Dental crowns are a type of restoration that is meant to repair, strengthen, and cosmetically enhance teeth. They are sometimes called “caps” because it fits on top of your tooth (like a baseball “cap” on your head). You can also think of it as a “helmet” for your tooth. It will protect against everyday wear and tear while bracing the walls of the tooth to prevent it from splitting or breaking any further.
Teeth that have become damaged or decayed may change in size and shape, which can ultimately affect their function. The solution to this is to often to have a dental crown placed over the top of teeth to strengthen the tooth and enhance its appearance.
When are dental crowns needed?
Crowns are indicated when teeth are severely worn down, chipped, broken, have undergone root canal treatment, a dental implant placed, or for cosmetic purposes.
Benefits of dental crowns
Those with severely cracked teeth may experience sensitivity or pain when chewing, but dental crowns can help eliminate these types of discomfort. They prevent the future loss of a tooth by protecting it from further damage. If done properly, the patient will not notice any difference in their mouth that a crown was placed.
What is the crown procedure?
Depending on the dentist, some dental offices will have your crown ready and prepared for delivery (cementation) in two appointments, and other offices, like Newport Beach Dental Studio, offer same-day crowns, so conveniently, you do not need to come back for a second delivery appointment. Your dentist will first use a local anesthetic to numb the area that is being worked on. After it becomes numb, your dentist will trim your tooth, making it slightly smaller, just enough to be able to fit a crown on top. If you are at an office that does not offer same-day crowns, the dentist will place a temporary crown in your mouth until you return for your second appointment. If you are having a crown done with Dr. Ha at Newport Beach Dental Studio, you get to skip the temporary crown appointment and have a crown made for you in-house and cemented, all on the same day.
What to do if your crown falls off
If your crown falls off, call your dentist immediately. If you cannot get a hold of your dentist, or too far from a dental office, you can visit your local pharmacy and purchase temporary crown or filling cement or denture glue/paste. This will temporarily keep your crown in place, but eating anything sticky like chewing gum will likely pop the crown off, so try to avoid sticky foods and eating on that side of the mouth to prevent further damage until you are able to be seen by your dentist. Worst case scenario, you are unable to get ahold of your dentist and cannot find temporary crown/filling material or denture paste at your local pharmacy, you can chew a small amount of sugar-free gum and place it inside the crown then stick it back onto your tooth. If nothing holds, then it’s best to save the crown and bring it with you to your dental visit.
Newport Beach Dental Studio offers same-day CAD/CAM ceramic crowns
We understand your time is valuable and sometimes coming back for a second appointment can be inconvenient or impossible. If you need a permanent crown made and delivered in a single visit, we can do it. At our dental office, we have a CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided machining) machine that can mill a full ceramic crown in under fifteen minutes. This is convenient for those who have a dental emergency, or for those that simply do not want to return for a second appointment.
What are the differences in dental crowns?
In dentistry, dental crowns come in a variety of materials and strengths. There are metal crowns such as stainless steel (all silver) crowns, gold crowns, half metal and half porcelain crowns (PFM), and full porcelain crowns (eMax or zirconia). Generally speaking, full ceramic crowns are the best, as their bond strength to natural tooth structure is very strong, they are durable and aesthetically appealing. Sometimes your dentist may suggest using a gold crown. The reason for that is because the tooth being worked on is very small and removing too much tooth structure for an eMax or PFM crown, can cause complications such as tooth sensitivity. Gold crowns require minimum tooth reduction and have the same hardness as natural teeth. At Newport Beach Dental Studio, Dr. Ha mainly uses full ceramic crowns due to their strength and aesthetics, but if he feels that you are not a candidate for a full ceramic crown, then he will offer the next best option, which is a gold crown. Dr. Ha believes that PFM crowns are out-of-date and believes that there are better, stronger, longer-lasting materials.
Schedule an appointment with Dr. Ha at Newport Beach Dental Studio