Dental Crown

So a dental crown is basically a porcelain shell that covers the tooth when the tooth is broken down. If a tooth has a large filling, let's say, and that filling fractured, a new filling can't be placed because too much of the tooth structure is missing. So when too much of the tooth structure is missing, then a crown is indicated. So that means the tooth then has to be prepared and fitted for a porcelain shell, tooth color that matches the other teeth, and that gets cemented in and is non-removable, that's a type of crown. Nowadays, we're using with the advancements in materials, all porcelain crowns. So the people who are candidates for crowns are basically anybody who's had a large filling in the tooth and that tooth has broke. If a tooth has had a root canal, the tooth over time becomes very brittle after the root canal, because there's no more blood supply. So when there's no more blood supply to the tooth, the tooth can easily break if you bite down on something hard. So those patients are definitely candidates for crown. Dental crowns really don't require any special care compared to your normal teeth. You have to brush, you have to floss, you have to come in for your regular cleanings. As long as you do that, the crowns could last many, many years. In this office, we use what's called CEREC technology. We make the crown here in the office, so the turnaround time is immediate. That machine allows us to prepare, design, and mill, and cement the crown all in one visit. Patients love this because they're being injected and numb only once, and it's only one visit to have it completed as opposed to two visits. And with that two visits, patients are dealing with temporaries and sometimes the temporaries fall off and there is sensitivity. So by using the CEREC crowns, which are the single visit in-office crowns, the case is being completed much faster with much less post-op sensitivity and fewer appointments.