Crowns are used for a number of reasons, mainly where veneers or dental bonding restorations don’t provide a strong enough solution.

• For heavily decayed teeth
• For heavily fractured teeth
• For heavily eroded teeth
• For teeth with a large cavity
• To cover a dental implant
• Following root canal treatment
• For cosmetic reasons

The dentist will prepare the tooth to the ideal shape for the crown. This will involve removing most of the outer surface, and leaving a strong inner core. The amount of the tooth removed will be the same as the thickness of the crown.

Once the tooth is shaped, impressions will be taken and sent to the dental technician, along with other relevant information. A temporary crown is fitted whilst the final crown is made (this usually takes a couple of weeks).

Alternatively, at Dental Practices such as Smilemakers, the crown can sometimes be constructed at the Dental Practice for fitting on the same day

When you and your dentist are happy with the fit and appearance of the new crown it will be fixed in place with special dental cement or adhesive. The cement forms a seal to hold the crown in place.

A post crown is a crown fabricated over a man-made core which is retained by inserting a post into the root of the tooth. They are used when insufficient tooth structure remains to retain a crown.

A post can be made of prefabricated stainless steel or white composite material which the dentist can fit directly into the root canal, or a custom-made post can be constructed by the dental technician to accurately fit the shape of the prepared root canal.

The different types of crowns each have their own characteristics and strengths and weaknesses, some of which are listed below. Remember that all of these are relative and the best person to talk to is your Smilemakers dentist!

Porcelain-based, containing no metal. There are different types of All-Ceramic crowns each having their own characteristics.

Advantages:-
The best aesthetics of any crown due to the absence of any metal and the gold standard for cosmetic crowns at the front of the mouth (incisors and canines)

Disadvantages:-
Porcelain can fracture and may not be suitable in patients with strong bites and grinding tendencies.

Consist of an outer layer of porcelain bonded to an inner metal core.

Advantages:-

Generally stronger than fully porcelain crowns

Good aesthetics can be achieved by a skilled technician

Disadvantages:-

Aesthetics not as good as fully porcelain crowns due to presence of metal core and can result in a dark line around the gum margin especially over time

Porcelain can fracture, the weak point being the join between the metal core and the overlying porcelain.

Consist of gold alloyed with other metals to improve the longevity.

Advantages:-

Very strong and the crown least likely to break

Require less tooth removal than any other crown type to prepare

Similar wear rate to natural tooth enamel and therefore less likely to wear opposing teeth

The gold content of the crown alloys a very close fit to be achieve to the underlying tooth

Disadvantages:-

Appearance generally limits their use to molar teeth

High cost due to gold content