Imagine a thimble fitting over your finger if you are sewing. A crown fits over the tooth the same way. In order for the crown to fit and not be too big, we have to make the tooth smaller. This is done by removing any filling material or decay, and then reshaping the tooth to allow the crown to fit. The tooth needs to be very smooth and have a specific shape in order for the crown to fit well and be nice and snug on the tooth.
There are many reasons why we may recommend a crown for your tooth. If your tooth is broken or if we have to replace a large filling, usually we will recommend a crown. Crowns are much stronger than fillings, tend to last much longer and are better able to rebuild the natural shape of your tooth.
If you have a small to medium cavity fixed we will usually recommend a filling to fix your tooth (figure 2). A standard rule is that if the new filling is going to be more than three sides of the tooth or be larger than 50% of the tooth, a filling will not be strong enough to rebuild your tooth.
Crowns can be made of many different types of materials, such as, gold, porcelain or metal and porcelain together. The type of material that we use to make your crown depends on many factors such as how much force is on the tooth, where in your mouth the crown is, are there already other crowns in your mouth, as well as what the final color of the crown will be. Most of the time, our crowns are made out of porcelain. This is a very strong material and also is the most esthetic material so your crowns will not only last a very long time, but they will also look great.
In my next post, I will be discussing how we make crowns here in the office. Thanks to some amazing technology, we are now able to make your crowns in one visit, while you wait. You no longer need to have messy impressions, temporary crowns, multiple appointments or have to wait 2-4 weeks for your crown to be made by an outside lab.
Please remember if you have any questions about this topic or any other dental questions you can always call the office and speak to me or one of my outstanding staff members.
Regards,
Dr. Rayment