Dental crowns can help restore your teeth.

For decades, dentists have used dental crowns for their strength and durability to restore patients’ chipped, cracked, or damaged teeth. As an affordable, noninvasive option, dental crowns have the potential to outlast other treatment options and provide a natural-looking, full smile.

Read on to find out if dental crowns are the right option for you!

What is a dental crown?

A dental crown is a covering, almost like a cap, that is placed over your tooth to help restore it to its normal shape, strength, and function. A dental crown can not only make your tooth physically stronger, but it can also improve its look and feel.

What causes a tooth’s natural crown to break down?

There are many things that can lead to tooth damage. The natural crown of the tooth—the part you see when you smile—is made up of enamel and other natural tissues. When that enamel breaks down, either from chipping, breaking, or poor oral health care, a dental crown may be needed to restore your tooth’s structure and overall function.

When is a dental crown needed?

A dental crown can be used to repair a variety of issues, like:

• A cavity that is too large for a filling
• Weakened, worn down, and even cracked teeth
• Missing tooth/teeth (in conjunction with a bridge or dental implant)
• Discolored tooth
• Tooth undergoing a root canal

Types of Dental Crowns

Dental crowns are made of many different types of materials, including:

• Metal
• Porcelain
• Ceramic
• Resin
• Porcelain fused to metal
• Pressed ceramic

Each dentist prefers to use certain materials when crafting a dental crown. Talk with your dentist to see which material is best for you and your situation.

What type of dental crowns does Dixon, Boles, and Associates offer?

At Dixon, Boles, and Associates, we use tooth-colored zirconia or gold for our dental crowns. Zirconia dental crowns offer the strength of metal but will look more natural, closely matching your original teeth’s color and sheen. This is the prime reason zirconia crowns are recommended for correcting front teeth. 

Gold dental crowns have been a popular choice among dentists everywhere because they’re reliable, long-lasting, and durable. They’re typically used for back teeth because they can easily withstand the force of your bite and because their noticeable color stands in stark contrast to the shade of your natural teeth.

What is the process for getting a dental crown?

Our dental team at Dixon, Boles, and Associates is constantly on the cutting edge of technology, using the most up-to-date techniques for all our treatment options, including dental crowns.

Once you’ve had an oral evaluation and you and your dentist have decided that a dental crown is needed, you’ll need to get impressions taken of your mouth. Traditionally, a plaster mold is used to create a physical imprint of your teeth, and from there, a dental crown would be crafted. We’ve since stepped into modern times, so our team uses intraoral scanners to create digital impressions of your teeth, which are more accurate than traditional plaster impressions. This results in a custom dental crown that perfectly matches the intricate contours of your smile.

While your crown is carefully crafted in an offsite lab, your dentist will provide a temporary crown to protect your tooth until your permanent crown is ready. This process typically takes two to three weeks.

Once your dental crown has been created, you’ll come back in for a follow-up appointment so your dental crown can be placed. Your dentist will check the fit of the crown and test out your bite, and once everything feels comfortable, the dental crown will be permanently cemented into place.

Visit us for your dental needs.

If you have a chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged tooth and think you may be in need of a dental crown, feel free to reach out to the team at Dixon, Boles, and Associates. We are ready to help restore your smile so you can feel confident in the look and feel of your pearly whites! Call us today, or use our handy online form to schedule an appointment.