented onto existing teeth or implants by a dentist or prosthodontist. In addition to strengthening a damaged tooth, crowns can be used to improve a tooth’s appearance, shape, alignment and dental occlusion (bite). Gaps left by missing teeth can cause the remaining teeth to shift, which can result in a bad bite. Crowns help prevent this from happening. Crowns cover most of the exposed portion of your tooth and decay does not affect a crown since it is made of metal and /or porcelain. However, where the natural tooth meets the crown can become decayed.
Process – the procedure for installing a dental crown normally takes two separate dentist visits.
- At your first appointment, our dentist will examine the tooth to make sure that it can support a crown, then begin filing it down to prepare for the crown. Alternatively, if the tooth is severely damaged or broken, our dentist may need to fill it in to make it large enough to properly receive the crown.
- After the tooth is filed or filled to the proper shape, our practitioner will take an impression of the tooth, as well as those surrounding it, and send it away to our dental lab, so the permanent crown can be made accordingly. By the end of this first visit, your tooth will have a new temporary crown that protects it until the final crown is ready to be permanently placed.
- When the permanent crown is ready, you will have your second visit. At this appointment, the temporary crown is removed, after which our dentist will position and fasten the new crown to the tooth with a special adhesive.
- At amazing dental care, we schedule next day appointments for patients who provide their own transportation and remain in the yuma area overnight. For those patients who rely on our transportation from the valley, we normally schedule non-consecutive days of travel. We have found that this approach significantly reduces the length of day for our drivers, making the entire operation much safer for everyone involved.
Porcelain – just as their name implies, all-porcelain dental crowns are restorations whose entire thickness is 100% porcelain.
this is an ideal crown where the esthetics of the crown are critically important. Porcelain crowns are known for their ability to mimic the lustrous nature of natural teeth due to the level of characterization and translucency that can be built into them. For upper front teeth (incisors and canines), this issue may be of paramount importance.
With porcelain, there is no allergic reactions as porcelain is highly biocompatible.
In terms of durability and longevity, 100% porcelain crowns don’t have the same long-term track record for longevity and durability as all-metal and porcelain fused to metal crowns do. And in fact, some types of ceramics have substantially inferior physical characteristics in terms of strength, hardness, brittleness and resistance to fracture.
A porcelain crown needs to be thicker if it is going to withstand the rigors of chewing and eating. The fact that the porcelain needs to be thicker however then means that the dentist will need also to remove more of your tooth in order to fit it in. This then in turn means that you are more likely to lose more of your original teeth and this can also make the remainders more brittle.
Advantages of porcelain crowns
- Porcelain is ideally suitable for patients who have reduced space inside their mouth and are looking for that natural looking tooth
Disadvantages of porcelain crowns
- Porcelain crowns are more brittle and more prone to cracking and getting hairline fractures across the outer surface. This can look bad and can result in the crown needing to be done once again. Chipping is also more likely with porcelain crowns meaning you need to be more careful in sporting events etc. and meaning you’re more likely to have visible imperfections on your teeth after.
- If the full thickness of an all-porcelain crown has cracked, no repair is possible. The restoration will need to be replaced and preferably before the bacteria that can now penetrate underneath it create problems (tooth decay, recontamination of the tooth’s root canal treatment).
- Minor chips can be smoothed overusing a dental drill. Larger defects might be repaired by bonding dental composite onto the crown.
- Porcelain also has lower ‘thermal conductivity’ and this means that extreme temperature changes can also cause cracks and damage to form.
- With porcelain it is also more difficult to get the crown to fit exactly where the tooth meets the gum. This then means that your dentist will require greater skill in order to fit them and that they may be more likely to be less than perfect in appearance and function.
- Porcelain crowns are also slightly more likely to cause ‘gingival inflammation’ which causes swelling, bleeding and discoloration of the gums.
Adjustment period: it is okay for the crown to feel a little out of place for a few days after cementing. This is because the teeth around this area are adjusting to new forces both in between the teeth and upon biting.
Preventive procedures: to provide optimum longevity for your restorations and to prevent future decay and supporting-tissue breakdown, please use the following home care tips:
- Brush after eating and before bedtime around the crown with a soft toothbrush, especially where the crown meets the gum line. At this gum line harmful bacteria can be harbored to cause decay and gum disease. An electric toothbrush is highly recommended over manual to help you keep this area clean.
- If you do not control the buildup of food debris and plaque your teeth and gums can become infected.
- Water pik™ can be used with an antibacterial, alcohol free mouthwash like prescribed mouthwash at the gum line to keep this area healthy
- Chewing: do not chew hard foods on the restorations for 24 hours from the time they were cemented—to attain optimum strength, the cement must mature for approximately 24 hours also avoid eating or chewing on hard objects, hard food, nails, hard candy or ice.
- Avoid sticky treats like: caramels, taffy, gummy bears, caramels, salt water taffy, swedish fish, jelly beans, hard gum and other sticky candy.
- Limit snacks, if high in sugar brush this area or swish with water
- Remember tobacco, coffee, blueberries and tea may stain the crown
- Sensitivity: do not worry about mild sensitivity to hot or cold foods. This sensitivity will disappear gradually over a few weeks. Infrequently, sensitivity last longer than six weeks.
Problems – call us if any one of these conditions occurs:
- If the tooth is the first tooth to hit when you bite down after a couple of days, contact us for an adjustment.
- If you experience a feeling of movement or looseness in the restoration.
- If the crown becomes sensitivity to sweet foods or it develops a peculiar taste from the restoration site.
- If you experience breakage of a piece of material from the restoration or sensitivity to pressure.
- If a crowned tooth develops the need for a root canal procedure after a crown restoration