Crowns and Caps in Whittier, CA

Dental crowns are, perhaps, the most useful oral restorations out there. They are ceramic dental appliances that cover the entire surface of a tooth. They can be used for multiple purposes, such as restoring teeth that are damaged, chipped, cracked, misshapen, spaced too far apart, etc. Most importantly, they help to retain the natural tissues of the tooth and prevent its extraction.

Would you be an ideal candidate for a crown?

Patients with the following conditions would find great use of dental crowns:

• Chipped teeth: A sports-related injury, a bad fall, or a hard blow to the mouth could injure the teeth badly. Sometimes, the teeth could chip, leading to the loss of a certain edge. This can potentially expose the root canal of the tooth to the microbes in the mouth. Hence, it is best to get such teeth restored with a crown. The same goes to misshapen teeth, or the teeth that are naturally out of shape. They can easily draw attention towards them when you smile or talk, leading to possible embarrassment.
• Cracked teeth: Similar to chipping of teeth, a hard blow to the mouth could even cause minor to major cracks on the teeth surfaces. If not treated at the earliest, the cracks could propagate over time and lead to tooth failure. Since a crown can cover a tooth in its entirety, it can help to hold a fractured tooth intact.
• Worn out teeth: Teeth can undergo severe wear due to various factors such as bruxism, low calcium content, excessive consumption of acidic foods, etc. Due to these, the teeth can appear way too shorter than their ideal size, thereby ruining your smile. By bonding crowns to their surface, the length of the crowns can be brought back to normal.
• Excessively spaced teeth: Spacing is a type of malocclusion where the teeth are placed too far apart from each other. This usually occurs when the jawbone ridge is too wide. The excessive space between adjacent teeth can be reduced by bonding crowns to them.

What is a crown made from?

In most cases, crowns are made from dental-grade ceramic. The material is customizable and offers high durability, longevity, strength, and resistance to staining. In fact, your crown can be made to perfectly mimic the color, translucency, and texture of your remaining teeth. Anyone who looks at you smiles would never be able to distinguish the restoration from the other teeth unless you reveal it to them yourself.

Procedure

During the initial visit, you will undergo a thorough screening process. Factors such as oral health, gum diseases, the strength of the teeth, extent of damage, etc. will be taken into account to determine the candidacy. Next, a layer of enamel will be removed from around the tooth to make space for the crown. Else, the tooth receiving the crown would look bigger than the others. Scans, x-rays, and a highly precise mold of the teeth will be taken to serve as a reference for fabricating the restoration at a dental laboratory. Until then, a temporary crown may be fitted on the tooth.

Once the crown is fabricated and ready to be bonded, the temporary restoration will be removed and the teeth will be cleaned. The tooth will be roughened so that the crown adheres to its surface firmly. Dental adhesives will be used for the purpose along with a curing light to harden it. This ensures the crown stays in position without slipping off. A bite test may be taken to check for fit and comfort.

Call Dentist in Whittier CA at (562) 698-9621 or schedule an online appointment to know more about dental crowns from Dr. Violet.