The Dental Crown Procedure

Dental crowns help maintain the functionality of damaged teeth. Crowns, commonly referred to as "caps" can be used in a number of ways such as protecting a tooth that has been cracked or damaged by decay and sometimes replacing a preexisting crown. A dental crown's purpose is to encase a damaged or worn out tooth with a material that has been custom-designed. Today, dentists have an assortment of conservative options for treatment through which to restore teeth. If it is a possibility, these options should be looked at and discussed prior to selecting the option of a full coverage crown. Read below to learn more about the dental crown procedure in our San Antonio dentist office.

The Clinical Procedure

During the process of installing a crown, your dentist must prepare the tooth and makes a molded impression of your teeth to send to a dental laboratory where the crown will be made. During this visit, a personalized temporary crown is made to protect the tooth temporarily while the actual custom made crown is being molded completed in the dental laboratory. Once the final mold is finished, the crown is cemented or adhesively bonded at a later visit.

Crown Materials: Ceramic and Porcelain Crowns

There are three leading restorative materials choices for the entire coverage crowns, they are:

  1. Porcelain-fused-to-metal
  2. All-ceramic (all-porcelain)

The material selected is determined by the clinical demands at hand; aesthetic demands, strength requirements, the durability of the material and the space available for restoration.

Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal Crowns

A strong, durable, and aesthetic treatment option is provided by Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. Ensuring the preparation of the underlying tooth structure provides adequate space for the appropriate thickness of the material selected is a key factor for the aesthetic and functional success of this type of crown.

Additionally, the artistic skill of the laboratory technologist creating the crown will determine its aesthetic appeal. One contemplation in the porcelain-fused-to-metal cap is that these crowns may tend to show the underlying metal or gold margin at the gum line as gums recede over time. Some patients opt for this type of crown, but replace the crown at a later date in order to maintain a higher esthetic benefit. This vulnerability of porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns can be eliminated by having an all porcelain collar.

All-Ceramic Crowns

Either zirconia or aluminous materials are the most popular material choices for all-ceramic crowns today. They provide an option that is a metal-free esthetic with a number of benefits. By getting rid of the need for the accommodating metal core, an esthetic all-ceramic crown can be created with a thickness of material that has been reduced. This option makes them a treatment choice that is more popular and favorable in areas with a limited amount of space. Additionally, by getting rid of the metal core allows for small transmission through the porcelain for better optical, life-like properties and a higher level of esthetics.

All-ceramic materials are continuously evolving in the amount of strength and durability it possesses, but an individual must still be careful around areas of the mouth needing heavy function. There is on going research being performed that is exploring the significant vulnerabilities of the porcelain systems in such regions.