A crown is a type of dental restoration which completely caps or encircles a tooth or dental implant and is typically bonded to the tooth using dental cement. It is indicated when a filling makes up greater than 50% of the tooth structure or when more filling than tooth is present. Crowns can be made from many materials including porcelain, porcelain fused to metal, or gold. They are often used to improve the strength or appearance of an individual tooth that is severely decayed, fractured, or endodontically treated with a root canal. Sometimes crowns are used for esthetic reconstruction. In these cases, we are improving the overall esthetics of the patient by whitening, straightening and re-contouring the teeth. This treatment involves in-depth planning to make sure that color, shape, size, and esthetics are ideal while maintaining great function and occlusion. The doctors here at Molina Dentistry will work closely with you and the lab technicians to provide a beautiful, functional, healthy result.
The most common method of crowning a tooth involves making an impression of a prepared tooth and sending it to the dental laboratory for fabrication of the crown. The crown is then placed at a subsequent dental appointment. Please ask us if you have any questions about this procedure or if you think you need a crown.