Crowns

Dental crowns cover your natural teeth or a dental implant to replace a badly damaged or missing tooth. Crowns can be porcelain or ceramic that look just like natural teeth but are also available in gold and stainless steel.

Traditionally, fitting crowns involves having to make two visits to the dentist, one where they take an impression of your tooth using dental putty or paste so a lab can create the crown, and another several weeks later to fit the crown when it’s ready.

For convenience, Solomon Family Dentistry uses state-of-the-art CEREC® same-day crowns designed with Encode® Impression System technology.

Crowns are an excellent option for addressing a wide variety of problems. They protect a weak tooth from decay and prevent it from breaking, restore a tooth that’s already broken or worn down, and cover a tooth that has a large filling when there isn’t much of the natural tooth remaining.

Crowns are vital for covering and completing dental implants — metal posts that your dentist fits into your jaw when you have a missing tooth. Crowns also complete dental bridges, where they attach to the teeth on either side of a gap to secure the new tooth in place.

The first step in having your crowns fitted is the preparation. Your dentist examines the tooth and bone and takes an X-ray to ensure there’s no decay, infection, or injury.

If all is well, they file down the tooth on the top and sides to make space for the crown. If there’s a lot of the original tooth missing, your dentist might use a filling material to build up the tooth enough for a crown.

The next stage involves using scanning technology, which enables your dentist to take impressions of your teeth quickly and accurately. They use these impressions to create your crowns from a block of ceramic in the office. The procedure only takes minutes, and you can have your crown fitted straight away.

If you look after your teeth, your crowns could last for many years. They’re not likely to break, although you shouldn’t use your teeth as a tool (for example, biting into hard plastic to open a package) or bite down hard on solid objects.

The crowns themselves don’t need any special care, but it’s essential to keep up your everyday dental hygiene routine to protect the natural tooth underneath the crown.

Brush twice and floss once every day, and make sure you visit Solomon Family Dentistry for regular checkups and professional cleanings.

To find out if you could improve your smile with CEREC same-day crowns, call Solomon Family Dentistry or book an appointment online today.