If one or more of your teeth are affected by decay, chips, cracks, or other forms of damage, dental crowns may provide an ideal solution. Crowns offer both cosmetic and oral health benefits, reinforcing the structure of a tooth while helping to make a smile look whole and natural again. Crowns are typically custom-made to blend seamlessly into each patient’s unique smile. They are carefully crafted to complement the surrounding natural teeth in terms of colour, size, shape, and texture and to restore integrity to the patient’s bite.
In order to create a custom crown, the patient’s tooth must first be prepared and a mould must be taken. A temporary restoration is then used to protect the tooth until the permanent crown is ready to be placed.
In some cases, dental crowns are used to secure artificial teeth as part of a dental bridge. In other cases, crowns are attached to dental implants to replace missing teeth. The dental crown procedure generally involves two visits to the dentist over the course of two to three weeks, although many practices now offer same-day crowns.
Dental patients have many choices when it comes to dental crown types; they can consist of ceramic, resin, porcelain-fused-to-metal, all-metal materials, DLMS, metal free ceramic crowns (EMax), zirconia, lava and more. The crown that is right for you will depend on your missing tooth, budget, medical needs, and cosmetic desires.
Metal crowns:
Metal crowns are a less than ideal choice for visible teeth, as their metal colour makes them more noticeable than other crown materials. Despite their aesthetic disadvantages, metal crowns are durable, require less removal of the natural tooth structure than other types of crowns, and withstand the daily wear caused by chewing and grinding. They are often placed in the back teeth or in patients that are looking for a less expensive dental crown material.
Porcelain-fused-to-metal:
Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns are stronger than all-ceramic and porcelain crowns. These crowns offer better cosmetic results than metal crowns, but do not look as natural as tooth-coloured crowns. A metal line is visible along the gum line and the presence of metal gives the crowns more of an opaque, rather than a translucent, quality.
All-porcelain:
All-porcelain crowns are widely considered to be the most aesthetically pleasing. The material makes it easy for dentists to fabricate a crown that matches the colour of surrounding teeth. However, porcelain crowns do have their drawbacks. Their thickness requires dentists to remove more of the patient’s natural tooth and it can be difficult for dentists to achieve a good fit along the gum line.
ZIRCONIA:
Dental crowns made from zirconium mimic the appearance and texture of a natural tooth, but do not chip or fracture as easily as porcelain or ceramic crowns. Many digital fabrication machines can create these crowns in one day. They are often called “biocompatible” because they integrate well with the gums and other teeth, functioning like a natural tooth.
Our experts will discuss which crown material may be appropriate for your needs and preferences at your initial consultation.
Dental Bridges
Dentists replace missing or lost teeth with bridgework, implants, and / or removable partial dentures that can be undetectable to the eye. Choosing the best tooth replacement technique depends upon several factors, including the condition of the teeth adjacent to the space, the shape and the amount of shrinkage of the bony ridge after the extraction of the original tooth, the gum tissue thickness and continuity of symmetry with the other gum scallops, the aesthetic display of the smile, the health of the gums, and budget considerations..
TYPES OF DENTAL BRIDGES
There are two mainstream types of fixed (meaning non-removable) dental bridges:
1) All-Porcelain Bridge
When dental implants cannot be employed to replace a missing or extracted tooth, then a fixed or permanently cemented dental bridge is the next best solution. These non-removable tooth replacements can be constructed out of many materials. It is easier to achieve a high level of aesthetics when the restorations are entirely constructed of porcelain. The design and overall strength of these restorations is evolving quickly. At this time, the most common porcelain varieties (e.g. Zirconium, Procera, E Max) used as substructures or frameworks still have lower flexural strength relative to metallic versions but their popularity is growing rapidly. The restorative dentist and patient must weigh the risk of occlusal forces and abuse against the ease of creating an aesthetic result.
2) Porcelain supported by a metal substructure (PFM) Bridge
Adding a metallic substructure under the porcelain will reduce flexing under trauma or excessive loads. If the patient is hard on their dentition with clenching or grinding, it is advisable to support the superficial veneering layer of ceramic with some sort of metal substructure. There are many types of metallic substructures which can be added when maximum strength is needed. These metallic substructures are cast in the lab with various quality levels of metal alloys