How Dental Crowns Are Used
Dental crowns are versatile tools used to restore and enhance your smile in various ways. Here are some common uses for restorative dental crowns:
- Cover a decayed tooth: Restores the tooth’s function and appearance.
- Protect a tooth after a root canal: Provides restorative support and strengthens the tooth.
- Restore strength to a weakened tooth: Reinforces and rebuilds damaged or compromised teeth. Inlays and onlays can also be used for teeth that are not extensively damaged but still require restoration. These custom-made restorations fit into the grooves or cover larger portions of the tooth, providing strength and a natural look without the need for a full crown.
- Improve the appearance of a tooth: Enhances the look of teeth that are discolored or misshapen. Inlays and onlays are a great option for teeth that need cosmetic restoration, as they can blend seamlessly with your natural teeth, making them an ideal choice for visible teeth.
- Build up small or worn teeth: Provides restorative coverage to improve size and shape.
- Support a dental bridge: Acts as a key component in bridging gaps.
- Sit atop a dental implant: Completes the restoration of a missing tooth.
- Provide support as part of TMJ treatment: Helps align and restore proper bite function.
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After
Protection against Decay and Weakness
Dental crowns, often referred to as caps, act as restorative covers that fit over your natural tooth, giving it a new, durable surface. They are used when decay is so extensive that a filling is impractical or when a tooth has been compromised by bacteria, requiring a root canal. Crowns also restore structural integrity to teeth cracked by trauma or wear.
Making Teeth Attractive
For naturally small or worn-down teeth, crowns offer restorative benefits by building up the tooth to improve its appearance. They can also correct unattractive shapes or discoloration that whitening alone cannot address. While porcelain veneers are an option, crowns provide superior support.
Replacing Lost Teeth
Dental crowns are also used to help replace a missing tooth. They can be used to support a dental bridge and can sit atop a dental implant to be the replacement tooth.
Structural Support
For TMJ treatment, crowns can help restore proper bite alignment, especially for teeth that are too small to support a harmonious jaw position. This restorative approach helps balance the bite and alleviate related symptoms.
Dental Crowns in a Day
In the past, you had to wait weeks to get a dental crown, and in the meantime you wore a temporary crown that was unattractive, might be uncomfortable, and might fail before your permanent crown was ready.
Thanks to our CEREC system, temporary crowns are a thing of the past. You just need one visit to get a dental crown, which is manufactured using the computerized design process and a diamond mill that creates the crown out of a block of solid ceramic material. The crown can be custom-tinted to perfectly match your natural teeth and can be cemented in place before you leave our office.
To learn more about dental crowns and the benefits of CEREC, please call (910) 392-6060 to schedule an appointment with our Wilmington, NC dentist.
