DENTAL CROWNS

What is a dental crown and why is it needed?
A dental crown is a tooth-shaped “cap” that is placed over a tooth, covering the tooth to restore its shape and size, strength, and/or to improve its appearance. The crowns, when cemented into place, fully encase the entire visible portion of a tooth that lies at and above the gum line.

A dental crown may be needed:
• To protect a weak tooth (for instance, from decay) from breaking or to hold together parts of a cracked tooth
• To restore a broken or worn-down tooth
• To cover and support a tooth with a large filling when there isn’t a lot of tooth left
• To give esthetics to a misshaped or discolored teeth
• To hold a dental bridge in place
• To cover a dental implant 

Before                                                                            After 

What types of materials are available for crowns?
Permanent crowns can be made from all metal, porcelain-fused-to-metal, all resin, or all ceramic.

• Metals used in crowns include gold alloy, other alloys (for example, palladium) or a base-metal alloy (for example, nickel or chromium). Compared with other crown types, less tooth structure needs to be removed with metal crowns. Tooth wear to the opposing teeth is kept to a minimum. Metal crowns withstand biting and chewing forces well. They last the longest in terms of wear down and they rarely chip or break. The main drawback is the metallic color. Metal crowns are a good choice for out-of-sight molars.
• Porcelain-fused-to-metal dental crowns can be color matched to your adjacent teeth (unlike the metallic crowns). However, more wearing to the opposing teeth occurs with this crown type compared with metal or resin crowns. The crown’s porcelain portion can also chip or break off. Next to all-ceramic crowns, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns look most like normal teeth. However, sometimes the metal underlying the crown’s porcelain can show through as a dark line, especially at the gum line and even more so if your gums recede. These crowns can be a good choice for front or back teeth.
• All-resin dental crowns are less expensive than other crown types. However, they wear down over time and are more prone to fractures than porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns.
• All-ceramic or all-porcelain dental crowns provide the best natural color match than any other crown type and may be more suitable for people with metal allergies. However, they are not as strong as porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and they wear down the opposing teeth a little more than metal or resin crowns. All-ceramic crowns are a good choice for front teeth.

Learn about dental tourism: affordable way of getting dental crowns.