What Are The Different Types of Dental Crowns?
Many patients have heard of dental crown treatments and understand what they are for. But most are unaware that there are different types of crowns, and that each contains beneficial properties based on your current dental needs.
Dental Crown Review
Dental crowns are prosthetic teeth or caps that are used to protect and restore teeth back to full functionality. Patients may opt for a dental crown for multiple reasons, including preserving a decayed tooth, to protect a tooth following a root canal, covering a large filling, resurfacing unappealing looking teeth, or replacing a missing tooth in addition to a dental implant.
How Crowns Are Made
Crowns are constructed using impressions made of the teeth to be capped taken in the first appointment. If the tooth has already been lost, your dentist will create a crown based on the shape of the surrounding teeth to create an even looking smile.
Different Types of Crowns
The materials used to create a dental crown can vary based on your dental need, budget, and provider recommendations. In some cases, some providers prefer to use only specific materials in their practice and will not offer all types for your treatment. The crowns made in our practice are metal free.
Dental crowns come in different types:
- All Porcelain Crown: A crown of this kind is often used when a complete replacement tooth is needed. These types of crowns are constructed to attach over natural teeth as well as dental implants and have a natural, realistic appearance which can make it hard to discerne from natural teeth. Ceramic blends well with natural teeth and is composed of porcelain-based components. If using an all porcelain crown as a cap, the durability of the crown will depend a number of factors like diet, the strength of the ceramic, your bite or occlusion as well as how well you keep it clean.
- Porcelain Fused to Metal: Porcelain crowns fused to a metal substructure can provide a great seal to the tooth. The longevity of this material can depend on the thickness of the metal and the strength of the ceramic veneering material. Oftentimes patients do not like the grey line at the gumline that can be seen with these types of crowns.
- Gold Alloys: This material is one of the oldest versions of dental crowns available. Made from gold, as well as copper and additional metals, this material provides a strong bond with the tooth and does not easily break under pressure. It also prevents the underlying tooth from wearing away quickly. Base Metal
- Alloys: Crowns made from base metal alloys do not easily corrode. They are comprised of non-noble metals and can provide sufficient bonds with only a little amount of tooth removal, saving more of the natural tooth than other types of crowns.
Additional Considerations for Dental Crowns
In addition to reviewing the different types of crowns, it can be essential to keepsome comparisons in mind before settling on a final material for the procedure:
- Porcelain based crowns: are amazingly resistant to wear are natural looking in appearance can aggravate surrounding teeth if not correctly placed. They'r Commonly made out of a ceramic such as Zirconia or Lithium Disilicate
- Gold and base metal crowns: are great for durability are highly resistant to wear do no irritate surrounding teeth can be unattractive looking and stand out For all types of dental crowns, it's imperative to practice proper oral hygiene and to stay away from harmful foods that could affect the structure of the prosthetics. Foods that are hard or sticky can crack or loosen crowns, but these are also known for damaging natural teeth, so avoiding them all together is ideal.
Your dentist is the best resource for helping you decide which dental crown will be most useful for your treatment. By scheduling a consultation, you can be one step closer to achieving a healthy mouth and stunning smile.
Contact Baer Dental Designs, located in Lone Tree for more information on options for your Dental Crown needs today. Learn more about Baer Dental.
How Long Do Dental Crowns Usually Last? Learn More.