Is a Crown Considered Major Dental Work? Find Out!

Major dental procedures refer to more complex treatments than fillings or root canals. These treatments include orthodontics, periodontics, veneers and restoration procedures for damaged and missing teeth, such as dental crowns.

What Is A Dental Crown?

A dental crown restores your damaged or decayed tooth’s strength, durability and functionality. It is a permanent tooth-like cap that sits over an existing tooth or implant for extra strength and protection. A crown can also be used to enhance the appearance of your teeth cosmetically. For example, it can fix a chipped or discoloured tooth and attach a bridge or cap to a root canal. Thus, your crown should simulate your tooth’s original shape and texture to restore chewing ability too.

When Do You Need A Dental Crown?

You may require a dental crown due to:

• Tooth decay
• Trauma or chipped tooth
• Worn-down enamel
• A root canal
• A large filling

How Do Dentists Put A Crown On?

Since a dental crown involves several steps, it may take two trips to the dentist to complete a dental crown treatment. First, your dentist prepares the tooth by removing the outer portion, including any decay, to ensure the crown fits. Then, if your tooth needs additional structure to support the crown, your dentist can then build up the core of your tooth. Your dentist will then make an impression to create an exact model of your tooth.

This impression can be made from a mould or through digital scanning in the lab. Making a permanent crown typically takes less than two weeks. So, your dentist will then fit a temporary crown in the meantime. Once the permanent crown is ready, your second visit can be scheduled and your dentist will replace the temporary crown with the permanent one, and make any necessary adjustments. Once you and your dentist are happy with how it looks and feels, the crown is cemented into place.

What Are Dental Crowns Made of?

Permanent crowns can be made with various materials, and this includes the following:

Metal

Metals, including gold, palladium, nickel and chromium, can be made into a dental crown. These types of crowns are highly robust; they rarely chip or break. You can trust them to withstand biting and chewing forces incredibly well. Metal crowns will also be the last to wear out compared to other crown types. Therefore, they are the best choice for molar crowns, where they’re usually out of sight. Not to mention, your dentist will only need to remove a small amount of your tooth.

Porcelain Fused to Metal

This dental crown can match the colour of the teeth around your crown, so you can have a more natural tooth colour. Although, sometimes, you can still see a shadow from the metal under the porcelain cap. However, they’re not as durable as metal crowns; there’s also a chance of chipping porcelain or breaking off from the metal part. But because they mimic your natural teeth, porcelain-fused-to-metal dental crowns can be an excellent choice for front or back teeth.

Resin

Resin dental crowns are typically more affordable than other crowns. However, they are more likely to break than porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and do wear down over time.

Ceramic

These dental crowns provide the best natural colour match. Plus, they’re a good alternative if you have any metal allergies. However, you shouldn’t expect them to be as strong as porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. Because they’re not heavy-duty, they may also wear down more than metal or resin crowns.

Are Dental Crowns Permanent?

Dental crowns may not be permanent, but they are certainly a long-term solution. Generally, crowns last between 5 and 15 years. However, the life span of your crown can depend on how you use it and your oral hygiene practices.

Some personal mouth-related habits can contribute to your crown’s wear and tear, such as:

• Grinding or clenching your teeth.
• Using your teeth to open packaging.
• Biting your fingernails.
• Chewing ice or hard foods.

Can Dental Crowns Be Replaced?

No other dental restoration procedure completely encases and caps a tooth like a crown does. Hence, there aren’t many alternative procedures to restore a failed crown, other than replacing the crown itself. Although, some cases call for the original crown to be just re-cemented into place.

Book Your Dental Crown Treatment with Langmore Dental

Looking for skilful dentists in Berwick? Trust Langmore Dental to provide excellent general and major dental services, including dental crowns in Berwick. Call us now on 9796 1881 for high-quality dental care.