Bring Back your Smile with a Dental Crown in Houston

Tooth decay can lead to tooth pain, lowered self-esteem, and other issues if not addressed. When tooth decay becomes bad enough, visible damage to the tooth will become apparent and it can make the patient self-conscious about the appearance of their teeth, or worse, reduce their functionality.

No one likes to be in pain while eating food or drinking their favorite cold beverage. With dental crowns, you can restore the functionality and appearance of your teeth and bring back your smile.

Restoring Your Bite and Smile

There are many cases for getting a dental crown, also known as a cap, for a damaged tooth.

Among the top reasons is tooth pain, inability to use the tooth, and cosmetic reasons. Decay and fractures cause teeth to become unsightly or even painful, but a well-fitted crown will restore function, shape, and color to your teeth.

Procedure to Install a Dental Crown

It typically takes two visits to the dentist to get a crown installed.

●     The first visit prepares the tooth receiving the crown

●     The second visit installs the dental crown.

It’s rare that a third visit or beyond is necessary, but it can happen if the crown does not sit properly.

On the first visit, a mold is taken of the area of your mouth where the crown will be placed. This mold will provide the laboratory with an exact replica of your mouth, so they can shape the new crown to look exactly like the tooth it is repairing.

After the mold is formed, the tooth to be crowned gets filed down. The filing removes the enamel down to the dentin, providing a space for the crown to be placed.

Once the tooth has been filed down, it needs to be protected until the permanent crown can be installed. This can take up to a few weeks, so the protection is crucial to prevent damage to the exposed dentin.

To accomplish this, a temporary crown constructed of prefabricated stainless steel is installed over the tooth. This temporary crown will protect the tooth from day to day wear, but it is best not to use the tooth as if it were completely normal.

The mold that was taken of your mouth goes to a laboratory where a dental technician will construct a cap that matches the shape of your old tooth and can be easily accommodated by the space around it.

The crown can be made from one of several materials, depending on the tooth’s location and the primary purpose of the crown, whether it’s to restore function or appearance.

Dental Crown Materials

●     Most often, metal crowns are used for molars (back) teeth. The metal crown might not be the prettiest, but it is very durable and is made to reduce wear on adjacent teeth.

●     Porcelain and metal hybrid crowns can be color matched to the teeth, making them look natural, but they increase wear on nearby teeth.

●     Resin crowns cause very little wear on nearby teeth but tend to wear out themselves very quickly.

●     Lastly, all porcelain crowns look very natural, mimicking the appearance of teeth almost perfectly, but they are not as durable as a metal or metal hybrid crown.

After the crown has been furnished, you will return to our Memorial dentist office to have it installed. The dentist will remove the temporary crown and carefully install the permanent crown, sealing it around the dentin of the original tooth.

Making sure the dental crown fits snuggly and does not interfere with adjacent teeth is paramount to prolong its own life and the life of nearby teeth.