At VIP Smiles, we are dedicated to helping you achieve the healthiest and most beautiful smile possible. For some patients, that means investing in dental crowns! Read on to learn more about crowns, and visit our Syracuse dentist office to see how our investment in dental technology makes crowns fast and easy!
What Are Dental Crowns?
Dental crowns are a form of restoration dentistry made to cover, support, and/or replace broken or decayed teeth. Also sometimes caps, crowns are custom-made for each patient and cover the entire visible portion of the damaged tooth above the gumline. A crown essentially fits over a tooth like a “cap” to act like a thimble protecting your sensitive fingertips.
When Would My Dentist Recommend a Crown?
A dental crown is designed to support and restore the shape, size, strength, and appearance of a tooth. It can be used in a number of situations, including:
- Repairing a severely damaged or decayed tooth
- Covering a dental implant
- Protecting a weak tooth from decay
- Holding together a cracked tooth
- Holding a dental bridge in place
- Covering misshapen or discolored teeth
There are several methods of restoration dentistry available today, including fillings, inlays, and onlays. Dental crowns are often used when these other methods aren’t enough or aren’t the right choice for a specific patient.
Not only can crowns correct the aesthetic appearance of your smile, but they also serve several important oral health purposes. Crowns can make it possible for you to retain more of your natural teeth by offering them the support they need to prevent further breakage or decay. For missing teeth, crowns also help support the natural structure of your mouth and prevent other teeth from moving to fill the gap.
Making Dental Crowns
Dental crowns can be made of several different materials, most commonly ceramic, metal alloys, or porcelain fused to metal. Metals offer strength and durability while ceramics like porcelain offer more natural-looking crowns. Your dentist will decide what kind of crown works best for you.
Crowns are custom-made to fit your mouth and your needs using impressions of your existing teeth. The original method used messy molds, but many dentist offices, including VIP Smiles, now have the option to utilize digital impressions for improved simplicity and quality. If the dentist has to send off the patient’s impressions to order a custom-made crown, it can take weeks for the result to return.
CEREC Same-Day Dental Crowns
VIP Smiles has a better way to create the dental crowns you need for a healthier, more comfortable, and more aesthetically pleasing smile — CEREC same-day crowns! Our office has always been dedicated to using the best and newest dental technology available to craft a better experience for our patients, and CEREC is no exception.
With this technology, we can utilize easy digital impressions and our in-office milling machine to create your personalized dental crown that day. Each crown is custom created for a fit and appearance that meets your wants and needs, and we even offer shade-matching services at no extra cost to ensure you’re happy with the end result.
Placing Dental Crowns
There are a few steps that need to take place before your crown can be installed. Any decay will need to be removed, possibly through a root canal procedure. If a lot of the natural tooth is resected, your dentist may also have to take the time to build up more structure to create a stable foundation for your dental crown.
Once a crown is made, your dentist will likely employ a local anesthetic and secure your crown in place with a special dental cement. With VIP Smiles’ expertise and CEREC same-day crowns, you don’t have to worry about using and caring for temporary crowns! We can design, create, and place your permanent dental crown in one appointment.
Visit VIP Smiles to Learn More!
Are you a good candidate for a dental crown? Are you interested in saving time without sacrificing quality through CEREC technology? Contact VIP Smiles and ask to make an appointment! We’ll be happy to help you craft an oral health plan to address your concerns, including same-day dental crowns if we think it’s appropriate. To learn more, schedule a personal consultation today!