WHAT IS A DENTAL CROWN??

Dental crowns are caps placed on top of damaged teeth. Crowns are used to protect, cover and restore the shape of your teeth when fillings don’t solve the problem. Dental crowns can be made out of metals, porcelain, resin and ceramics. They typically don’t require special care over time other than regular good oral hygiene.

WHY DO YOU NEED A CROWN??

You may need a dental crown for several reasons, including:

• Protecting a weak tooth (possibly from decay) from breaking or to keep the weak tooth together if parts of it are cracked.
• Restoring a broken tooth or a severely worn down tooth.
• Covering and supporting a tooth with a large filling and not much tooth remaining.
• Holding a dental bridge in place.
• Covering misshapen or severely discolored teeth.
• Covering a dental implant.
• Covering a tooth that’s been treated with a root canal.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF METAL FREE / TOOTH COLOURED CROWNS

1. All resin/PMMA CROWN:

Metal free crowns made of poly methyl methacrylate

Advantage: less expensive, as a temporary crown.

Disadvantage: shorter life, easily wear off.



2. All ceramic/ all porcelain/ zirconia crown:

Provide the best natural colour match compared to any other crown type.

Advantage: no metal allergy, excellent aesthetics and colour matching, longer life, strength as good as metal crown.



3. Pressed ceramic crown/ EMAX crown/Lithium disilicate crown:

These dental crowns have a hard inner core.

Advantage: provides the best natural colour match, more long-lasting than an all-porcelain crown, excellent aesthetics for anterior teeth.

POST TREATMENT CARE FOR A DENTAL CROWN

A crowned tooth doesn’t need any special care. However, the underlying tooth still needs to be protected from decay or gum disease. Because of this, you should continue to follow good oral hygiene practices. These practices include brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing once a day — especially around the crown area where the gum meets your tooth. Also, avoid biting on hard surfaces with porcelain crowns (for example, chewing ice or popcorn hulls) to prevent cracking the porcelain.