Porcelain Crowns (Caps)
A dental crown (also known as a cap) is meant to fully cover a damaged tooth, improving its overall appearance as well as strengthening it. It can be made of different materials (though porcelain is the most popular) and are cemented onto a tooth.
Why Dental Crowns?
Crowns can be used to:
- Protect a weak tooth from breaking or to hold together parts of a cracked tooth.
- Restore a broken or worn-down tooth.
- Cover and support a tooth with a large filling where there isn’t a lot of a tooth left.
- Hold a dental bridge in place.
- Cover misshapen or severely discolored teeth.
- Complete a dental implant restoration.
Dental Crowns Procedure
The placement of a crown over a tooth usually takes two dentist visits.
- During the first, the tooth receiving the crown will be numbed, then cleaned of decay. It will then be filed down to make room for the crown. Your dentist will then take an impression of it to send to a lab where the crown will be made.
- Before you leave the first visit, a temporary crown will be put in place. Once the crown has been completed, it will be placed during a second visit. The temporary crown will be removed, the tooth will be cleaned, and the dentist will check the fit and color of the permanent crown. If it’s acceptable, a local anesthetic will be applied to the tooth, and the crown will be permanently cemented into place.
Dental crowns can last 5-15 years depending on wear-and-tear, your oral hygiene habits, and your personal mouth-related habits such as grinding your teeth or biting your nails. To see if dental crowns are the best treatment option for your case, book an appointment with one of our Pearland locations today!
