Dental Crowns

Dental crowns are one of the most common dental procedures dentists perform outside of cleanings and fillings. As a matter of fact, thousands of people have crowns placed to fix all kinds of tooth and mouth problems every day. Despite how common a crown restoration is, how the procedure works or what exactly it entails is often not common knowledge. In fact, some people are intimidated or frightened by the prospect of having a crown restoration.

Dental crowns are nothing to be intimidated by and are often vitally important to maintain your smile. The dental crown procedure is simple, logical and straight-forward. Dental crowns themselves perform very important functions for tooth and mouth health. The following information provides you with all the background you need to know about crowns.

What is a Crown?

Dental crowns are fixed prosthetic restorations made to restore a damaged tooth to its original shape and size. They’re permanently cemented on teeth that have cracked, extensively decayed, or that have been damaged in other ways. Although they sometimes extend down onto the root surface, crowns replace the outer aspect of the “crown” part of a natural tooth. This is where the name crown was derived.

When affixed, a crown fully encases the portion of the tooth that is damaged and sits above the gum line. Crowns must be custom made to fit over each of your damaged teeth. They can be made of a variety of different materials, including ceramics, porcelain, metals such as gold, resin, or a combination of these.

When are Crowns for Teeth Used?

Dentists install crowns for teeth to perform several important functions in your mouth. A crown can protect weak teeth, prevent cracked teeth from breaking further, restore broken teeth, and be used to support teeth that have large fillings. A specialized crown is also used to hold dental bridges in place. In each case, crowns support or replace a structure that no longer works on its own.

Crowns restore the appearance, shape, and alignment of a damaged tooth. Whenever teeth are badly damaged, cracked, broken, or misshapen, crowns are the most effective solution. After a crown is cemented in place, it usually becomes the only visible part of the tooth, creating a very smooth, even look. So they don’ t stand out or look odd inside the mouth, crowns are made to look like natural teeth.

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How Do They Help?

Crowns are important to restoring and maintaining the structural integrity of your mouth and bite. When a tooth decays or breaks it can leave a gap in your bite. That gap can create further problems when it interferes with your bite or when other teeth migrate into the gap created. By filling the gap, crowns can restore your mouth’s proper structure to prevent these further problems. Crowns also restore the appearance of your mouth, as they are mostly indistinguishable from natural teeth and create a new look overall.

Crowns restore the shape, strength, functionality, and appearance of a damaged tooth. After you have one placed, your tooth will be restored to strength and you will be able to use your tooth to chew again without risking damage to what’s underneath it. Crowns protect the vulnerable part of your teeth by physically holding it together and shielding it from damage.

Crowns are not the answer for every tooth problem, but they might be the answer to the problem you are having. If you think you need a crown, or you’re having any other kind of tooth problem, contact the team at Couture Dentistry. Whatever your dental needs, our experienced staff focused on innovation are prepared to offer you with the best solutions.

How Do They Work?

Crowns fit over the top of a tooth and protect what’s underneath it. They’re cemented in place and act as a new top layer for the tooth while holding it together and keeping it from breaking apart. Crowns are constructed of very resilient and durable materials and can restore a tooth to original strength. They’re designed to endure chewing and the wear and tear that has on your bite just as effectively as the rest of your teeth. Think of a crown as a cover for the top of your tooth. After we cement a crown to your damaged tooth, the two essentially become one.

How Are They Installed?

We will first apply an anesthetic to numb the tooth receiving the crown and the surrounding gum tissue. Then, we’ll shape your tooth in preparation for the crown, creating enough room for the crown to be placed and a great foundation for it. If there’s not enough of the tooth left to support the crown on its own, a crown buildup may be added to create a solid foundation on which the crown would be applied to. We will then make an impression of the tooth so that the crown can be properly shaped for perfect placement.

It can take up to three weeks to create a crown after an impression is made. For actual timing that your crown will take we will take you through all of the steps and timing for your procedure on your first visit. We will create and install a temporary crown during your initial visit so that your tooth is protected while your permanent crown is being created. When the permanent crown is ready, we’ll have you back to our comfortable offices to place it. The temporary crown will be removed, and the permanent crown will be adjusted to properly fit your tooth and bite. We will affix the crown to the tooth and then you’ll be on your way with your smile back in great shape!

Preparing a Crown Tooth

Two visits will typically be required for preparing a crown tooth and creating and placing a crown. The first step involves examining and preparing the tooth. The second visit will be when your permanent crown is placed.

During your first visit in preparation for a crown, we will take a few X-rays to check the roots of the tooth receiving the crown and the surrounding bone. If the tooth has extensive decay or if there is a risk of infection or injury to the tooth’s pulp, a root canal treatment may first be required. Our experience ensures that the correct plan and procedures are done for you.

Before the process of making your crown begins, we will numb the tooth and the gum tissue around the tooth. Next, the tooth receiving the crown will be filed down on all sides of the tooth to make room for the crown. The amount removed depends on the type of crown that is used for our specific situation. If a large area of your tooth is missing due to damage or decay, we may use a filling material to build up the tooth surface to properly support the crown.

