What Is the Purpose of a Dental Crown?
For people with embarrassing dental problems such as extensively damaged or decayed teeth, dentists have a solution to restore the teeth to their former functionality and appearance without compromising their strength. Regardless of the cause, patients with broken teeth are suggested dental crowns by dentists as a reliable option for fixing the damaged tooth.
Patients without sufficient knowledge about dental crowns may wonder why they must have their tooth fixed when a part of it exists in their mouth. The reason for getting a tooth fixed is straightforward. The purpose of getting dental crowns in Forty Fort, PA to cover a damaged or decayed tooth is to prevent additional complications to the affected tooth from the mouth bacteria or pressures of biting and chewing that might create further damage to compel the patient to have the tooth extracted.
Dental crowns are tooth caps fixed atop the affected tooth to encase it entirely when alternative methods of restoring the tooth aren’t successful. Materials like metal, ceramics, porcelain fused to metal, and porcelain besides resin help make dental crowns and generally don’t require special attention other than excellent dental hygiene.
Why Might You Need a Dental Crown?
There are several reasons why your natural teeth may need protection from a dental crown. Some of the most common is the damage your teeth sustain for various reasons because of tooth decay, injuries, or overuse. In addition, the shape and size of your teeth can change, making your smile appear embarrassing.
Dental crowns resemble tooth-shaped caps placed over your affected tooth to function like a snug hat to protect its visible portion. The crown cemented on your natural tooth restores its shape, size, appearance, and strength.
You become vulnerable to receiving a dental crown if you want to protect a weak tooth from additional damage and breaking up because of extensive damage or cracks from injuries or impacts on your mouth. You can also use this restoration as a front tooth crown if missing teeth need replacing with dental bridges or implants.
If you have recently undergone root canal therapy, a dental crown over the affected tooth becomes essential because the treatment makes it fragile, leaving it prone to fracture and breakage. Restoring your tooth is the best way to ensure you don’t lose the natural tooth to have a toothless grin.
The Procedure to Get a Dental Crown
Getting a dental crown to cover or fix it is straightforward but requires two appointments if you need dental crowns in Forty Fort, PA. Whether you want a front restored or a molar, the procedure to get dental crowns remains similar.
The provider of the restoration must examine your affected tooth to determine whether any infections exist within and recommend getting them treated before covering your tooth with a dental crown. Depending on which tooth needs protection, you can select the material for the restoration after a discussion with the provider. For example, if you want to fix your tooth without affecting your aesthetic appearance, dentists can provide zirconia teeth, especially if you are getting a front tooth fixed. You can also consider alternatives like porcelain fused to metal, ceramic, and others as front tooth restorations.
If you need a dental crown on a molar, the dentist in Forty Fort, PA will likely recommend stainless steel or gold crowns with more durability and strength to absorb the chewing and biting forces of the back teeth. However, the tooth receiving the restoration needs to be reshaped by removing sufficient tooth structure to accommodate a customized dental crown.
The dentist requires time to reshape your tooth by filing its tops and sides, reducing it to a stub on which the dental crown sits. The procedure is uncomfortable, but the dentist gives you local anesthesia in the mouth to minimize discomfort. You also receive temporary acrylic crowns to wear over the reshaped tooth until the dental laboratory fabricates your permanent restoration.
You must wait at least three weeks before getting your permanent dental crown over your tooth because dental labs need time to customize your restoration. When you revisit the dentist after three weeks, expect the professional to remove the temporary crowns on your tooth and check the customized crown for color and fit. If everything is acceptable, the dentist bonds your customized crown over your reshaped tooth to restore its shape and functionality.
After restoring your tooth, you must continue caring for it like your natural teeth, ensuring you don’t allow tooth decay or dental plaque to accumulate around the restored tooth. In addition, you need to remember the tooth beneath the dental crown is natural and remains vulnerable to infections in the mouth. Therefore if you want your restored tooth to last for over a decade, you help yourself by caring for the tooth and the restoration appropriately and visiting your dentist in Forty Fort, PA for six monthly oral prophylaxis.
NEPA Dental West provides dental crowns to fix teeth damaged by decay, injuries or missing from the mouth. Consulting this practice helps restore your teeth in a couple of appointments with them to regain full functionality of the tooth.