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Why Are Dental Crowns Needed?
Sometimes teeth need more than filling material to keep them looking their best and prevent the tooth decaying any further, in this instance dentists often turn to dental crowns. This is a tooth-shaped “cap” that is placed over the tooth to restore the shape, size, strength and improve the appearance.
Why Are Dental Crowns Needed?
Dental crowns are needed and used for a number of reasons:
- Protects weak teeth from decaying and breaking or holds together parts of a tooth that has been cracked.
- Restores the already broken tooth or a severely worn down tooth.
- Covers and supports a tooth that has a large filling that has left very little tooth.
- Helps hold a bridge or denture firmly in place.
- Covers misshapen or discoloured teeth to improve the appearance of the tooth.
- Covers a dental implant.
There are instances when a crown may be used for children’s baby teeth to:
- Save a tooth so damaged by decay that the tooth can’t support a filling,
- Protect teeth of children considered to be at high risk of tooth decay and has difficulty keeping good oral hygiene,
- Decrease the frequency of general anesthesia for children unable to handle it due to age, behaviour or medical history.
What Types of Dental Crowns are Available at Shifnal Dental Care
Permanent and temporary crowns can be made from:
- Metals – these include alloys that have high contents of gold or platinum, or bade-metals. These crowns withstand the forces associated with biting and chewing well and generally last the longest with regards to wearing down, meaning they rarely chip or break. However, due to the high price of gold these crowns are expensive.
- Porcelain-fused-to-metal – for a more normal-looking tooth then this is the right option, as the porcelain can be matched to the surrounding teeth. However, with this crown material, there is more wear to the opposite teeth and it can chip or break off, as well as the metal underlayer potentially showing through around the edges of the crown.
- All-resin – this material is less expensive when it comes to dental crowns, however, they do wear down over time and are more prone to fractures.
- All-ceramic or porcelain – this material provides a much better colour match to other teeth than metal or resin and are much more suitable for people with metal allergies, making them ideal for front and back teeth.
Additionally, here at Shifnal Dental Care, we offer full contour zirconia crowns (solid zirconia)’ are milled zirconia restorations that are glazed for natural anatomy effects with no layered ceramic. The benefits of this type of crown is extreme resistance to fracture and wear; also thin walls of the crown allow only minimal tooth preparation.
What’s The Difference Between Temporary & Permanent?
Temporary dental crowns can be made onsite at your dental practice and are typically made from an acrylic-based material. They are used primarily to protect the tooth until a permanent crown has been made by a dental laboratory. Permanent crowns are designed to last for years and improve the appearance of the teeth they cover, giving the patient more confidence when smiling.
Do’s & Don’t of Caring For a Temporary Dental Crown
Before being fitted with a permanent crown a temporary one is fitted and as this is not as secure as a permanent crown then there are some care steps to take:
- Avoid foods such as; chewing gum and caramel, as these sticky foods have the potential to pull the crown off.
- Move the bulk of chewing to the side of the mouth without the temporary crown.
- Avoid chewing hard foods like; raw vegetables or candy rock as this could dislodge or break the crown.
- When using dental floss to clean teeth slide it out from between the crown and teeth rather than lift to avoid accidentally pulling off the temporary crown.
Should any issues occur with a temporary or permanent crown it is important to see your dentist straight away so that they can fix the issue and leave you smiling happily.
How Long Do Dental Crowns Last?
Permanent dental crowns can last anywhere between five and fifteen years, depending on the amount of wear and tear it is exposed to, how your oral hygiene is, and your personal habits like ice chewing, teeth clenching, or nail-biting.
Here at Shifnal Dental Care we love making people proud of their smile and we often do this with some beautiful ceramic crowns!
Before After
To enquire about getting the smile of your dreams with dental crowns contact our team through our online form or call 01952 460119.
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