Crowns restore and protect teeth that have been damaged by caries, fractures, or old large restorations.

Before and after placement of ceramic crowns.

Crowns

Crowns are custom-made restorations that require two visits. A crown covers all the chewing surfaces of a tooth. A crown can make your tooth stronger and improves its appearance. Crowns are often used to support a tooth with a large restoration and protect it from fracture or restore one that’s already broken or cracked. They also cover badly discolored or misshapen teeth.

Materials

There are three basic materials for crowns.

All Porcelain (Ceramic)

Ceramic crowns are desirable because their color and translucency mimic natural tooth enamel. However, they are prone to fracture when placed under strong forces. Their strength depends on adequate thickness of the porcelain and the ability to be bonded to the tooth. They are highly resistant to wear. However, they can wear the opposing teeth.

Porcelain-Fused-To-Metal

These are very strong and durable. The combination of porcelain and metal provides a stronger restoration than porcelain alone. However, more existing tooth structure must be removed to accommodate the restoration. Although highly resistant to wear, they can wear the opposing natural teeth.

Gold Alloys

These exhibit high strength and resist wear and fracture. They also require the least amount of healthy tooth structure to be removed when preparing the tooth. Gold alloys rarely cause wear in opposing natural teeth. However, their metal colors do not look like natural teeth.