After reshaping the tooth, we will make an impression of the tooth to receive the crown. Impressions of the teeth above and below the tooth to receive the dental crown will also be made to make sure that the crown will not affect your bite. The impressions or scans are reviewed and your crown is crafted within three weeks of taking your impressions. If the crown is made of porcelain, we will select the shade that most closely matches the color of the neighboring teeth or matches the color you want your other teeth to be when you also take advantage of whitening treatments we offer. During the first office visit we will make a temporary crown to cover and protect the tooth while the permanent crown is being made. Temporary crowns usually are made of acrylic and held in place using a cement that is not as strong as the cement used with a permanent crown.

During your second visit we will first remove the temporary crown and then check the fit and color to ensure precise placement and fit of the permanent crown. If everything is up to our standard, a local anesthetic will be used to numb the tooth and the new crown is put into place permanently.

About Frisco, Texas:

Frisco is a city that has area in both Denton and Collin counties in Texas. It is located north of Dallas and is one of the city’s fastest growing suburbs. The city population is rapidly growing fueled by the economic growth created by the Frisco Economic Development Corporation. In 2018 it was voted as the best city to live in America. In the late 1990s, the North Dallas development tide hit the northern border of Plano and spilled into Frisco. Growth in the area has exploded and continues to sprawl ever since.

Many of the European settlers that settled the Dallas area traveled by wagon trains along the old Shawnee Trail. This trail was also used for cattle drives north from Austin and later became known as the Preston Trail. That same trail is now a concrete, multi-laned, congested thruway known as Preston Road. With all of this activity, the community of Lebanon was founded along this trail and granted a U.S. post office in 1860. In 1902, a line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway was being built through the area, and Frisco became one of the periodic watering holes that were needed along the rails for the steam engines.

The current settlement of Lebanon was on the Preston Ridge and was thus too high in elevation, so the Frisco watering hole was placed to the west on lower ground about four miles away. A community grew around this train stop. Instead of building new homes on their new home sites, residents of Lebanon actually moved their houses on logs to the new community. The new town was originally named Emerson, but that name was rejected by the U.S. Postal Service because it was too similar to another town’s name in Texas. In 1904, the residents of the area chose Frisco City in honor of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway upon which the town was built around. The present name is a shortened version of this name.

Residents living in the Frisco had a strategy that has significantly benefitted growth in the area and that growth is currently moving at a staggering pace. Although many surrounding cities elected to use a fractional percent of local sales tax to fund DART, Frisco chose to invest a similar amount of money into the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) instead. The funds set aside have been used to provide incentives to businesses to set up shop in Frisco, boosting the tax base of the city to more than just retail and residential sources. Frisco has become the home for sports franchises including FC Dallas of Major League Soccer and the Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas League AA affiliate of the Major League Baseball Texas Rangers. Further putting the city on the map, it’s also the corporate home of the Dallas Cowboys. A multi-million-dollar multi-use community built in the heart of the city is anchored by the team’s digs. Frisco is also the home office and training facility for the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars and recently added a professional lacrosse team.

Types of Dental Crowns

There are many types of dental crowns especially considering they can be made from a variety of materials – stainless steel, all metal such as gold or another alloy, porcelain-fused-to-metal, all-resin, or all-ceramic.

• Temporary vs permanent. Temporary crowns are made in our office and mostly installed on your first visit for this type of procedure. These are typically made of an acrylic-based material or stainless steel and will be used as a temporary restoration until your permanent crown is constructed.

• All-resin dental crowns are less expensive than other types of crowns. They wear down over time and are more prone to fractures when compared with porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and other types.

• All-ceramic or all-porcelain dental crowns provide the best color match to your natural color and may be more suitable for you if you have metal allergies. All-ceramic crowns can be used for front and back teeth.

• Stainless steel crowns are prefabricated crowns that are used on permanent teeth primarily as a temporary measure. The crown protects the tooth or filling while a permanent crown is made from another material. For children, a stainless-steel crown is commonly used to fit over a primary tooth that’s been prepared to fit it. The crown covers the entire tooth and protects it from further decay. In general, stainless steel crowns are used for children because they don’t require multiple dental visits to create and place. Couture Dentistry does not recommend or offer all types of crowns available. Our goal is to give you options that are best for you.

• Porcelain-fused-to-metal dental crowns can be color matched to your adjacent teeth. It is important to note that more wearing to the opposing teeth occurs with this crown type compared when with metal or resin crowns. It is also possible for the porcelain portion chip or break off. Similar to all-ceramic crowns, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns look the most like normal teeth. However, sometimes the metal underlying the crown’s porcelain shows through as a dark line, especially right at the gum line and even more so if your gums recede.

• Metals used in crowns include alloys that have a high content of gold or platinum, or base-metal alloys. Metal crowns withstand the forces that occur in your mouth while chewing. This type of crown will last the longest and is less likely to chip or break. The metallic color is the main drawback. Metal crowns are a good choice for out-of-sight molars.

Get started on your smile?

At Couture Dentistry we take pride in ensuring the very best smiles leveraging our experience and innovative approach to the practice. We enjoy getting to know our patients and always look forward to meeting new patients. Contact us today and let’s get to work on your smile!