Learn 4 Ways Dental Crowns Restore Both Strength and Dazzling Beauty

How dental crowns protect and beautify your teeth.

Dental crowns are a common and important form of restorative dentistry treatment. They involve placing a protective cover over a damaged or decayed tooth to revitalize its strength, durability, and beauty. If you’re facing challenges with your smile, below are four key ways that dental crowns can help.

1. Protect Weak or Damaged Teeth

One of the primary reasons dental crowns are used so widely in restorative dentistry is that they provide lasting protection. In particular, they are often used when a tooth is seriously impacted by decay or damage. These are cases that have progressed beyond simple cavities or minor aesthetic damage; instead, they’re instances that pose a genuine threat to the structure and integrity of the tooth. 

Damage and decay can expose your teeth to the risk of further damage. For instance, without a dental crown, damaged teeth are at risk of cracks and chips. That kind of decay can progress deeper, potentially reaching the inner layers of the tooth, at which point bacteria can get inside and cause infections. In order to stop this before it causes you serious harm, you’ll need a root canal treatment to remove pulp tissue inside the tooth.

A dental crown acts as a solution that will safeguard your smile in the long run. When you visit your dentist to begin the process of restoring your tooth with a dental crown, they will remove the damaged and decayed tooth material, as well as additional enamel to provide a solid base. The dental crown will then go over the prepared tooth. It’s made of strong and lasting materials like porcelain and other ceramics, restoring the protection against further damage, decay, or discomfort normally provided by healthy enamel.

2. Improve Tooth Shape and Alignment

Damaged teeth can impact the overall alignment of your bite and push other teeth out of alignment, potentially requiring orthodontic treatment down the line. Misalignment also contributes to jaw issues and temporomandibular joint disorders. 

Dental crowns are carefully crafted and placed to provide proper alignment. Their durability also ensures that the alignment lasts, meaning you won’t face any further issues down the line. 

Tooth shape is another key detail that crowns address. Damage and wear can lead to a tooth becoming misshapen and standing out as you smile. A crown will be fully customized to match your natural smile, ensuring your tooth will be the proper size and shape and not draw any unwanted attention.

3. Enhance Overall Appearance

Tooth chips and cracks leave your smile looking unbalanced and asymmetrical, and tooth decay causes discoloration and a general unevenness that many can spot right away. Dental crowns, thankfully, offer a stunning and natural means of restoring your smile. 

The high-quality materials used in dental crowns carefully mimic the appearance of natural teeth; porcelain, in particular, even has a slight translucence, just like real enamel. Your dentist can also fine-tune the shade of the crown’s materials so that it matches your unique smile as closely as possible.

Other options that address tooth damage, such as dental fillings, can be easily visible due to their coloration and materials. Custom crowns, on the other hand, are designed to match the surrounding teeth so that they don’t stand out. The result is a seamless smile that no one will be able to tell required a restoration in the first place.

4. Restore Proper Chewing and Speaking

The benefits of dental crowns aren’t solely focused on how your smile looks; damage and decay can seriously hinder the function of your teeth as well. You might not realize it, but the forces involved in chewing put serious stress on your teeth. Healthy teeth can tolerate it, but damaged, or decayed teeth can wear down or break more easily. And the pain and discomfort that they cause can put a damper on your day-to-day life.

Dental crowns will restore your teeth’s proper function, allowing you to use your full bite force and chew without worrying about sensitivity. That can also help improve your speech, as you’ll be able to move your mouth more naturally without any discomfort.

Being able to bite and chew properly is about more than being able to enjoy your favorite foods, though; it also has a lasting impact on your overall health. Chewing is an essential part of the digestive process, so if you can’t chew properly, your nutrition can suffer.

Find Dental Crown Services in Wilson, NC

If your smile is suffering from damage or decay, then dental crowns could be the best choice for tooth restoration and appearance revitalization. They’re an excellent option in a wide range of cases, and your local dentist can determine whether they’re right for you. Schedule your consultation with Dixon, Boles & Associates today to start restoring your smile.