Dental crowns are used when the patient has deep carious cavities, discolouration, or fractures. There are several types of prosthetic restoration, namely: all-ceramic, metal or porcelain on metal, final and temporary. Dental crowns are placed in a few visits, and it is painless. How much does such a tooth reconstruction cost, and what is the alternative? We tell you everything you need to know in this article!
So, What Is a Dental Crown?
Crowns are prosthetic restorations used when a natural tooth is severely damaged by caries or has been broken. An indication to put them on is also to improve their colour and shape.
What Do Dental Crowns Look Like?
They are in the form of a cap put on a specially ground tooth. They rebuild its lost tissues and strengthen it, recreating its activity, function, and aesthetics. Dental crowns (a common term used by patients) are used in large cavities and the case of a broken tooth, e.g., after an injury. Usually, no filling material (colloquially a filling) will stick in such teeth and fall out.
Dental Crowns – Indications and Contraindications
An indication for putting on porcelain crowns is also intense discolouration of the enamel, for example, after treatment with tetracyclines or dark teeth after endodontic treatment. A crown can be placed on rotated teeth for aesthetic reasons, with underdevelopment of enamel resulting from coexisting genetic diseases, and on worn, commonly “eaten” teeth. Contraindications for placing crowns on a tooth are:
- Excessively damaged dentition (problem with the crown remaining on the tooth)
- Changes at the root apex
- Advanced periodontal disease.
It is also not recommended to put crowns on living permanent teeth in young people – due to the high risk of injury to the pulp chamber and the need for endodontic (root canal) treatment.
Types Tooth Crowns
- All-ceramic crowns are the most aesthetic restorations with a colour that practically does not differ from the natural dentition. They are used on the front teeth. On the other hand, the zirconium crown is made of zirconium oxide, i.e., the highest quality ceramics. It is a very durable prosthetic restoration that does not cause allergies.
- Metal tooth crowns can be made of materials such as steel, titanium, and gold and silver alloys. They are recommended for badly damaged posterior teeth. It is a cheap and durable way to rebuild a tooth. The disadvantage is the possibility of causing allergies and insufficient aesthetics.
- Porcelain crowns on metal combine the aesthetics of porcelain crowns and the strength of metal ones. The metal is invisible under the porcelain layer, but it can show around the tooth neck, where the crown is thinnest, giving it a grey hue.
- Dividing the restorations according to their function, we distinguish between final and temporary crowns. Ultimate prosthetic crowns are those that are permanently cemented in the patient’s mouth. Temporary ones, in turn, are placed on the tooth between visits to protect its structure from unfavourable factors.
- Protective crowns are made of acrylic. They reproduce the aesthetics of the tooth well but are not durable. They cannot be used for longer than between visits as they may discolour or break, revealing cut dentine.
And How Are Crowns Placed on Teeth?
If you want to make a crown, you must make an appointment with a doctor for at least three visits. You can contact the experts at Dandenong Denture Clinic, who has grown to become a leading name in the field of dental prosthetics.
Placing a prosthetic crown on a tooth is painless. At the first visit, the tooth will be properly ground. The shape of the preparation depends on its natural form and the degree of its destruction. Use a longitudinal drill to collect about 1.5 mm of enamel from the sidewalls and 2.0 mm from the chewing wall of the tooth. Then, the retraction thread should be placed in the gingival pocket to move the gum away from the tooth and allow the impression material to flow freely. The impression is made of two layers – first, a hard mass of putty consistency is applied to a metal or plastic impression tray. The dentist takes the first impression of the mouth.
In the next stage, the experts will remove the retraction thread from the gingival pocket, and applies a thin one to the hard mass impression and re-insert the impression tray into the oral cavity to reproduce the teeth and soft tissues. During the same visit, the dentist will determine the height of the occlusion and match the colour of the new crown to the natural teeth. Finally, a temporary protective crown will be placed over the ground tooth. During the next visit, the crown structure will be tried on, and the next time the finished restoration will be placed on prosthetic cement (i.e., the so-called permanent denture cementation). A crown can be placed on a live or dead (endodontically treated) tooth. An adequately made crown on a tooth, which the patient cares for and cleans regularly, will serve for many years without replacement
