Dental crowns, commonly known as caps are defined by the Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms as “an artificial replacement that restores missing tooth structure by surrounding part or all of the remaining structure with a material such as cast metal, porcelain, or a combination of materials such as metal and porcelain”.
So the idea is to protect damaged, broken down or cracked teeth by strengthening the existing or damaged tooth so as to preserve its functionality.
At Nova Dental we consider dental crowns should not be the first choice because of the significant portion of the original tooth that needs to be grind or drilled by the dentist.
We rather less invasive options like dental bonding, veneers, inlays or onlays. These alternatives are strong enough and much more conservative.
Indications for a Dental Crown
There are several indications for a dental crown like: extensive tooth fracture, following a root canal therapy, dental implant rehabilitation, significant tooth decay, tooth erosion due to poor diet, grinding teeth or acid erosion; or for cosmetic reasons as well.
In order to make a crown, modern dentistry offers a wide variety of dental materials to choose from.In the market you can find crowns with metal components, such as full gold, full metal, metal fused to porcelain or gold fused to porcelain crowns.
Also there are porcelain crowns: full porcelain or zirconium fused to porcelain crowns (also known as metal free or ceramic crowns).
At Nova Dental we take in consideration the location of the tooth that will get a porcelain crown, if the crown is in the anterior part, we will perform a full porcelain or zirconium fused to porcelain crown, in order to improve the aesthetic result.
It is important to mention, that metal fused to porcelain crowns show, after time, a dark gum line, that is why all porcelain or ceramic crowns are the best choice for a natural and cosmetic
look.
